Glossary
Last updated: March 29, 2026
This glossary explains the main concepts used on the ACTE123 platform. If you encounter an unfamiliar term while browsing, you can find it here.
In Brief
- The document vault is your encrypted personal document storage. Files are encrypted in your browser before being stored β the server never sees your data. Upload a document once and reuse it across all your plans.
- A profile is a set of personal data (name, address, ID number, etc.) stored encrypted in your vault. Fill in your details once and use them to auto-fill PDF forms or share them securely with organizations.
- A procedure is a complete administrative process within a category or domain. For example, the procedure for obtaining a passport, an identity card, or the procedure for registering a vehicle.
- A scenario is a branch of a procedure and determines which documents and steps apply in a particular case. For example: registering a vehicle from Romania vs. registering a vehicle from outside the European Union.
- Questions are used to personalize a procedure-scenario situation based on your circumstances. For example: 'Is this the first time you are requesting this document?', 'Are you married?'. Answers to questions dynamically filter the requirements, steps, and fees that apply to you.
- Requirements, steps, and fees are specific to each scenario and dictate exactly which documents you need to prepare, in what order you should complete the steps, and what fees you need to pay to successfully complete the procedure.
- A plan is a personalized guide generated based on a procedure-scenario combination and your answers. The plan is your personal checklist designed to help you complete an administrative procedure without stress and confusion.
- An organization is a business (law firm, HR agency, notary office, etc.) that uses the platform to manage procedures and documents for its clients. Members prepare plans, clients confirm and share documents β all within a collaborative workspace.
Document Vault
The document vault is an encrypted storage space built into your plan where you can upload and securely keep copies of the documents required for your procedure. All documents are encrypted directly in your browser using a passphrase that only you know β the server never sees the contents of your files. Encryption uses military-grade algorithms (AES-GCM-256), and the encryption key is derived from your passphrase through PBKDF2 with 600,000 iterations. When you set up the vault, you receive 8 recovery codes that you must save in a safe place β each code can be used once to unlock your documents if you forget your passphrase. Documents are stored locally in your browser (IndexedDB) and, optionally, synced encrypted to the cloud so they can be accessed from multiple devices. The vault locks automatically after a period of inactivity (configurable in settings) and requires re-entering your passphrase to access. You can upload documents directly from each requirement in your plan β each uploaded file is associated with the corresponding requirement. If you lose both your passphrase and recovery codes, your documents become permanently inaccessible β the platform cannot recover encrypted data on your behalf.
Profile
A profile is a collection of personal or business data β such as your name, address, national ID number (CNP), phone, email β stored encrypted inside your document vault. You can create multiple profiles for different purposes: one for yourself as an individual, one for your company, one for a vehicle. Profile data is encrypted with the same passphrase as your vault documents and syncs across your devices via cloud storage. Profiles save you time in two ways: first, when a plan includes a fillable PDF form, the platform can auto-fill it with data from your profile β no more typing the same information into every form. Second, when you submit a plan to an organization, you can choose which profiles to share alongside your documents. The organization receives your profile data inside the same encrypted package and can use it to fill PDF forms on your behalf. You always control which profiles to share, and the data remains encrypted end-to-end β only the organization can decrypt it using their own passphrase.
Procedure
A procedure represents a complete administrative process that contains all the cases / scenarios to go through to obtain an official document, a permit, or a public or private service. For example: obtaining an identity card, registering a vehicle, getting a birth certificate, or applying for a passport. Each procedure brings together all the information you need in one place: what documents to prepare, what steps to follow and in what order, what fees to pay, where to go in person, and what the processing times are. Procedures are structured and maintained by the platform's volunteer community, based on publicly available information from government institutions.
Scenario
A scenario describes a specific situation within a procedure, because the same procedure can have different paths depending on your circumstances. For example, the procedure for obtaining an identity card includes several distinct scenarios: first-time issuance (for those who have never had an ID card), renewal upon expiry, re-issuance following loss or theft, change of address, name change after marriage, and others. Each scenario comes with its own set of requirements, steps, and fees. When you access a procedure on the platform, the first thing we ask is for you to select the scenario that matches your situation β this way, all the information shown afterwards will be relevant to your specific case.
Plan
A plan is your personalized guide, like a copy of a procedure-scenario tailored just for you. It is automatically generated by the platform based on three elements: the procedure you chose, the scenario you selected, and the answers you gave to the planner questions. The plan contains only the requirements, steps, and fees relevant to your specific situation, organized in a clear and easy-to-follow list. A plan synthesizes all the relevant information for your specific situation and presents it in a clear, actionable format. You will see exactly which documents you need, in what order you should complete the steps, and which fees apply to you. If you create an account on the platform, your plan can be saved and accessed later from any device. As you gather documents and complete steps, you can check off each finished item, and the platform will show your overall progress. The plan is the central experience on ACTE123 β it transforms a complex procedure into an easy-to-follow checklist.
Question
Questions are the tool through which the platform personalizes your experience down to the finest detail. After you've selected a procedure and a scenario, the platform may ask you one or more questions to better understand your situation. For example: 'Do you have Romanian citizenship?', 'Are you acting on your own behalf or through a representative?', or 'Is this the first time you are requesting this document?'. The answers you provide are used by the system to dynamically filter the requirements, steps, and fees that apply to you. This way, the generated plan contains only the information relevant to your case, without elements that don't concern you. Questions are configured by the platform administrators and vary from one scenario to another.
Requirement
A requirement represents a document, an official record, an appointment, or a condition that you must fulfill in order to complete an administrative procedure. Requirements can be of two types: mandatory β which apply to everyone (for example, original and copy of your identity card) β or conditional β which apply only in certain situations (for example, a notarized power of attorney, required only if you are acting through a representative, or a marriage certificate, required only in the case of a name change). In your personalized plan, each requirement can be checked off as you obtain the document, copy, or required appointment. This progress tracking mechanism helps you know at any point what you've already prepared and what still needs to be done before going to the counter with your 'complete file'.
Step
A step represents a concrete action you need to take as part of the procedure. Steps are presented in a logical order, from preparing your documents all the way to picking up the final document. Typical examples of steps include: filling out a standard form, paying a fee at the cashier or via bank transfer, submitting your file at the counter, waiting for the processing period, and picking up the completed document. Some steps may be conditional β meaning they apply only based on your answers to the planner questions. For example, the step of legalizing a translation applies only if documents are in a foreign language. In the plan, steps are displayed in the order they should be completed, and each one can be checked off as you finish it.
Fee
A fee is a cost you must pay as part of the administrative procedure. Fees can be mandatory (for example, the stamp duty for issuing an identity card) or conditional based on the chosen scenario or your answers to questions (for example, an urgency fee applies only if you request expedited processing). For each fee, the platform displays available information: the amount, accepted payment methods (cash, card, bank transfer), and the location where payment is made. It's important to note that the ACTE123 platform does not process payments and has no affiliation with the institutions to which fees are paid.
Document
A document is an official record, a standard form, or any other material associated with a requirement. Documents can have multiple versions β as institutions update them, the platform reflects changes through new versions. Documents may also be available in multiple languages, depending on the specifics of the procedure. Where possible, the platform provides downloadable forms in Microsoft Word, PDF, etc. format or direct links to the official pages of institutions where they can be obtained. Each document is associated with a specific requirement within the procedure, so you know exactly which form corresponds to each step.
Source
A source is the official reference from which the information displayed on the platform originates. Sources can include: government websites (for example, the website of the Directorate for Personal Records), legal acts and laws published in the Official Gazette, official guides issued by institutions, press releases, or other public documents. Each procedure on the platform contains links to the sources from which information was extracted, so you can verify and consult the official materials directly. Source transparency is a fundamental principle of ACTE123 β we want every user to be able to independently verify any piece of information.
Workflow
In the context of the platform, a workflow represents the unique combination of a procedure version and a scenario. Each workflow defines a complete path that a user can follow: from the initial questions, through the document requirements, the steps to follow, all the way to the fees to pay. This concept is primarily used by the platform administrators to organize and manage content. For example, the procedure 'Identity Card' in version 2.0, combined with the scenario 'First-time issuance', forms a distinct workflow from the same procedure combined with the scenario 'Renewal upon expiry'. Each workflow has its own mappings of questions, requirements, steps, and fees. A plan is a 'copy' of a workflow, a personalized instance for each individual user, generated based on their answers to questions and the chosen scenario.
Organization
An organization is a business entity β such as a law firm, HR agency, notary office, accounting firm, or real estate agency β that uses ACTE123 to manage procedures and documents on behalf of its clients. Organizations have members (employees with roles: owner, admin, or employee) who can prepare procedure plans, customize requirements, and track progress for their clients. Clients are external users invited into the organization context to collaborate on plans. When a client accepts an invitation, their existing vault documents can automatically match the requirements prepared by the organization, eliminating the need to re-upload or re-scan documents. Each organization can customize public procedures by adding custom requirements specific to their business or removing irrelevant ones. Plans within an organization follow a lifecycle from draft to completion, with review steps that ensure quality. The organizations feature adds a B2B layer on top of the existing platform without changing how the public catalog works for individual users.