Currently the language proficiency certificates, which non-native speakers need when applying to many jobs in both the public and private sectors, as well as for citizenship, can only be picked up in person at state exam centers in Tallinn, Narva, Tartu and Jõhvi. Residents of other areas must make two trips to obtain their certificates, first to take the exam and again to pick up the document.

Under the new system, those that pass the exams will be able to download their certificates from Estonia's public internet portal, www.eesti.ee. Downloading, however, will not be mandatory. Applicants who pass their exams will receive an e-mail with a unique number, which employers can then use to verify the certificate on the public portal.

Estonia has a high number of residents who aren't proficient in the state language, a legacy of the Soviet era when hundreds of thousands of workers from other areas of the USSR were sent to live in the republic.