On a small stand no more than a few meters wide, set up outside a government department in Irbid, a form-writer sits behind a simple table piled with application forms, official papers and ink pens. A laptop and a smartphone rest within reach beside him as he watches visitors arrive at the department, waiting for anyone who needs help writing a request, filling out a form, or making sense of government procedures.
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Years ago, the stand drew crowds from early morning. Today it sees far fewer visitors, as most government services have moved online. It remains, however, a destination for older citizens and those unfamiliar with technology, who find in the form-writer's experience and speed an alternative to navigating digital systems on their own.
Modest as it is, the stand captures the story of a longstanding profession fighting to survive the digital era, as government transactions have gradually shifted from paper forms to screens and online platforms.
As digitization expands and government institutions rely increasingly on electronic transactions, form-writers face challenges that threaten their livelihood. The profession no longer centers on writing applications and filling out forms the way it once did, and demand for it is steadily shrinking as citizens gain the ability to complete their own transactions online.
The decline coincides with an accelerating government digital transformation drive in Jordan. The share of digitized government services reached 85.8 percent by the end of the first half of 2026, with 2,060 services digitized in total, according to digital transformation indicators.
The same data show that about 2.8 million digital identities have been activated through the Sanad application, a figure reflecting growing reliance on digital government services and citizens' expanding electronic access to them.
The maturity rate of digital government services stood at 71 percent during the first half of this year, while the government met 92 percent of its targets for the period under the Public Sector Modernization Program.
As part of efforts to improve citizens' experience and expand access to services across the Kingdom, the number of comprehensive government service centers has reached 16, distributed across several governorates, reflecting an official push to reduce reliance on paperwork and in-person visits.
Major Changes
Abu Mohammad, who has run a form-writing stand outside a government department in Irbid for more than a quarter century, said the profession has changed dramatically in recent years. It once relied entirely on visitors coming to government departments to complete paper transactions.
He recalled that the stand once saw brisk activity from the early morning hours, with citizens waiting their turn to have official requests and forms written and filled out. The writer also guided them through required procedures and documents, making the profession an essential part of completing any government transaction.
Digital transformation across government institutions has fundamentally changed the nature of the work, Abu Mohammad added. A large share of services are now delivered electronically, and citizens can submit or track applications through a smartphone or computer without visiting a government department or hiring a form-writer.
This shift, he confirmed, has directly affected stand owners. The number of visitors has dropped sharply, and incomes have fallen to levels no longer sufficient to cover business costs or support families that depend on the profession as their main source of income.
The profession has not disappeared entirely, Abu Mohammad explained. Broad segments of the population still need form-writers' services, chief among them older citizens and people who lack sufficient familiarity with government apps or online platforms, along with some workers and migrants who struggle with official procedures.
His role, he said, is no longer limited to writing a request or application. It now includes helping citizens create online accounts, attach documents and submit applications through digital platforms, as well as explaining instructions and procedures in simple terms that save people time and effort.
A number of his colleagues, he added, have been forced to close their stands or change professions after demand declined, while others have chosen to continue despite weak income, having no alternative that offers a stable livelihood.
Khaled Obeidat, a former government employee, said form-writers remain necessary for certain groups who are not comfortable with digital systems, such as older citizens and small business owners who do not rely heavily on the internet.
Form-writers served as a "lifeline" before electronic services spread widely, Obeidat said, saving citizens time and effort. Circumstances have since changed, he noted, and tasks that once required daily effort are now handled easily through a computer or mobile phone.
Obeidat believes the profession will disappear soon and has already begun to fade, a trend he said has pushed up unemployment among form-writers, particularly as digital government services expand and more citizens gain the ability to complete transactions online.
Today's form-writers are no longer simple paper-pushers, he noted. In many cases, they function as advisers who help citizens understand procedures and identify the right authority for each file, a role digitization has not fully replaced.
"Digitization is fast, but it lacks the human touch," Obeidat said. "Sometimes citizens need someone to explain what's happening." He argued that the accumulated expertise of form-writers should be put to use rather than lost.
Moving Into the Digital Age
Obeidat also believes society needs to support form-writers as they move into the digital age, through training programs that would enable them to work with electronic systems, rather than letting a longstanding profession lose its skills and experience altogether.
Channeling form-writers' expertise into helping citizens understand digital services, he added, could give them a new role to sustain themselves in, rather than simply waiting for the profession to disappear.
Ahmad al-Shouha, who has worked as a form-writer for more than twenty years, said the profession has undergone radical change in recent years. Form-writers' offices, he explained, used to be packed with visitors from morning until the end of official working hours. Today, demand is limited after most services moved online.
Form-writers once completed dozens of transactions daily, al-Shouha added, from writing applications to following up on them inside government departments. Many of those services are now handled electronically without an intermediary, a shift that has directly affected the income of those working in the profession.
Technology is not an enemy to form-writers, he said, but has become part of their daily work. Many have had to learn to use computers and government e-platforms to keep pace with developments, he noted, though that adaptation has not offset the sharp decline in workload.
A broad segment of older citizens and people unfamiliar with smartphones or government apps still rely on form-writers to complete their transactions, al-Shouha explained, not only to have a request written but to understand procedures and requirements and receive proper guidance. The expertise a writer builds over many years, he said, cannot easily be replaced.
He noted that the profession's financial returns have declined markedly in recent years, prompting several colleagues to close their offices and seek other sources of income, while others have chosen to continue despite the meager pay, out of attachment to a profession in which they have spent many years.
