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Public Administration vocabulary · Bureaucracy and Procedures

Paperwork

Meaning in public administration, with examples

/ˈpeɪpəwɜːk/nounCore term

In public administration, paperwork means: The routine work of preparing, filling in and filing the documents and forms needed for an official process, or those documents themselves.

In Turkish: evrak işleri, kırtasiye işleri, belgeler

How it is used

Uncountable: a lot of paperwork, not paperworks. People do, complete, process or sort out paperwork, or feel buried in it. Reforms aim to cut or reduce paperwork, often by moving processes online.

Example sentences

  1. Social workers say they spend more time on paperwork than with families.

  2. Once the paperwork is complete, the permit is usually issued within ten days.

Common collocations

  • do the paperwork
  • reduce paperwork
  • a mountain of paperwork
  • complete the paperwork
  • red tapeOfficial rules, forms and procedures that seem unnecessary and slow things down, especially when dealing with public bodies.
  • bureaucracyA system of administration based on fixed rules, written records and a clear hierarchy of officials; in everyday speech, also slow and complicated official procedures.
  • fill inTo complete a form or document by writing the required information in the empty spaces.
  • procedureAn official, fixed set of steps for doing something, such as applying for a permit, handling a complaint or approving a payment.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Bureaucracy and Procedures

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