OFW's Guide for Authentication of Public Documents

For employment abroad, an employer usually requires that all Philippine documents should be authenticated at the DFA and should be attested at their respective Embassies of the countries concerned.

Authentication Procedures:

Documents should be brought personally at the DFA or you may authorize somebody to do it for you by issuing an authorization letter or by executing a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) together with a copy of your I.D.s (identification cards)

• National Statistics Office (NSO) documents:(Birth Certificate, Marriage Contract, Certificate of No Marriage (Cenomar), etc.

Get a (SECPA) copy from the PSA (formerly NSO), then bring this document to the DFA for authentication.

• NBI Clearance:

Get the clearance (for travel abroad) directly at NBI main office at Taft Ave., cor. Padre Faura, Manila, or through NBI branches at various malls.  After release of the clearance, this should be brought directly to the DFA for authentication.

• Certificates of Employment/Training:

Execute an Affidavit (entitled Affidavit of Employment/Training).  Your COE/COT (certificates) would become attachments of the affidavit you have executed and signed, and should be notarized by a notary public.

Notarized Affidavit should be brought to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for authentication (note: not for court clearance).

The RTC Branch that you will go to will depend on the jurisdiction of the notary public who notarized the affidavit. 

If the Notary Public is from Makati City, then the document should be brought to RTC Makati, 

If the Notary Public is from Pasay City, then it should be brought at RTC Pasay, and so on, and so forth..

Usually, it takes 1-2 working days for the RTC authentication to be released, afterwhich the document should be brought to the DFA for final authentication.

This procedure is the same for other types of Affidavit such as, Affidavit of Training, Affidavit of Parental Consent/Advice, Affidavit of Singleness, etc.)

• School Records:

Diploma and Transcript of Records (for College) 
Diploma and Form-137 (for High School), 

should be brought to the school where the person graduated from, in order to request for a "certified true copy" of the documents to be signed by the school registrar.  

The school will also issue other documents such as certification/s which will serve as endorsement for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for College, 
and/or the Department of Education (DepEd) for high school. 

Most schools will issue a claim stub to be presented upon claiming the documents at the DFA after 2-3 weeks.

If the school did not issue the claim stub yet, the documents given/issued by the school should be brought to CHED (for College), and/or Dep Ed (for High school), for issuance of a Certification of Authentication and Verification (or CAV).

These offices will issue a claimstub to be presented upon claiming the authenticated document at the DFA after another 1-2 weeks.

When in DFA:

At the scheduled date indicated in the claimstub, the owner should personally pick up the document at the DFA Authentication Office or he/she may issue an SPA to claim the document on his/her behalf.

The person should submit the claim stub to the DFA releasing officer or drop the stub at the designated dropbox, and should wait for his/her name to be called.

If one's name is called, he/she will be given a DFA Official Receipt (O.R.) which one should pay at the Cashier (worth P100 per document).  

After payment one should return the copies of the receipt to the DFA releasing officer, or at the designated dropbox, and should again wait for few minutes for his/her name to be called on the public address system.

When one's name is called, he/she should queue in order to received the final DFA authenticated document. 
(Please note that one should have to check the documents for typo error for the DFA officer to make the necessary  corrections).

Finally, the DFA authenticated document is ready for filing at the Embassy for attestation/legalization.

• Passport:

Some Embassies require the authentication of your passport issued by the DFA, which one should have to bring to the DFA (ground floor) for issuance of a passport certification.

Next, this certification should be brought to the DFA Authentication office (at the same building) to be filed for authentication (Red Ribbon).

Another option, is for one to execute an Affidavit (Re: Affidavit on Issuance of Passport) which should be duly notarized, then be brought to RTC, and then to DFA for authentication.

Copies of the passport should be attached to the affidavit executed.

• TESDA Certification:

Your TESDA Certifications should be brought to TESDA (Depending on the region) for certification as true copy (CTC) of the document, duly signed by an authorized TESDA officer, 

These documents are now ready to be brought to DFA for final Authentication.

• PRC License, Certificates etc.

Original documents should be brought to the PRC main office in Legarda, Manila, for certification as true copy of the original dcoument.  Afterwards, these documents are now ready to be brought to the DFA for Authentication.

You are planning to work abroad, as a salesclerk, office assistant, hotel manager, domestic helper, seafarer, factory worker, etc.

What are necessary documents that a Filipino OFW will need: (As years of working in a recruitment agency i managed to learn some of these tips)

Passport:

You will be needing your Birth Certificate (PSA copy), Marriage Contract (PSA Copy) for married woman

Note: PSA is formerly NSO

If your NSO copy is handwritten or illegible (hindi masyadong mabasa) you will also be needing your birth certificate from the Local Civil Registrar (munisipyo).  
You should get one because some Embassies require this copy to be attached together with the PSA copy upon submission for attestation/legalization.

Most employers require an NBI clearance for your employment abroad, so you might as well get one (this may also serve as additional I.D.s for your passport application)

DFA usually asks for two (2) Valid I.D.s (should be any of the following):

• SSS I.D.
• Company I.D. (kung saan ka kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho)

• Driver's License (better keep LTO O.R. because some offices usually ask for the LTO official receipt so might as well save your O.R. just in case)
• Other Government Issued I.D., like GSIS e-Card, UMID Card, etc.

• Voter's I.D.
• PRC License I.D.
• old Philippine Passport

If you only have one valid I.D., other I.D.s may be presented as additional identifications (any of the following):

• Old Company I.D.s
• Old Student I.D.s
• Voter's I.D.

• TIN Card
• PhilHealth ID

Other supporting documents that may also be presented to the DFA are:

• Transcript of Records (contains data which includes date and place of birth)
• Baptismal Certificate (contains data which includes date and place of birth)

• Voter's Registration Record (data includes date and place of birth and sometimes with picture of the person)

• Diploma
• Yearbook (Highschool or College) contains data which includes picture of person and date of birth

• copy of marriage contract (can be additional supporting document for married male applicant)

Especially if you have discrepancy on data in your birth certificate as opposed to the data in your I.D.s and school records, it is best to bring all supporting documents that you have if you can, so as to avoid denial of your application and being advised to come back only after complying with additional documentations.