The public is hereby informed that documents issued or executed in the U.S. that are to be used in the Philippines need to be notarized by a notary public, and apostilled by the designated state authorities, i.e. the Office of the Secretary of State, or the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (in the case of the states of Alaska and ­Utah), in order to be given legal effect in the Philippines.

For purposes of notarization, the public may secure the services of any notary public nearest their place of residence. Once notarized and apostilled, the documents may already be used in the Philippines, without need of authentication by the Philippine Consulate General.

Documents for Use in the Philippines

Documents intended for use in the Philippines and needing notarization and/or apostillization may include US-issued  birth/marriage/death certificates, transcripts and other school records, affidavits, powers of attorney, sworn statements, bank-related/corporate documents, insurance/retirement documents, contracts, deeds, and documents regarding settlement of properties and estates, court-related documents such as sworn statements, waiver and quitclaim.

For information on Apostille requirements, applicants are advised to visit the following websites:

Documents needed for Consular Services

Applicants for dual citizenship, passport, or civil registration who need to have their consular forms and affidavits notarized may also secure the services of any notary public of their choice nearest their place of residence. They can have their affidavits/statements notarized prior to submitting them to the Consulate.

Notarized affidavits are needed in the following instances:

Dual citizenship application - in cases when the applicant’s U.S. naturalization certificate is lost or cannot be found, or when there are discrepancies in the names or dates in the applicant’s civil registry records;

Passport application - when passport is lost or there are passport entries that need to be changed or corrected;

Civil registration - when registration of birth, marriage, or death is delayed; when father needs to acknowledge paternity and mother/child needs to request for use of father’s surname in the report of birth (for illegitimate births); and for those filing renunciation of their Filipino citizenship.

For more information/assistance, please email the concerned sections at the following:

23 October 2020, San Francisco