Correcting your NSO Birth Certificate (3 Major Corrections Explained)

by lawyerphilippinesadmin | May 2, 2018 | Family Law, PSA Issues, Naturalization &

Others

Process Birth Certificate

If you’re looking to correct or change information on your birth certificate, then this
post is for you.

I provide an overview of all the administrative changes you can do including costs,
timeline, process and requirements (with the exception of illegitimate children,
which I do not handle here).

I also provide an overview of the cost, timeline, process and requirements should
you need to go to Court.
I also recommend that you read this post before reading the post specifically for
OFWs, filipinos born and registered abroad or for Filipinos abroad. Their
circumstances are different but the process for fixing their birth certificate is based
on this local process.

Contents[hide]

There was some really great practical advice from the Local Registrars that I haven’t
seen written about elsewhere.
1. As much as possible, go to the Civil Registrar where your birth was recorded.
You might also decide to give a relative a Special Power of Attorney and
photocopies of IDs and ask them to do it. Otherwise, you will be billed a migrant
fee (which is still a cost albeit a minimal one) and the process will take longer due
to the coordination between the Local Civil Registrar of your Birth and your
Current Local Civil Registrar.
2. First, figure out which Administrative proceeding you need to do. There are
three main administrative proceedings – Change of First Name, Correction of
Clerical Error and Supplemental Report. Please note I don’t include
illegitimate children in this post. Each has a different cost, timeline, set of
requirements and process. It’s really important for you to know which one you fall
under so that you don’t have many problems. (Check out our Quick Reference
List.)
3. A maximum of 2 Supplemental Reports can be filed. You’ll have to file for
Correction of Clerical Error if there are more and the PSA Main will usually be
asked to approve it.
4. If you are filing two requests together, you will only be charged the more
expensive cost. In the example I discussed with the Muntinlupa Civil Registrar,
the 1,000 peso charge for the Correction of Clerical Error petition was waived
 because the person was also filing a Petition for Change of First Name and this
had a 3,000 peso charge.
5. If you are correcting your sex from male to female or from female to male,
you must go to the Local Civil Registrar yourself. This cannot be done by another.
However, you’ll only have to file a Supplemental Report if the sex has been left
blank or both sexes are checked. (reference is a call with the Quezon City Local
Civil Registrar)
6. Be prepared for variation. While there are PSA Guidelines, implementation is
often uneven.
7. I have written a general outline here only as I found enough difference in the
processes that presenting more would be futile. I’d really urge you to call ahead.
8. Bring photocopies and originals, and note that for some cases it is much
better if you have more documents than strictly required.
9. I’ve spoken to many Local Civil Registrars while doing this post but our
experience is mainly in judicial proceedings relating to substantial Birth Certificate
Changes.

Why You Need to Correct Your Birth Certificate

You need to correct your birth certificate so that your real name is reflected on
your passport and to take the bar or board, among many others
Most people have no trouble with incorrect Birth Certificates till they start to interact
with licensing bodies, the government or other countries.
 For instance, people often correct their Birth Certificate to take the board exam. The
PRC is pretty strict and it requires your name be exactly as it’s spelled on your Birth
Certificate.

In addition, passports and visas require the exact name and a complete place of
birth to be on a birth certificate.
Big or substantive changes require a court proceeding but are even more important
to do. They affect inheritances, property rights or benefits and must be fixed as soon
as possible.

As such, you should really fix any errors or omissions in your Birth Certificate as
soon as you can.

This can really help to avoid problems down the line.

Things You Can Change Yourself: Administrative Proceedings

Thanks to RA 9048 and its amendment 10172, you can correct a lot oferrors by
yourself.

I’ve compiled them into a Quick Reference List below:

1. Change of First Name

 First Name Used is Different from First Name on Birth Certificate
 First Name on Birth Certificate is Baby Boy, Baby Girl, Boy or Girl and the
Child was Born 1993 onwards (Quezon City Local Civil Registrar stated this was
Supplemental Report but PSA guidelines state otherwise).

Yup, you can correct a lot of birth certificate errors yourself.

2. Wrong Gender or Date of Birth (R.A. 10172)

 Wrong Gender is checked
 Day or Month of Birth is wrong
3. Correction of Clerical Error
 Blurred First, Middle or Last Name
 Mother’s Middle Name is Wrong and Child’s is Correct
 Child’s Middle Name is Wrong and Mother’s is Correct
 Wrong Spelling of First Name, Middle Name, Last Name
 Interchanged Middle and Last Name
 Middle Initial Entered Instead of Full Last Name
 Wrong gender checked (Muntinlupa Civil Registrar)
4. Supplemental Report
 No First Name, No Last Name, No Middle Name if Legitimate or No Middle
Name if Illegitimate and Acknowledged by the Father
 First Name on Birth Certificate is Baby Boy, Baby Girl, Boy or Girl and the
Child was Born before 1993
 No check mark for gender or both genders checked (as per Muntinlupa Civil
Registrar)
 Illegitimate Child While this is an administrative proceeding, this is under RA
9255 and I do not cover this in this post. It allows the child to use the surname of
his father but does not change the child’s status to legitimate or illegitimate.
Changes to status require a court proceeding.
If you don’t see the correction you need in this list, remember that administrative
proceedings correct entries.
This ranges from things as mundane as two letters being interchanged, or to the
insertion of a missing syllable in a child’s last name while the other last names were
correctly spelled.
As long as the error is clearly an encoding error and you’ve got supporting proof, a
petition filed directly with your Local Civil Register will succeed.
If you don’t find your change here, take a long hard look at your Birth Certificate.
If you objectively think that it’s so clear it was an encoding error was made, then
you’d likely fall under a simple administrative proceeding.
Still not sure where you fall under?
Call the Legal Department of the Philippine Statistics Authority at +632-938-
5273 and they’ll be happy to talk to you. I’ve spoken to them and they were
remarkably helpful.
Or you might want to send a physical letter to Atty. Lourdines C. Dela Cruz, Director
III, 4/F PSA-TAM Bldg., East Avenue, Quezon City, 1101.
Do not  send email – they’ve told me this sometimes gets lost.
(And yes, always follow up.)
If you don’t fall under any of these things and you’ve checked with the Legal
Department of the Philippine Statistics Authority, check out our section on judicial
proceedings.

Administrative Proceeding 1: Change of First Name

A Change of First Name Petition is really only to correct the first name on your birth
certificate if it’s different from what you habitually use or if it’s Baby Boy, Baby Girl,
Boy or Girl and you were born after 1993 (As per PSA Guidelines, but Quezon City
Local Civil Registrar classifies it as a Supplemental Report).
A Change of First Name Petition requires the most documents and is the longest and
most expensive administrative proceeding.

You can change your first name by yourself.

Timeline: 4 to 7 months (or longer!)
Cost: 7,000 pesos or higher (3,000 for the petition, 1,200 to 2,500 for publication,
and notarization and other fees related gathering other requirements)
Requirements: Bring originals and several photocopies of the information required
below. As far as I can tell, you’ll really need to have all the documents, since this is
one of the more stringent administrative cases. All documents should show
the correct entry.
 Petition for Change of Name, notarized. You’ll get this at your Local Civil
Registrar
 Philippine Statistics Authority Birth Certificate (SECPA)
 NBI Clearance
 PNP Clearance
 Certificate of Employment or Affadavit of Non-Employment
 Community Tax Certificate
 Baptismal Certificate
 School Record Form 137 / Diplomas and Transcripts
 Medical Certificate
 Any 2 Valid IDs: SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, Pag-ibig, Voter’s ID, Company ID,
Drivers ID, PRC License, Land Title/Certificate of Transfer of Title, Bank Records and
also Marriage Certificate
 Just a note. In my conversations with the Local Civil Registrars, they told me
that it is best to present as much proof as you can. The proof you present must
show the correct information for the entry that you wish to have fixed. This helps
your petition succeed.
Process:
 Your process would be to first get the form at the Local Civil Registrar of your
Birth to get the checklist and make sure you are filing the right kind of petition.
 You would then submit a notarized copy with your attached documents.
 Pay your fees.
 Present your receipt, secure the notice of publication, and wait for the Local
Civil Registrar to prepare your petition.
 You will then have to wait for your documents to be posted for ten days and
for your petition to be published in a newspaper for two weeks. This can happen at
the same time.
 You will get this proof of publication and your endorsement from the Local
Civil Registrar of your Birth and then send it off to the Office of the Civil Registrar
General in Manila.
 It takes 1-3 months for the Central Civil Registrar to process this. It is
advisable to follow up.
 After the Office of the Civil Registrar General affirms your petition, you will
send it back to your Local Civil Registrar for certification.
 You will need to get the certified copy from your Local Civil Registrar and
have it forwarded to the PSA for them to annotate it and send you your annotated
Birth Certificate.
 The going back and forth takes even longer if you do not start the process at
the Local Civil Registrar of your Birth since they are really the ones who will make
the adjustment.
 If your birth was reported to a Philippine embassy and you are now in the
Philippines, if you are abroad but your birth was reported to a local civil registrar in
the Philippines, or if you are abroad and your birth was reported abroad, you should
read this post. It deals specifically with these issues.

First-hand Accounts and Websites that Help:

1. Change of First Name – Added a second first name
2. Philippine Statistics Authority

Administrative Proceeding 2: Change of Gender or Correction of

Day or Month of Birth

You can also correct your gender and the month and day of your birth.
When your gender on your birth certificate is blank or both male and female are
checked, you file a supplemental report. When the wrong gender is checked, you file
under R.A. 10172. You would also have to personally appear before an accredited
government physician (There is usually one at your local registrar or you can ask
them who you can go to).
In addition, you can file for correction of day or month of birth. If you are trying to
correct the year, you must file a judicial proceeding.
Timeline: 4 to 7 months (and it may be longer!)
Cost: 7,000 pesos or higher (3,000 for the petition, 1,200 to 2,500 for publication,
and notarization and other document related fees )
Requirements: Bring originals and several photocopies of the information required
below. This is also a pretty stringent administrative case and you should really
prepare all your documents which should show the correct entry.
 Notarized Petition. You’ll get this at your Local Civil Registrar
 Philippine Statistics Authority Birth Certificate (SECPA)
 NBI Clearance
 PNP Clearance
 Certificate of Employment or Affadavit of Non-Employment
 Community Tax Certificate
 Baptismal Certificate
 School Records
 Medical Certificate
 Any 2 Valid IDs: SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, Pag-ibig, Voter’s ID, Company ID,
Drivers ID, PRC License, Land Title/Certificate of Transfer of Title, Bank Records and
also Marriage Certificate
 Again, please present as much proof as you can.

Process:
 With the exception of also undergoing a medical exam from a licensed
practitioner, the process is almost exactly the same as that for change of first name.
 Always call your local civil registrar beforehand to counter check.
 Again, I really suggest that you go to the civil registrar that your birth was
reported to a file there. Otherwise it will be a migrant petition and this will take
much longer. If your birth was reported to a Philippine embassy and you are now in
the Philippines, if you are abroad but your birth was reported to a local civil registrar
in the Philippines, or if you are abroad and your birth was reported abroad, you
should read this post. It deals specifically with these issues.

Administrative Proceeding 3: Correction of Clerical Error

You can correct clear clerical errors, such as when a name is misspelled.
Timeline: 2 to 5 months but this can vary
Cost: 1,000 for the petition but notarization and other document processing fees
may bring it up to 2,000.
Requirements: Documents needed are the Philippine Statistics Authority Birth
Certificate (SECPA) and at least 2 of the following:
 Voter’s Affidavit
 Employment Record
 GSIS Record
 SSS Record
 Medical Record
 Business Record
 School Record
 Driver’s License
 Insurance
 Civil Registry records of ascendants
 Land Titles
 Certificate of Land Transfer
 NBI/Police Clearance
 To be honest, given what I’ve seen of the Local Civil Registrars, I would
prefer to present as many documents that support my case. Some petitions do get
disapproved, mostly for lack of convincing evidence.
Process:
 Go to the Local Civil Registrar and verify that a Correction of Clerical Entry is
what you need to file. Also ask for the documents required.
 You’ll need to fill up the form, attach your documents, and submit this during
your interview with the Local Civil Registrar.
 Pay the fees at local treasury office.
 Present your receipt at the Local Civil Registrar.
 Return to pick up your approved petition.
 Mail your approved petition to the Office of the Civil Registrar General and
make sure you keep the receipt of the forwarder/courier together with the duplicate
copy of the mailed documents.
 Follow up with the Local Civil Registrar for the decision of the Office of the
Civil Registrar General. An approved petition will allow you to get a Certificate of
Finality.
 Mail your Certificate of Finality to the Office of the Civil Registrar General
along with additional records such as the Endorsement letter, etc.
 You can then get your annotated Birth Certificate from the PSA
 If your birth was reported to a Philippine embassy and you are now in the
Philippines, if you are abroad but your birth was reported to a local civil registrar in
the Philippines, or if you are abroad and your birth was reported abroad, you should
read this post. It deals specifically with these issues.
First-hand Accounts and Websites that Help:
1. Philippine Statistics Authority
2. Manila Civil Registrar
3. Makati Civil Registrar
Administrative Proceeding 4: Supplemental

Missing information is corrected through a supplemental report.

A Supplemental report is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to address an
omission on your Birth Certificate.
You can do a maximum of 2 changes through a Supplemental Report but more
would require you to file a Correction of Clerical Error Report.
Timeline: A month (usually)
Cost: 1,000 pesos approximately although it can be less.
 Documents: Bring originals and photocopies of your NSO Birth Certificate and any 2
(although I know Makati requests 3) official documents that show the correct
entry.
Depending on what you are trying to prove, the documents will change. Ask your
Local Civil Registrar what is pertinent to your case before you go.
Documents needed are the Philippine Statistics Authority Birth Certificate (SECPA)
and at least 2 of the below:
 Voter’s Affidavit
 Employment Record
 GSIS Record
 SSS Record
 Medical Record
 Business Record
 School Record
 Driver’s License
 Insurance
 Civil Registry records of ascendants
 Land Titles
 Certificate of Land Transfer
 NBI/Police Clearance
 These are general requirements but I think these are the same for many
others. Still, please check with your local Civil Registrar.
Process:
 Go to the Local Civil Registrar and verify that a Correction of Clerical Entry is
what you need to file. Also ask for the documents required.
 Fill up the Supplemental report and attach all your documents.
 Pay the fee.
 Submit the receipt.
 Your Local Civil Registrar will need to process your report, which you will need
to pick up after a few days.
 Mail or personally submit the Supplemental Report to the Office of the Civil
Registrar General.
 You can then already apply for your amended Certificate of Live Birth.
 If your birth was reported to a Philippine embassy and you are now in the
Philippines, if you are abroad but your birth was reported to a local civil registrar in
the Philippines, or if you are abroad and your birth was reported abroad, you should
read this post. It deals specifically with these issues.
First-hand Accounts and Websites that Help:
 Supplemental Report – Missing Place of Birth
 Supplemental Report – No Middle Name
 Supplemental Report – Missing Gender
 Supplemental Report – No First Name
 Philippine Statistics Authority
Changes You Cannot Do Yourself: Judicial Proceedings
Errors on the birth year, nationality, or anything that affects status must go to
court

If your case doesn’t fit in anywhere or your petition has been denied, you might
have to think about going to court.

Judicial Proceedings cover the below items:

1. Changes in birth year
2. Substantial changes to your mother’s or father’s last names
3. Nationality
4. Anything affecting legitimacy such as whether your parents were married.
5. Additionally, the law does not allow you to completely change your name as it
only addresses encoding errors.

Essentially, when you start to hit things that have a profound bearing on your legal
or inheritance rights or want to completely change last names, then a court
proceeding is necessary.

What are the documents you need?

As with any court case where you are trying to prove anything, the more pertinent
information you present the better.
So if you’re trying to prove that your father was an American citizen, you’ll have to
present documents that prove that.
Your father’s passport and your siblings’ Birth Certificates would be great supporting
information in that case. There will definitely be other documents that you should
prepare, but you get the picture.
Take note that all persons who may have an interest in these proceedings will need
to be informed of this process.
This is a very firm requirement under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court and it cannot
be waived. The case may not succeed otherwise.

What is the Court Process?

After gathering your documents, you’ll need to engage a lawyer to draft your
Petition. The Petition will be signed by the lawyer and sworn to by the Petitioner.
It will then be filed in appropriate branch of the Regional Trial Court with its
supporting documents. It will be raffled to a branch of the Regional Trial Court.

You and your lawyer will go through several steps to correct your birth
certificate at court
The Petition will be published in a random newspaper once a week for three weeks.
The lawyer will present to the Court the proof of publication and proof of notice to
the required parties on the first hearing date. These will then be marked into the
court’s record.
The evidence will be presented on the subsequent hearing dates.
The witness can be a relative or yourself and often may only require a written
affidavit to attest to the authenticity of the documents.
All persons who have a claim or interest need to be formally informed of the court
process.
For instance, if you want to change the name of your father on your birth certificate,
you are going to have to inform your father, your siblings, the Civil Registrar, etc.
Additionally, this type of proceeding can even be done while you are abroad so long
as you have the documents and someone to attest to their authenticity.

How long does it take?

You should expect a case to take about a year to a year and a half, although it may
take longer should the case be more complicated and especially if one of the
respondents opposes the case.

Court takes a year to a year and a half

The reason that the case may take this long is that all the parties interested must be
notified and that the petition must be published in a newspaper.
The process of raffling to the newspaper, arranging publication and then presenting
this proof in court takes up time. The simple act of informing all parties interested in
the case also takes up time.
In addition, a Petition for Change of Name requires that a hearing not take place
within 4 months after the last Publication Notice, further extending the process.
You may have also have heard that Philippine Courts are very clogged. This is
unfortunately very true. Hearings may be months apart.
Due to this and other side issues, the Court process is expected to take up the entire
year or year and a half.
You should present the full case and all facts to your lawyer to ensure that the
process is as quick as can be.
Your lawyer can then minimize side issues and plan the work effectively so as to get
it done in the least amount of time.

How much does it cost?

Cost will be charged over the year and are due to court, publication and lawyer
fees.

You will have to prepare a certain amount for court fees.

These may include the initial filing fee and sheriff’s fees. There are photocopying
costs, postage and notarization fees.

You will also have to prepare for newspaper fees to comply with the three-week
publication requirement.

Your lawyer’s professional fees will include an acceptance fee, where he commits to
study the case, provide advice on what evidence to present and forgo other cases
for your case. Often, this will depend on how complicated a case may be. Some
cases can really be quite involved.

Subsequent fees are pleading fees and Court appearance fees. The cost for this
depends on how involved the pleadings are or how far the Court is and are often
agreed upon when you initially consult with your lawyer.