The short and unequivocal answer is yes. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) birth certificate issued to a legally adopted child is the child’s official, authentic, and fully valid birth certificate for all legal, government, and civil purposes in the Philippines. It is not a “secondary” or “substitute” document—it is the primary and exclusive birth record that the State recognizes for the adopted child after the adoption becomes final.

Legal Foundation

The rule is rooted in several laws and issuances:

Article 189, Family Code of the Philippines
“The adoptee shall be considered the legitimate child of the adopter(s) for all intents and purposes.”
Section 16, Republic Act No. 8552 (Domestic Adoption Act of 1998), as amended by Republic Act No. 11642 (Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act of 2022)
“The adoption shall be recorded in the civil register, and the civil registrar shall accordingly issue a new Certificate of Live Birth indicating the adoptive parent(s) as the parent(s) of the child and the name by which the child is to be known after adoption.”
Section 21, Republic Act No. 8043 (Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995)
Provides the same rule for children adopted through inter-country adoption.
PSA Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2017 (Rules and Regulations Governing the Registration of Amended Certificates of Live Birth for Legally Adopted Children)
Explicitly states that the amended Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) issued after adoption shall be the official birth certificate of the adoptee and shall be used for all legal purposes.

The original birth certificate is annotated with the fact of adoption and sealed by order of the court (or the National Authority for Child Care in administrative adoption cases). It becomes confidential and can only be opened by court order upon compelling reasons.

What the PSA Birth Certificate of an Adopted Child Contains

The PSA-issued birth certificate of an adopted child contains:

The name chosen by the adoptive parent(s)
The names of the adoptive parent(s) as father and mother
The date and place of birth of the child (actual, not changed)
In most cases, no indication whatsoever that the child is adopted (except in very old decrees before 2000 where some registrars still wrote “adopted” in remarks)

Since approximately 2005, the standard practice nationwide is to issue a “clean” birth certificate with no annotation of adoption visible. This is deliberate policy to protect the child from discrimination and to give full effect to the legal fiction that the child is born to the adoptive parents.

Accepted Government Agencies and Purposes

The PSA birth certificate of an adopted child is accepted without question by:

Department of Foreign Affairs (passport issuance and authentication)
Land Transportation Office (driver’s license)
Social Security System (SSS)
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
PhilHealth
Pag-IBIG Fund
Commission on Elections (voter registration)
Professional Regulation Commission (board exams and licensure)
Schools and universities (enrollment)
Banks (account opening, loan applications)
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI clearance)
Philippine National Police (police clearance, firearm license)
Courts (for marriage license, inheritance cases, etc.)
Bureau of Immigration (visa extensions, dual citizenship, etc.)

The DFA, in particular, has issued numerous memoranda since 2008 confirming that adopted children shall use only their amended PSA birth certificate and that the original birth certificate is no longer valid for passport purposes.

Special Cases and Persistent Myths

Late-Registered Original Birth Certificate Still Circulating
Some adoptive parents worry because the child’s original late-registered birth certificate (especially in foundling or relative adoption cases) is still being used in school.
This is legally incorrect. Once the Amended COLB is issued by PSA, the original becomes void for all legal intents and purposes. Schools that insist on seeing the “original” are simply unaware of the law. A simple letter citing RA 8552 Section 16 and PSA AO 1-2017 resolves the issue.
Adoptions Finalized Before 1998 (under the old Child and Youth Welfare Code)
The same rule applies. The Supreme Court has ruled in several cases (e.g., Republic v. Hernandez, G.R. No. 117209, 1999, and In Re: Petition for Change of Name of Julian Lin Carulasan Wang, G.R. No. 159966, 2005) that the amended birth certificate completely supplants the original.
Administrative Adoption under RA 11642 (effective 2023)
The process is now faster and handled by the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), but the legal effect on the birth certificate is identical: a new PSA birth certificate is issued showing the adoptive parents.
Rectified Simulated Birth Cases under RA 11222 (Simulated Birth Rectification Act of 2019)
Children whose “adoption” was previously done through simulation of birth (illegal before 2019) can now have their birth certificates rectified either judicially or administratively. Once rectified and a new PSA birth certificate is issued, it enjoys exactly the same full legal effect as a regular adoption birth certificate.
Inter-Country Adoption
Children adopted abroad by Filipino citizens who later return to the Philippines can have their foreign adoption decree recognized via a Philippine court order (or, in some cases, through the NACC). Once recognized, the PSA issues a Philippine birth certificate listing the Filipino adoptive parents. This Philippine PSA birth certificate is what is used for all local purposes.

When the Original Birth Certificate May Still Surface (Rare)

The sealed original record may be opened only:

By court order in a proper case (e.g., criminal investigation involving biological identity, or medical necessity for genetic history)
In cases where the adoption is annulled or rescinded (extremely rare and difficult)

In inheritance disputes, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the adoptee is the legitimate child of the adopter and inherits exclusively from the adoptive family unless the adoption is void ab initio.

Conclusion

In Philippine law and practice, there is no distinction in legal effect between a birth certificate issued at birth to biological parents and a PSA birth certificate issued after legal adoption. Both are equally authentic, equally valid, and equally sufficient for all government and private transactions.

The adopted child does not need to disclose the fact of adoption in any government form or transaction unless the form specifically asks for it (which almost none do). The State treats the adoptive family as the only family of the child for all civil purposes.

Therefore, adoptive parents may confidently use the PSA birth certificate of their adopted child for every legal and government requirement in the Philippines. Any agency or person who refuses to accept it is acting contrary to law and may be compelled to do so through simple written demand or, if necessary, a petition for mandamus.