FEES FOR THE CORRECTION OF CLERICAL ERROR IN A PHILIPPINE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
(A Practitioner-Focused Guide)
I. Governing Statutes and Regulations
- Republic Act No. 9048 (2001) – Allows administrative correction of (a) purely clerical or typographical errors in civil-registry entries and (b) change of a person’s first name or nickname, without need of a judicial petition.
- Republic Act No. 10172 (2012) – Amends R.A. 9048 to include administrative correction of the day and/or month in the date of birth, and of the registrant’s sex when the error is clerical/typographical in nature.
- 2013 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of R.A. 9048, as amended – Issued jointly by the Civil Registrar-General (CRG) and the Department of Justice; fixes the official schedule of fees and the manner of payment.
Key premise: Only errors that are visible on the face of the record and “manifestly due to clerical or typographical mistake” qualify. Otherwise, one must proceed under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court (a judicial petition, with no fixed fee schedule).
II. Core Filing/Service Fees under R.A. 9048, as amended
| Nature of Petition | Where Filed | Statutory Service Fee1 | Statutory Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clerical / typographical error (e.g., spelling, misplaced letter/number, wrong middle initial) | Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) in the Philippines | ₱1,000.00 | R.A. 9048 § 8 (as amended) |
| Same, filed abroad (Philippine Consulate) | US $50.00 (or its peso equivalent) | ibid. | |
| Day / Month of birth or Sex (also treated as clerical if obvious) | LCRO (Philippines) | ₱3,000.00 | R.A. 10172 § 3 (amending § 8) |
| Same, filed abroad | US $150.00 | ibid. |
1These are “service fees” received by the City/Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General. In practice the LGU issues an Official Receipt and remits the national share to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
III. Ancillary Costs You Should Budget For
| Item | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) on the verified petition | ₱30.00 | Sec. 188, Tax Code; affixed to each original petition. |
| Notarial fee for verification & certification of documents | ₱200 – ₱500 (Metro areas) | Market-driven; outside statute. |
| Certified true copy of the annotated record from PSA after approval | ₱155.00 for first copy, ₱140.00 per additional (walk-in); plus courier if online | Current PSA fees under Admin. Order 1-2021. |
| Endorsement/transmittal fee (LCRO to PSA) | ₱30 – ₱80 | Varies per LGU; usually grafted onto the receipt. |
| Posting fee (10 days for clerical errors; 15 days for R.A. 10172 cases) | Normally included in the ₱1,000/₱3,000 service fee | LCRO prints and displays notice on its bulletin board. |
| Publication fee | ₱3,000 – ₱12,000 | Not required for clerical errors. Only petitions for Change of First Name/Nickname (CFN) must be published (once a week for two consecutive weeks) in a newspaper of general circulation selected by the petitioner. |
| Courier / DFA authentication (for migrants) | Variable | Only if needed for foreign use. |
IV. Exemptions, Reductions & Surcharges
- Indigent Petitioners. The IRR authorises the Local Civil Registrar to waive the filing fee upon proof that the petitioner is a certified solo parent, a 4Ps beneficiary, or otherwise falls below the poverty threshold certified by the DSWD or the barangay.
- Multiple Errors. Each distinct entry corrected is charged independently. If a birth record contains both a misspelled surname and a wrong day of birth, fees are ₱1,000 + ₱3,000.
- Failure to Pay / False Statements. Under § 11 of R.A. 9048, falsification attracts criminal liability (prisión correccional and/or fine up to ₱100,000). There is no “surcharge” for late filing; the fee is the same even if the certificate is decades old.
V. How & Where to Pay
Step 1 – Verification. The LCRO screens the petition and supporting documents. Once complete, the cashier issues an Order of Payment.
Step 2 – Official Receipt. Pay at the city/municipal treasurer or at the consulate’s cashier. Keep two (2) copies of the O.R. – one for your records, one for attachment when requesting PSA copies later.
Step 3 – Allocation.
- 60 % of the service fee accrues to the LCRO’s Trust Fund to defray publication/posting, supplies, and honoraria;
- 40 % is remitted to the PSA (formerly NSO) under the CRG-LCRO revenue-sharing scheme in the IRR.
VI. Timeline & Resultant PSA Fee Cycle
- Posting Period (10 or 15 days)
- Decision by the Civil Registrar (~5 working days after posting)
- Transmittal to PSA – LCRO endorses the approved petition and supporting papers to PSA-Legal.
- PSA Annotation (6 – 10 weeks)
- Payment for Certified Copies – Applicant pays the PSA issuance fee (₱155) when requesting the first annotated copy.
VII. Practical Pointers
Itemise Early. For a standard in-country clerical correction expect:
- ₱1,000 service fee + ₱30 DST + ₱300 notarisation + ₱155 PSA = ≈ ₱1,485 total, exclusive of travel.
One Petition, One Error. The PSA will reject a “blanket” petition covering errors of different nature (e.g., surname spelling and birth order). File separate petitions to avoid delay.
Check Other Records. If the error also appears in the marriage certificate or child’s birth certificate, each will need its own petition (and fee) or a Rule 108 action.
For OFWs. Filing with the consulate is costlier (US $50), but it saves courier time. You may still authorise a relative in the Philippines via Special Power of Attorney to file locally and pay ₱1,000 instead.
Keep Official Receipts Indefinitely. You will need them every time you order PSA copies showing the marginal annotation even years later.
VIII. Comparison with Judicial Correction (Rule 108)
| Aspect | Administrative (R.A. 9048/10172) | Judicial (Rule 108) |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | Fixed (₱1,000 / ₱3,000) | ₱4,000 – ₱8,000 (varies by court, excludes sheriff’s fees) |
| Publication | None for clerical error | Mandatory (once a week for 3 weeks) |
| Duration | 3 – 6 months typical | 9 – 18 months typical |
| Lawyers’ Fees | Optional | Usually ₱20,000 – ₱60,000 up |
For simple clerical mistakes, the administrative route is therefore exponentially cheaper.
IX. Penalties for Civil-Registrar Personnel
A registrar who illegally collects more than the authorised fees, or who delays action without cause, commits a violation of R.A. 11032 (Ease of Doing Business Act) in addition to R.A. 9048 § 11, punishable by administrative fines or dismissal. Keep your receipts and report over-collection to the PSA Legal Division.
X. Conclusion
The headline numbers—₱1,000 locally (or US $50 abroad) for plain clerical errors, ₱3,000 for day/month or sex corrections—have remained unchanged since 2012. While ancillary costs can nudge the real-world outlay higher, the administrative remedy under R.A. 9048, as amended, remains the fastest and least expensive path to an error-free birth certificate. Careful budgeting for notarisation, PSA copy fees, and (where applicable) publication ensures there are no surprise expenses, and strict observance of the documentary checklist keeps the process on schedule.