Quick answer

Do not rely on a Facebook page, business permit, SEC registration, Japanese employer document, or a photograph of a license. Verify the agency directly through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW):

Search the agency’s exact legal name in the DMW’s Licensed Recruitment Agencies directory.
Confirm that its status is current—not expired, cancelled, suspended, or otherwise inactive.
Match the listed address, contact details, and authorized office with the recruiter you are dealing with.
Search the specific Japan position in the DMW’s Approved Job Orders database.
If the offer is under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) or Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program, also confirm that the agency is currently approved as a Japan sending organization.

All checks must match. A valid agency license does not automatically mean that every job it advertises is authorized.

What “DMW-licensed” means

A DMW license authorizes a private recruitment agency to recruit and place Filipino workers for overseas employment, subject to the license’s validity and applicable conditions. Under the Department of Migrant Workers Act, the DMW regulates the recruitment, employment, and deployment of overseas Filipino workers.

A license is different from:

SEC or DTI registration;
a city or municipal business permit;
accreditation by a training center;
a Japanese company registration;
a visa-assistance service;
a job advertisement; or
a certificate or identification card shown by an individual recruiter.

Those documents may relate to a legitimate business, but none substitutes for an active DMW recruitment license.

Step 1: Get the agency’s exact legal name

Ask the recruiter for:

the agency’s complete registered name;
DMW license number, if available;
office and branch addresses;
landline and official email address;
name and position of the person assisting you;
name of the Japanese employer or principal;
job title and worksite; and
whether the offer is under TITP, SSW, another agency-hire arrangement, or a government-to-government program.

Search the legal agency name—not merely its Facebook page name, acronym, Japanese partner’s name, or marketing brand.

Be cautious if the recruiter refuses to provide these details, changes the agency name during the conversation, or claims that verification is unnecessary because it has “connections” at the embassy, DMW, or immigration.

Step 2: Check the DMW licensed-agency directory

Open the official DMW Licensed Recruitment Agencies directory and search the agency’s name.

Review the entire result. The directory may contain agencies with different statuses, including expired or cancelled agencies, so appearing in a search result is not enough. The status shown must permit the agency to conduct the recruitment activity at the time you apply.

Compare:

exact agency name;
current status;
registered business address;
contact information;
authorized representative, when displayed; and
whether you are dealing with the head office or an authorized branch.

Take a dated screenshot or save a PDF of the result. Agency status can change, so repeat the check before paying money, surrendering original documents, signing a contract, or departing.

If the name does not appear, the status is unclear, or the recruiter says the online record is “not yet updated,” pause the transaction and confirm directly with the DMW through its official contact channels. Do not treat the recruiter’s explanation as verification.

Step 3: Match the recruiter to the licensed agency

Scammers sometimes use the name, logo, address, or documents of a real licensed agency. Confirm that the person contacting you is genuinely connected with that agency.

Use the telephone number or email address displayed on the DMW record or the agency’s independently verified official channel. Do not use only the contact information supplied by the recruiter.

Ask the agency to confirm:

the recruiter’s full name and authority;
the job title and Japanese employer;
the recruitment venue;
any scheduled interview or orientation;
each amount you are being asked to pay; and
the official account or cashier authorized to receive payment.

A personal social-media account, referral by a friend, or group-chat administrator is not proof of authority. Likewise, a calling card or agency ID can be copied.

Recruitment outside the registered office

Recruitment conducted at a hotel, mall, provincial venue, private home, training center, or other location away from the agency’s registered office may require separate DMW authority. Ask to see the relevant Special Recruitment Authority or job-fair authority and verify it with the DMW.

Do not assume an activity is authorized merely because an LGU, school, association, or venue allowed it to take place.

Step 4: Verify the Japan job order

Next, search the DMW Approved Job Orders database. Look for a record connecting the following details:

destination: Japan;
agency;
position or job category;
Japanese principal or employer; and
available or approved job order.

The agency’s license and the job order answer different questions:

Check	What it establishes
Active DMW license	The agency is authorized to operate as an overseas recruitment agency
Approved job order	The agency has DMW-recognized authority to recruit for the stated position and principal
Japan sending-organization approval, when applicable	The agency is approved for the relevant TITP or SSW channel
Worker’s processed contract and exit documents	The individual worker’s deployment has gone through the required process

A licensed agency may advertise jobs for several countries and employers, but it cannot use its license as blanket authority for any Japan vacancy. If the agency is listed but the particular job or employer cannot be verified, do not proceed until the DMW confirms the offer.

Job-order information can also change or be exhausted. A database entry is not a guarantee that a vacancy remains available or that an applicant will be hired.

Step 5: Make the extra Japan-specific check

Japan-bound recruitment may fall under different legal and administrative routes. Ask the agency to identify the route in writing.

TITP and SSW applicants

For recruitment under the Technical Intern Training Program or Specified Skilled Worker program, verify that the agency is not only DMW-licensed but is also on the current DMW-approved list of sending organizations.

The DMW adopted an automated approval and certification system for Japan sending organizations through Memorandum Circular No. 1, series of 2025. Lists and changes have been issued through DMW advisories, including Advisory No. 27, series of 2025.

Because approvals can be granted, renewed, suspended, or withdrawn, use the latest applicable advisory in the DMW’s official advisories index, not an undated copy circulating online.

The MWO-Tokyo TITP guidance and MWO-Tokyo SSW guidance explain document-verification requirements for these programs. MWO verification concerns the employer-side employment documents; it does not replace the applicant’s duty to check the agency’s Philippine license and job order.

Government-to-government vacancies

Some Japan opportunities may be administered through an official government channel rather than an ordinary private-agency advertisement. Verify such openings through the DMW’s Government-to-Government Placement vacancies. Do not pay a private intermediary who claims it can reserve, expedite, or sell a government-program slot.

Direct hiring

Philippine law generally restricts direct hiring of Filipino workers for overseas employment, subject to recognized exemptions and DMW processing. A Japanese employer’s genuine offer does not, by itself, authorize departure as an overseas worker.

If someone tells you to bypass the DMW, enter Japan first, or have the contract “fixed later,” obtain direct guidance from the DMW before proceeding.

Documents and details that should agree

Before signing, compare the agency record, job order, offer, and employment contract. At minimum, the following should be consistent:

agency’s legal name;
Japanese employer or principal;
position and actual duties;
worksite or prefecture;
salary and lawful deductions;
working hours and rest days;
contract duration;
accommodation terms;
transportation and airfare responsibilities;
recruitment or processing charges;
visa or residence status; and
program classification, such as TITP or SSW.

Do not sign blank pages, incomplete forms, loan documents you do not understand, or a second contract with worse terms. Section 6 of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022, prohibits false recruitment information and prejudicial contract substitution, among other acts.

Ask for a complete copy of every document you sign.

Payment precautions

Never pay merely because a recruiter says that slots are running out. Before making any payment:

Confirm the agency, recruiter, job order, employer, and program.
Ask for a written, itemized explanation of the charge and its legal basis.
Confirm the charge with the DMW if anything is unclear.
Pay only through the agency’s authorized channel.
Demand an official receipt stating the exact amount and purpose.
Keep proof of the account holder and transaction.

Under the land-based recruitment rules, any lawful placement fee may be collected only after the worker has signed the DMW-approved employment contract, and the agency must issue a BIR-registered receipt. Some workers or destinations are subject to a no-placement-fee rule, and certain deployment costs are chargeable to the employer. Never assume that a fee is lawful simply because the agency is licensed.

The compulsory insurance premium for an agency-hired worker must not be passed on to the worker. The amended migrant-workers law expressly treats the passing on or salary deduction of that cost as a prohibited act.

Cash paid to a recruiter, “coordinator,” training instructor, or personal e-wallet is especially difficult to recover and may not constitute payment to the agency.

Warning signs that require you to stop

Pause and contact the DMW if any of these occurs:

the agency is absent from the DMW directory;
its status is expired, cancelled, suspended, or otherwise inactive;
the recruiter uses a different agency name for receipts or contracts;
the Japan job or employer cannot be found or confirmed;
the recruiter refuses to identify the Japanese principal;
the offer is supposedly TITP or SSW, but the agency’s sending-organization approval cannot be verified;
the interview or payment is handled only through social media or an encrypted chat;
payment is demanded before you see and sign the approved contract;
money must be sent to a personal bank or e-wallet account;
no official receipt will be issued;
you are told to leave on a tourist, temporary-visitor, or other visa inconsistent with the promised work;
original passports or documents are withheld to force payment;
the contract’s employer, position, salary, or deductions change;
you are pressured by a “final slot” or immediate-departure deadline; or
the recruiter promises departure without normal DMW documentation.

A license does not shield an agency from liability for prohibited conduct. Philippine law recognizes that illegal recruitment and related prohibited acts may also be committed by a licensee or holder of authority.

Evidence to preserve

Keep both digital and paper copies of:

the job advertisement and its URL;
screenshots showing the account name, profile, date, and time;
all text messages, emails, and chat exports;
names, mobile numbers, email addresses, and usernames;
the agency’s DMW search result;
the approved-job-order result;
Japan sending-organization lists or advisories relied upon;
contracts, application forms, and loan papers;
receipts, deposit slips, bank records, and e-wallet transaction details;
photographs of the office, signboard, recruitment venue, and displayed permits;
recruiter IDs and business cards;
interview invitations and attendance records;
passport or visa copies; and
names and contact details of witnesses or other applicants.

Do not edit the original files. Back them up somewhere the recruiter cannot access. Write a simple timeline while events are fresh, identifying who said what, when, where, and how much was requested or paid.

If the offer cannot be verified

Do not pay, sign additional documents, surrender your passport, resign from your current job, or book travel.

Contact the DMW through:

DMW Contact Us;
DMW–OWWA Hotline 1348; or
info@dmw.gov.ph.

Provide the exact agency name, recruiter’s identity, job title, Japanese employer, screenshots, payment instructions, and any license or job-order number given to you. Ask a precise question: whether the agency is currently authorized to recruit you for that particular Japan job and at that location.

If you already paid, obtain copies of the transaction records immediately and notify the bank or e-wallet provider about suspected fraud. Do not delete or block the recruiter until you have preserved the communications, unless continued contact puts you at risk.

When help is urgent

Seek immediate assistance if:

your passport or original documents are being withheld;
you are being threatened or coerced;
departure is imminent but the visa, contract, or job is inconsistent;
the recruiter is collecting money from multiple applicants and may disappear;
you have been instructed to lie to immigration authorities;
you suspect trafficking, confinement, debt bondage, or document falsification; or
you are already in Japan and the employer, job, salary, or status differs from what was promised.

Contact the DMW, the appropriate law-enforcement agency, or—if already abroad—the Philippine Embassy or the Migrant Workers Office serving your location. In an immediate physical emergency, contact local emergency services first.

Illegal recruitment by a non-licensee includes canvassing, enlisting, contracting, referring, or promising overseas employment, whether or not done for profit. Under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022, ordinary illegal recruitment is punishable by 12 years and one day to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of ₱1 million to ₱2 million. Harsher penalties apply when the offense constitutes economic sabotage. Whether a particular person is criminally liable depends on the evidence and must be determined through the proper legal process.

Common mistakes

Checking only whether the agency name appears online

The result may show that the license is expired or cancelled. Read the status and details, not just the name.

Verifying the agency but not the job order

A valid license does not establish authority for the particular Japan employer and position being offered.

Using an old TITP or SSW list

Sending-organization approval can change. Check the latest DMW advisory and confirm current status.

Trusting a recruiter because the real agency exists

Impersonation is common. Call the agency through independently verified contact details and confirm the recruiter and vacancy.

Treating a visa as proof of lawful recruitment

A visa addresses entry or residence under Japanese law. It does not prove compliance with Philippine recruitment and deployment requirements.

Paying without an official receipt

Screenshots of a chat acknowledging payment are useful evidence, but they are not a substitute for an official, itemized receipt from the authorized agency.

Assuming a training center is a recruitment agency

A language school, assessment center, review center, or training provider cannot recruit workers for Japan merely because it works with employers or licensed agencies.

Frequently asked questions

If the agency appears in the DMW directory, is it automatically safe?

No. Confirm its current status, the identity of the recruiter, the recruitment location, the Japan job order, and any required TITP or SSW sending-organization approval. A licensed agency can still commit prohibited acts.

What if the agency says its renewal is pending?

Do not assume it may continue recruiting. Ask the DMW whether its current status authorizes recruitment and processing. A recruiter’s letter, application receipt, or promise of retroactive approval is not enough.

What if the job order is not visible online?

The record may require a different spelling or may not yet be available, but that does not justify proceeding blindly. Ask the agency for the exact job-order details and obtain confirmation directly from the DMW before paying or signing.

Can a sub-agent or provincial coordinator collect my payment?

Do not pay unless the licensed agency confirms in writing that the person and payment channel are authorized and the charge is lawful. Insist on an official agency receipt.

Is a Japanese employer allowed to recruit me directly through social media?

A genuine employer may communicate with an applicant, but direct hiring is generally restricted and must fall within a recognized exemption and DMW process. Confirm the correct route before accepting, paying, or travelling.

Does an approved job order guarantee employment?

No. It indicates approved recruitment authority for the stated position and principal. Hiring still depends on selection, contract completion, medical and documentary requirements, immigration approval, and DMW processing.

Should I give the agency my original passport?

An agency may need to process genuine travel and employment documents, but you should obtain a written acknowledgment whenever an original is surrendered. Withholding a travel document to force payment or for an unauthorized reason is prohibited.

Where can I check official Japan employment requirements?

Use the DMW website and the official Migrant Workers Office sites for Tokyo and Osaka, depending on the employer’s location and the applicable process.

Official sources

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular application, contract, payment, or dispute. Agency status, job orders, Japan-program approvals, and procedures can change. Verify the current records with the DMW and obtain advice based on your documents when necessary. Official sources last checked: 3 September 2026.