Quick answer

Do not rely on an agency’s claim that it is “Japan-accredited.” Before applying, paying, submitting original documents, or undergoing medical or training, verify all of the following:

The Philippine recruitment agency currently has a valid Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) license.
It has a DMW-approved, still-active job order for the exact Japanese employer, position, worksite, and number of vacancies being offered.
If the offer is under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) or Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program, the agency is also on the current DMW list of approved and certified sending organizations.
The person dealing with you is an authorized representative of that agency and is recruiting at an authorized location.
The employment contract and visa category match the advertised job.

A valid agency license alone is not enough. A legitimate agency may recruit only for positions covered by its own approved job orders, and special Japan programs may require additional sending-organization approval.

What “accredited for Japan” should mean

Different approvals cover different parties and activities:

What is being verified	Required official authority
Philippine recruitment agency	Current DMW recruitment-agency license
Japanese employer or principal	Accreditation or verification through the appropriate Migrant Workers Office (MWO), followed by DMW registration where required
Specific vacancy	DMW-approved job order or manpower request
Philippine agency handling TITP or SSW workers	Separate DMW approval and certification as a sending organization
Recruitment outside the agency’s registered office	Special Recruitment Authority or other applicable DMW authority
Individual deployment documents	DMW processing and the required overseas employment documentation

An SEC or DTI registration, business permit, social-media page, training-center accreditation, Japanese-language-school certificate, visa consultancy license, or Japanese company registration does not replace a DMW recruitment license or an approved job order.

Step 1: Check the agency’s current DMW license status

Use the DMW’s official Licensed Recruitment Agencies and Approved Job Orders inquiry. Search the agency’s complete legal name, not merely the brand name shown on Facebook, TikTok, a poster, or a recruiter’s identification card.

Compare the result with the offer:

Exact agency name, including “Inc.,” “Corporation,” or similar wording
License number, if shown in the advertisement
Registered office address
Branch information, where applicable
Current license status
Any recent name change stated by the agency

Proceed only when the DMW’s live record confirms that the agency may currently recruit. At the source check for this article, the DMW inquiry stated that agency-status information was updated every two hours.

A photocopied license is not conclusive. Licenses can expire, be suspended or cancelled, and agency names or addresses can change. The 2016 rules also provide that a timely renewal application may keep a license valid until DMW finally acts on it, so an apparent date discrepancy should be confirmed directly with DMW rather than guessed at.

If the exact name does not appear, the status is unclear, or the address does not match, stop the transaction and call the DMW hotline at 1348.

Step 2: Confirm the exact Japan job order

On the same DMW Approved Job Orders portal, check whether the agency has an approved job order for Japan that matches:

The Japanese employer or principal
The position or occupational category
The worksite
The number of workers requested
The agency making the offer

Under the 2016 Revised POEA Rules for land-based workers, a job order identifies the positions, number of workers required, and salary per position. An approved job order is generally valid for two years and may be revalidated for another two years upon confirmation by the employer. Nevertheless, the DMW portal expressly advises applicants to verify with the agency whether the job order is still active. A listed order may already have been filled, withdrawn, suspended, or exhausted.

Ask the agency for the job-order or manpower-request details and have DMW confirm them if the online entry is incomplete. Do not accept explanations such as:

“The order is under our partner agency.”
“Japan approval is enough.”
“The job order will follow after you pay.”
“This is only for pooling, but you must reserve a slot.”
“The employer’s name is confidential.”
“We will use another job title for faster processing.”

An agency cannot borrow another agency’s license or job order. A job order for one employer, position, or worksite does not authorize recruitment for a different one.

Step 3: Check the additional list for TITP and SSW jobs

For offers under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) or Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program, confirm that the agency is on the current DMW list of approved and certified sending organizations.

Use the DMW’s Advisory No. 27, Series of 2025, which concerns the approved list for the Japan TITP and SSW programs, and check later DMW advisories before relying on any saved copy. DMW adopted an automated approval and certification system through Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2025.

The MWO-Tokyo SSW guidance confirms that the Japanese accepting organization must enter into a recruitment agreement with a Philippine-government-approved sending organization and complete MWO and DMW procedures. The MWO-Tokyo TITP page provides the corresponding TITP references and documentary requirements.

For TITP, the agency may also be cross-checked against Japan’s Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT) list of Philippine government-approved sending organizations. Treat the DMW record as the primary Philippine check; use the OTIT entry as an additional confirmation, especially if names have been translated or abbreviated differently.

Important transition warning

Japan is preparing its Employment for Skill Development framework as the successor to TITP. As of the source-check date, OTIT had published a tentative Philippine sending-organization list for that future framework and expressly warned that inclusion was not final approval, recognition, or accreditation. If a recruiter cites that tentative list, require the final, operative DMW and Japanese authorization applicable to the actual program and deployment date.

For ordinary professional or skilled employment outside TITP or SSW, an agency may not need TITP/SSW sending-organization certification. It must still have a current DMW license, a properly accredited or registered Japanese employer, and an approved job order for the offered position.

Step 4: Verify the recruiter and place of recruitment

Even when the agency itself is licensed, confirm that the person contacting you is its authorized representative. Call the agency using the number obtained from the DMW record or official agency website—not merely the number supplied in a message—and ask it to confirm:

The recruiter’s full name and position
The recruiter’s authority to receive applications
The office or recruitment venue
The Japanese employer and position
Whether the agency authorized the social-media account or advertisement

The DMW’s anti-illegal-recruitment guidance advises applicants not to deal with unauthorized representatives or transact outside an agency’s registered address.

A licensed agency conducting recruitment outside its registered office generally needs a Special Recruitment Authority for the specified date and venue. Provincial recruitment at a hotel, mall, barangay hall, training center, or private residence should therefore be independently confirmed with DMW or the local Public Employment Service Office. Authority for one event does not automatically cover another date or location.

Step 5: Examine the advertisement and contract

A proper advertisement for vacancies covered by an approved job order should identify the agency and its license details, the employer or principal and worksite, the job categories and qualifications, the number of positions, and salary information required by the rules.

If the advertisement says “for manpower pooling only,” there is not yet a promise of an available job. The rules require manpower-pooling advertisements to state that no fees will be collected. Do not pay a reservation, endorsement, application, slot, or processing fee for pooling.

Before signing, compare the contract with the advertisement and job order:

Employer’s complete name
Actual place of work
Job title and duties
Gross salary and lawful deductions
Working hours, rest days, and overtime terms
Contract period
Accommodation and transportation arrangements
Benefits and insurance
Conditions for termination, transfer, and repatriation
Correct Japanese residence-status or visa category

Do not sign blank pages, an untranslated Japanese document you do not understand, or a contract identifying a different employer or job. Contract substitution or using a job order for nonexistent or different work is prohibited under the recruitment rules.

A Certificate of Eligibility, Japanese visa, invitation letter, or airline booking does not by itself prove that Philippine recruitment and deployment requirements were followed. Never agree to enter Japan as a tourist and begin working later.

Fees: Japan has a no-placement-fee policy

The Philippine government’s Memorandum Circular No. 19, Series of 2019 establishes a no-placement-fee policy for workers deployed to Japan.

Be cautious if anyone asks for a:

Placement or recruitment fee
Reservation or slot fee
“Backer” or referral payment
Employer-accreditation contribution
Visa, work-permit, airfare, insurance, DMW processing, or OWWA fee that should be charged to the employer under the general rules
Cash bond, security deposit, or penalty intended to prevent you from leaving the job
Payment to a recruiter’s personal bank or e-wallet account

Workers may still bear legitimate personal documentation costs allowed by applicable rules, such as obtaining a passport, clearances, required civil or professional records, and a properly required medical examination. That does not permit an agency to rename a prohibited placement fee as “training,” “processing,” “coordination,” or “service” expense.

MWO-Tokyo also states that it does not collect a fee for its employer-document verification process. Ask for a written itemization and an official receipt for every lawful payment. Do not pay merely because the amount is described as refundable.

When medical examinations and training are proper

The recruitment rules require medical examinations only when there is reasonable certainty that the worker will be hired for a position under an approved job order. The worker generally has the right to choose a Department of Health-accredited clinic, subject to applicable host-country protocols and lawful exceptions.

Similarly, compulsory use of a particular training provider can be a red flag. Japan jobs may legitimately require language ability, skills testing, or program-specific training, but the training center itself cannot promise deployment unless it is separately authorized to recruit. Confirm:

The exact legal or employer requirement
Who selected the provider
Who must pay
Whether the provider has the necessary government accreditation
Whether passing the course actually guarantees anything—it usually does not
The refund terms if deployment does not proceed

Evidence to preserve

Before challenging a recruiter or requesting a refund, save copies of:

The full advertisement, including its URL, account name, and posting date
Screenshots of the DMW license and job-order searches, with the date and time
Emails, text messages, chat history, and call logs
Recruiter names, mobile numbers, profile links, and identification cards
The agency’s address and photographs of the recruitment venue
Application forms, contracts, offer letters, job descriptions, and training agreements
Payment instructions, deposit slips, bank transfers, e-wallet records, invoices, and official receipts
Passport, visa, Certificate of Eligibility, and medical-referral copies
A dated timeline identifying what was promised, paid, signed, and submitted

Keep original documents and unedited electronic files. Do not surrender your passport merely as security for payment or continued participation.

Common verification mistakes

Checking only the agency license

A license authorizes an agency to operate generally. It does not prove authority to recruit for every Japan job.

Finding any Japan job order under the agency

The order must correspond to the employer, position, and worksite being offered to you.

Using an old screenshot or downloaded list

Agency status, job-order availability, and sending-organization approval can change. Repeat the check immediately before paying, signing, medical examination, and departure.

Trusting a recruiter because the office looks legitimate

Illegal activity can occur through a real-looking office, training center, branch, or representative. Confirm the address and representative directly with the agency and DMW.

Treating a Japanese visa or COE as DMW approval

Japanese immigration approval and Philippine overseas-employment processing are separate requirements.

Assuming a licensed agency cannot commit illegal recruitment

Licensed agencies and their representatives may still be liable for prohibited practices. The Supreme Court has explained that recruitment violations can be committed even by a licensee or holder of authority. See Toston v. People, G.R. No. 232049, March 3, 2021.

When help is urgent

Stop dealing with the recruiter and contact DMW immediately if:

Departure is imminent but there is no verifiable job order or DMW processing
You are instructed to use a tourist or otherwise inappropriate visa
The employer, position, salary, or worksite suddenly changes
Someone demands a placement fee, cash bond, or payment to a personal account
Your passport or original records are being withheld
You are threatened, pressured to borrow money, or told to hide facts from DMW or immigration officers
The agency is suspended, cancelled, unlisted, or using another agency’s documents
You paid but deployment did not occur and the recruiter refuses to account for or return the money
Multiple applicants appear to have received the same false offer

Contact the Department of Migrant Workers through hotline 1348 or info@dmw.gov.ph. Provide the agency name, recruiter’s identity, Japanese employer, offered position, payment records, and your evidence timeline. If already in Japan, contact the MWO with jurisdiction over your worksite. TITP workers may also use OTIT’s Tagalog information and assistance page.

Illegal recruitment may be committed by unlicensed persons and, for specified prohibited acts, by licensed agencies or their representatives. Depending on the evidence, administrative, criminal, refund, or employment-related remedies may differ, so obtain individualized assistance promptly.

Exceptions and separate hiring routes

A private recruitment-agency search is not the only possible route to a legitimate Japan job:

A vacancy officially offered through the DMW’s Government-to-Government Placement facility should be verified directly on that DMW page rather than under a private agency.
A genuine direct-hire case follows a separate DMW process and must qualify under the applicable exemption or clearance rules. A recruiter’s statement that an offer is “direct hire” does not authorize bypassing DMW.
Returning workers, workers changing status while already in Japan, and workers under special bilateral or sectoral programs may have different documentation procedures.

These exceptions do not make tourist-visa work, unauthorized recruitment, undisclosed payments, or unprocessed contracts lawful.

FAQ

Is every DMW-licensed agency allowed to recruit for Japan?

No. The agency must have an approved job order for the specific Japan vacancy. TITP and SSW recruitment also requires current approval and certification as a sending organization.

What if the agency appears on the DMW list but the job does not?

Do not proceed until DMW confirms an active approved job order. An agency license by itself does not validate the vacancy.

What if the job order is listed but the agency says all slots are filled?

A listed order does not guarantee that vacancies remain. The DMW portal itself advises applicants to confirm whether the job order is still active.

Can an agency charge a placement fee for a Japan job?

No. The government has issued a no-placement-fee policy for workers deployed to Japan. Ask DMW about any other amount demanded from you before paying.

Is a Japanese language school allowed to recruit workers?

Not merely because it is a school or training provider. It must also possess the required DMW recruitment authority, or act only within a lawful arrangement with an identified licensed agency. Verify the agency and job order independently.

Does a Certificate of Eligibility prove that the recruitment agency is legitimate?

No. A COE is a Japanese immigration document. It does not replace the Philippine agency license, employer accreditation or registration, approved job order, contract processing, or other DMW requirements.

What if the agency name is spelled differently on Japanese and Philippine lists?

Minor transliteration or former-name differences can occur, but do not assume they refer to the same entity. Compare the legal name, address, DMW license number, and sending-organization number, then ask DMW to confirm.

Should I trust an agency’s claim that its application for accreditation is pending?

No recruitment or payment should be based only on a pending application. Require the approval that is already operative for the specific program and vacancy.

Official references

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice for a particular application, payment, contract, or complaint. Agency status and deployment rules can change; verify the live DMW and Japan-program records before acting. Sources were last checked on August 24, 2026.