Quick answer

Verify the agency through the Department of Migrant Workers—not through a license photo, Facebook page, SEC registration, or the recruiter’s word.

Use the DMW’s Licensed Recruitment Agencies directory. Search the agency’s exact legal name and confirm that:

Its status is Valid License.
Its legal name, license number, registered address, and contact details match the offer.
The person contacting you is an authorized representative of that agency.
For a land-based job, the agency has an approved job order for the position and country.
Any recruitment outside the agency’s registered office is covered by the applicable DMW authority.

A valid agency license does not, by itself, prove that a particular recruiter or job offer is genuine. If any detail does not match, do not pay, submit original documents, or travel until the DMW confirms the arrangement.

Step 1: Search the official DMW directory

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

Use the legal name appearing in the advertisement, contract, receipt, or recruiter’s message. If the first search produces no result:

Remove terms such as “Inc.” or “Corporation” and search again.
Check spelling, punctuation, and possible former names.
Ask the recruiter for the agency’s full registered name and DMW license number.
Contact the DMW directly if the site is unavailable or the result remains unclear.

Do not rely on a screenshot sent by the recruiter. A license may have expired, been suspended, or been cancelled after the screenshot was taken. Check the live DMW record yourself and save a dated screenshot for your files.

The directory covers both land-based recruitment agencies and sea-based or manning agencies.

Step 2: Read the status carefully

The name appearing in the directory is not enough. Check the current status.

Directory result	What to do
Valid License	Continue with the remaining checks. This confirms the agency’s authority as an entity, not the authenticity of every offer made in its name.
Suspended	Do not transact or allow the agency to process your application while the suspension applies. Confirm the current order with the DMW.
Expired, Cancelled, Revoked, Terminated, or Delisted	Treat the agency as having no current authority to recruit. Do not pay or submit documents.
No matching result	Stop the transaction and ask the DMW to verify. Do not accept “renewal is pending” or “the website has not been updated” without official confirmation.

Under the 2023 DMW Rules for land-based OFWs, a regular license may have a stated validity period but can be suspended, cancelled, terminated, or revoked earlier. The live status therefore matters more than a future expiry date printed on a license.

A provisional license may also carry restrictions. In particular, the 2023 Rules prohibit an agency operating under a provisional license from deploying domestic workers. If the offer involves household work and the agency’s authority is unclear, ask the DMW for written confirmation before proceeding.

Step 3: Match the agency’s identity and address

Compare the DMW entry with every document and message you received:

Exact corporate or business name
DMW license number
Registered business address
Official telephone numbers and email addresses
Name of the agency’s authorized officer or representative, when shown
Whether it is listed as land-based or sea-based

Small differences can identify an impersonator. Scammers may copy the name, logo, license number, advertisements, and photographs of a legitimate agency while changing the phone number, email address, social-media account, or payment instructions.

Call the agency using a number obtained independently from the DMW record or the agency’s verified official channel—not the number supplied only by the recruiter. Ask the agency to confirm:

The recruiter’s full name and position
Whether that person is currently authorized to recruit for the agency
The position, employer, country, and job-order details
The correct office or authorized recruitment venue
The agency’s official payment and receipt procedure

A DMW license belongs to the named agency. It cannot lawfully be borrowed, rented, transferred, or used by an unrelated training center, travel agency, consultancy, subcontractor, “coordinator,” or freelance recruiter.

Step 4: Verify the specific job order

For a land-based offer, search the DMW Approved Job Orders portal. Match all available details:

Recruitment agency
Position or occupation
Country or worksite
Foreign employer or principal
Number of available positions, where displayed

An approved order for nurses in one country does not authorize recruitment for factory workers in another. Likewise, an agency cannot use another agency’s job order.

The portal’s listings may reflect remaining positions under active job orders, but the DMW itself advises applicants to confirm with the agency whether an order is still active. A listed job order is not a guarantee that a vacancy remains available, that the applicant will be selected, or that the visa has been approved.

For seafarers, verify that the manning agency has a valid DMW license and ask the DMW or the agency’s independently verified compliance office to confirm the principal, vessel, position, and applicable crew order or enrollment.

Step 5: Check where recruitment is taking place

Recruitment should normally occur at the agency’s registered office or an authorized branch.

If interviews, examinations, document collection, or payments are being conducted at a hotel, mall, restaurant, provincial venue, private residence, coworking space, training center, or temporary office, ask to see the applicable DMW authority, such as a Special Recruitment Authority or jobs-fair authority.

Check that the authority covers:

The licensed agency
The exact venue
The activity and scheduled dates
The participating employer or representatives, when applicable

Confirm the authority with the DMW or the relevant DMW Regional Office. A valid agency cannot use its general license as blanket permission to recruit anywhere.

Recruitment at a legitimate government or PESO jobs fair should still identify the participating licensed agency and the approved positions.

Step 6: Examine the advertisement and contract

A recruitment advertisement should identify the licensed agency, including its name, address, and DMW license number. Advertisements for manpower pooling should clearly say that they are for manpower pooling and should not misrepresent a possible future need as an existing vacancy.

Before paying any amount, insist on a written employment contract that identifies the real foreign employer and states the essential terms, including:

Position and worksite
Salary and permitted deductions
Working hours and rest periods
Contract duration
Benefits, leave, accommodation, and transportation
Termination and repatriation terms

Check that these details match the advertisement, interview, approved job order, and visa category. Do not sign blank pages, incomplete forms, or a substitute contract with lower pay or different work.

The DMW’s official anti-illegal-recruitment guidance warns applicants not to accept deployment on a tourist visa and not to deal with travel agencies or training centers promising overseas employment. See the DMW’s guidance on avoiding illegal recruitment.

Fees are a separate check

License verification is free. A request for a “verification fee,” “slot reservation,” “job-order activation,” or payment merely to secure an interview is a serious warning sign.

Placement-fee rules depend on the worker’s category, destination-country rules, and current DMW issuances. Some workers and destinations are subject to a no-placement-fee policy. Where a placement fee is legally permitted, the agency generally cannot collect it before the worker has signed the DMW-approved employment contract, and it must issue the proper official receipt.

Never pay:

A personal bank or e-wallet account without independent agency confirmation
A recruiter, coordinator, or social-media administrator personally
An amount not fully described in writing
An amount without an official receipt showing the agency’s legal name, date, purpose, and exact amount

The compulsory insurance premium for an agency-hired worker is the agency’s responsibility and may not be passed on to the worker. Current country-specific no-fee policies and other issuances should be checked on the DMW’s Advisories page.

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating SEC or DTI registration as a recruitment license

SEC incorporation, a DTI business name, a mayor’s permit, or a BIR registration does not authorize overseas recruitment. The controlling check is the DMW license or a specific lawful DMW-administered hiring route.

Verifying the agency but not the recruiter

A scammer may impersonate a real agency. Confirm the individual through contact information you obtained independently.

Verifying the license but not the job order

A licensed agency may recruit only for properly processed employment opportunities. Match the position, country, employer, and agency.

Trusting a printed or social-media copy of a license

Verify the current online status. Logos, seals, QR codes, and license documents can be copied or altered.

Going to an unregistered office

Ask for the applicable DMW authority when recruitment occurs away from the registered office or authorized branch.

Paying because the offer is “urgent”

Pressure to pay immediately, keep the offer secret, or bypass the normal contract and documentation process is a major red flag.

Leaving on a tourist or visit visa to “process later”

Do not travel on a visa that does not authorize the promised work merely because someone says it will be converted after arrival.

When there may be no private recruitment agency

Not every lawful overseas employment route uses a private agency. Government-to-government programs and limited categories of DMW-approved direct hiring may follow different procedures.

However, direct hiring is generally regulated and cannot be used simply to bypass DMW processing. If a foreign employer contacts you directly, ask the DMW to confirm:

Whether direct hiring is permitted or exempted in your case
Which contract-verification and processing requirements apply
Whether you must obtain DMW approval and an Overseas Employment Certificate
Whether the visa and employer documents match the proposed work

The absence of a private agency is not automatically illegal, but a promise to “skip DMW,” depart as a tourist, or obtain the work permit only after arrival is unsafe.

Evidence to preserve

If anything appears suspicious, preserve the evidence before accounts or messages disappear:

Dated screenshots of the DMW license and job-order results
Full job advertisement, including its URL and posting account
Emails, chat messages, text messages, and call logs
Recruiter’s name, claimed position, ID, phone number, email, and profile URL
Agency name, license number, office address, and contact details
Contracts, application forms, invoices, referral slips, and appointment notices
Official receipts and proof of bank or e-wallet transfers
Account names and numbers that received payment
Visa copies, flight details, and travel instructions
Names and contact details of witnesses or other applicants
Copies of documents submitted to the recruiter

Keep original documents when possible. If someone takes your passport or another original, record who received it, when, why, and under what acknowledgment.

Reporting suspected illegal recruitment

The Migrant Workers Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022 treats recruitment activities—including referrals, promises, and advertisements for overseas employment—by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority as illegal recruitment. The law also covers specified unlawful acts committed by licensed agencies. A valid license is therefore not a defense to every abusive or fraudulent practice.

Report a suspicious offer promptly to the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau:

DMW hotline: 1348
MWPB telephone: (02) 8721-0619
Email: airtipinfo@dmw.gov.ph
Other official offices and channels: DMW Contact Us

A report should identify the recruiter and agency, explain what was promised, state any amount paid, and attach the evidence available. The DMW may assist victims with legal advice, preparation of complaints and supporting documents, and coordination with law-enforcement authorities. Reports may also be brought to the appropriate DMW Regional Office.

If travel is imminent, your passport is being withheld, you are being threatened or confined, or you suspect trafficking, seek immediate help. Contact the DMW and dial the government’s Unified 911 emergency hotline when urgent police, medical, or rescue assistance is needed.

FAQ

Is an agency legitimate if it appears in the DMW directory?

Only if its current status shows a valid license. You must still verify the recruiter, registered address, job order, foreign employer, contract, and payment instructions.

What if the agency says its renewal is pending?

Do not assume it may continue recruiting. Ask the DMW whether it presently has authority to recruit and process applicants. A receipt for a renewal application is not the same as a valid license.

Can an agency recruit through Facebook, TikTok, or messaging apps?

Online advertising is not automatically unlawful, but the advertisement and recruiter must trace back to a licensed agency and a genuine, approved opportunity. Verify through independently obtained agency and DMW contacts.

Can a licensed agency collect money before giving me a contract?

Do not pay a placement fee before signing the DMW-approved employment contract. Other claimed costs should be lawful, itemized, properly receipted, and consistent with the rules for your worker category and destination.

What if the job order is not visible online?

Do not treat the offer as approved. Ask the agency for the job-order details, then obtain confirmation from the DMW before paying or submitting original documents. For sea-based work or a special hiring program, ask which official verification procedure applies.

Is a license number in an advertisement enough?

No. Scammers can copy a real agency’s number. Search the number and legal name yourself, compare every detail, and call the actual agency through independently verified contact information.

Official legal and government sources

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular case. Agency status, job orders, procedures, and country-specific policies can change. Verify the live DMW records and seek professional assistance when the facts or documents are disputed. Sources last checked: 1 August 2026.