1) What an “RTC court clearance” is

An RTC court clearance (often called RTC clearance, court clearance, or certification of no pending case) is a written certification issued by the Regional Trial Court’s records custodian—usually the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) of a particular RTC station—stating the result of a records search for cases under a person’s name within that court’s coverage.

In practice, it is used to show that, based on the RTC station’s available records, the applicant has no recorded pending case (or sometimes no recorded case at all) in that RTC station—or to disclose that there is a “hit” (name match) requiring verification.

What it is not

Not a nationwide criminal record check. It does not replace NBI clearance.
Not a police clearance. Police clearances are tied to police records and local reporting systems.
Not a prosecutor’s clearance. Pending complaints in the prosecutor’s office may not yet appear in court records.
Not a court judgment on innocence. It is an administrative certification of what court records show at the time of issuance.

2) Why people are asked for RTC clearance

RTC clearance is commonly requested for:

Employment onboarding and background checks
Government applications (varies by agency)
Scholarship/licensure requirements (sometimes)
Visa/immigration supporting documents (sometimes alongside NBI)
Proof of “no pending case” for certain transactions or compliance requests
Local or institutional “court clearance” checklists (often paired with MTC/MeTC/MTCC/MCTC clearances)

Because the Philippines has multiple trial-court levels, some requesters ask for both:

RTC clearance (Regional Trial Court), and
First-level court clearance (MTC/MeTC/MTCC/MCTC), sometimes separately.

3) Scope: what the RTC clearance covers (and what it doesn’t)

A. Coverage is typically by RTC station, not nationwide

An RTC station is usually the RTC in a city or province that has one or more branches. The OCC often maintains access to the station’s case records across branches. An RTC clearance usually covers:

Cases filed/docketed in that RTC station (all branches under it), as reflected in their records.

It typically does not automatically cover:

Other RTC stations in other cities/provinces
First-level courts (MTC/MeTC/MTCC/MCTC)
Appellate courts (Court of Appeals/Supreme Court)
Administrative cases and non-court records (unless specifically included, which is uncommon)

B. “No pending case” vs “no record of any case”

Different stations (and request forms) may phrase the certification differently:

No Pending Case: the search is oriented to whether there is a case currently pending.
No Record / No Case: the search is broader (sometimes including terminated cases), but terminology varies.

Always read the wording on the certificate because it affects how it should be interpreted.

4) Where to get an RTC clearance

RTC clearances are usually requested from the:

Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC), Regional Trial Court of the relevant station.

Some courts route requests through:

A Records Section or Clearance/Certification Desk inside the OCC.

The issuing office and the internal process can differ by station, but the OCC is the most common issuing authority because it is the administrative custodian of docket/records at the station level.

5) Typical eligibility: who may request

The individual named in the clearance (standard)
A representative may be allowed, usually with authorization requirements (see below)
For minors or dependent applicants, a parent/guardian may be required (station practice varies)

Because clearances involve personal data and case-status information, courts often require identity verification even when a representative files the request.

6) Common documentary requirements (Philippine context)

Requirements can vary by RTC station, but the following are common in many courts:

A. Valid identification (primary requirement)

Usually at least one (1) government-issued photo ID, sometimes two (2). Examples:

Passport
Driver’s license
UMID
PRC ID
Postal ID
National ID (PhilSys), where accepted per station practice

Courts may require that the ID shows a clear full name and signature.

B. Completed request form

Most RTC stations have a standard clearance/certification request form asking for:

Full name (including middle name, suffix, and maiden name if applicable)
Date of birth
Address
Purpose of request
Contact details

C. Personal details for accurate searching

Because name matches are common, courts may ask for identifiers such as:

Date of birth
Place of birth
Parent’s names (sometimes)
Prior names/aliases
For married women: maiden name and married name

D. Payment of legal fees

A clearance is a form of certification. Payment is typically collected through the court cashier with an Official Receipt (and often includes a documentary stamp requirement as implemented in local practice).

E. If through a representative (typical add-ons)

Where allowed, the representative may be asked for:

Authorization letter from the applicant (some stations require notarization)
Special Power of Attorney (SPA) if the requester is strict about representation
Photocopies of applicant’s valid ID and representative’s valid ID
The representative’s personal appearance for verification

Because practice varies, the strictest scenario should be assumed: notarized authorization/SPA + IDs.

7) Step-by-step process (how RTC clearance requests commonly work)

Step 1: Determine the correct RTC station

Often this is the RTC covering:

Your current residence, or
The place specified by the requesting institution (some require “where you reside”)

Step 2: Go to the RTC OCC / clearance desk

Bring:

Valid IDs
Any name-change documents if relevant (see Section 10)
Cash for fees (some stations accept other modes; not uniform)

Step 3: Fill out the request form

Be consistent with your legal name:

Use the same spelling as in your primary ID
Include suffix (Jr., III) if applicable
For women, include maiden name and married name if used in records

Step 4: Pay certification fees and obtain the official receipt

Keep the receipt; it is often required to claim the certificate.

Step 5: Records search / verification

The records staff searches the court’s system or docket records. Outcomes:

Negative result (no record / no pending case found under that name within that station’s coverage), or
“Hit” (possible match), requiring additional verification

Step 6: Issuance and claiming

If no hit, issuance may be:

Same day (common in simple cases), or
Later that day / next working day depending on workload and station practice

The clearance typically bears:

Court heading, station
Applicant name
Certification language
Date issued
Signature of the authorized court officer (often the Clerk of Court or designated signatory)
Official receipt/reference

8) The “name hit” problem: what happens when there’s a match

A hit does not automatically mean you have a case. It can occur because:

The court search is name-based
Many individuals share similar or identical names
Inconsistent encoding (middle name missing, spelling variants)

Common verification steps

Courts may require:

Additional personal identifiers (DOB, address history)
Presentation of more IDs or supporting documents
A manual check of the matching record(s)

If the hit is you

You may be advised to secure a case status certification from the specific branch handling the case (or the OCC), such as:

Pending / active
Dismissed
Archived
Decided / terminated
With warrant / without warrant (case-specific and sensitive; courts are careful about what is disclosed)

Some stations will not issue a “no pending case” clearance if there is an actual pending case under your name within that station.

If the hit is not you

The court may issue a clearance only after:

Sufficient differentiation is established, or
A notation is made that a “hit” was checked and is not the applicant (practices vary)

9) Fees: what you should expect (without relying on exact amounts)

RTC clearance fees are typically treated as certification fees under the judiciary’s legal-fee framework, with payment through the court cashier and issuance of an Official Receipt. The exact amounts:

Can change over time, and
Can differ in implementation depending on local court stations and posted schedules.

Applicants should be prepared for:

A certification fee
Possible documentary stamp requirement
Additional charges for extra copies (if requested)

Because courts implement these through official channels, always treat the O.R. as the controlling proof of payment.

10) Special name and identity situations (common in Philippine practice)

A. Married women (maiden vs married names)

Records may exist under:

Maiden name (older records), or
Married name, or
Both

Bring supporting documents if the station is strict:

Marriage certificate (copy)
IDs showing both names if available

B. Correcting spelling variations and middle names

A missing or inconsistent middle name can trigger hits. Use:

Full legal name as in PSA documents and primary ID
Consistent spelling

C. People with suffixes (Jr., Sr., II, III)

Suffixes matter for de-confliction. Always include them where applicable.

D. People with prior aliases or changed names

If you have:

Legal name change
Adoption-related name change
Recognition/legitimation issues affecting surname
Annotations in PSA documents

Bring documents that support the name history (as needed for hit resolution).

E. Foreign nationals

Some RTC stations will still issue certifications based on:

Passport details and local address
Alien registration documents (if available) Practice varies; a passport is typically essential.

11) Processing time and validity

Processing time

Simple/no-hit requests: often same-day issuance
Hit cases: can take longer due to verification steps and possible branch-level confirmations

Validity period

There is generally no single nationwide “legal validity” period imposed by law for RTC clearances. Instead:

The requesting agency sets a freshness requirement (often 3–6 months in practice)
Courts issue it as of the date of records search; it is a snapshot, not a guarantee about future filings

12) Relationship to other clearances and why requesters often ask for multiple

RTC clearance vs NBI clearance

NBI clearance is designed as a broader national-level check within its system.
RTC clearance is court-station based and tied to court records.

Requesters may ask for both because:

Complaints and investigations may exist outside court (not yet filed) → may appear in NBI/police systems but not court
Some courts may not have uniform interconnection across all stations for public-facing certifications
Court clearance is seen as a direct “judicial-record” check for that locality

RTC clearance vs MTC/MeTC/MTCC/MCTC clearance

First-level courts handle many criminal cases (especially lower-penalty offenses) and civil actions within their jurisdictional thresholds. Some employers or agencies request both because:

A person may have a case in the first-level court that never reached the RTC
The request aims for broader local coverage across trial levels

RTC clearance vs Prosecutor’s Office records

A case may be:

At the complaint/investigation stage (prosecutor) and not yet in court → not in RTC records
Already filed in court → appears in court records

13) Legal and practical limits of an RTC clearance

An RTC clearance:

Certifies what the RTC station’s records show under the searched name(s) at the time of issuance
May miss cases if they are:
- Filed in a different station
- Filed under a materially different name spelling/alias not searched
- Not yet encoded or still in transition (rare but possible in busy stations)
Should not be represented as a guarantee of “no criminal liability,” “no criminal record nationwide,” or “clean record everywhere”

Because it’s an administrative certification, it has evidentiary value as an official record, but its meaning is tied to its stated scope and wording.

14) Practical checklist (typical, conservative)

Government-issued photo ID (bring at least 1–2)
Photocopies of IDs (some stations require these)
Marriage certificate / proof of name change (if relevant to name history or hits)
Authorization/SPA and representative IDs (if filing through a representative)
Cash for certification fees and related charges
Full legal name details (including middle name, suffix, and maiden name if applicable)

15) Common pitfalls that delay issuance

Going to the wrong office (branch vs OCC clearance desk)
Using inconsistent names across the request form and ID
Omitting middle name or suffix
Not disclosing maiden name when records may exist under it
Expecting RTC clearance to cover first-level courts or other provinces
Applying through a representative without proper authorization

16) Terminology you may see on the certificate

“Certification”
“Certification of No Pending Case”
“Court Clearance”
“Negative Certification”
“No Record Found” / “No Case Found” (wording varies)

The title matters less than the body text, which defines the scope of the record search and what exactly is being certified.