Child born in the Philippines: birth registration, nationality, surname, passport

Estimated budget

Free when filed within 30 days (Quezon City charter). First PSA copy: ₱155.

Processing time

About 5 minutes at the counter in Quezon City; the PSA copy is available later, once the record is transmitted.

• A birth is registered at the Local Civil Registrar of the place of birth within 30 days.
• The hospital or birth attendant prepares the Certificate of Live Birth; check every entry before it is filed.
• If the parents are not married and the father recognizes the child, he signs the Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Admission of Paternity at the back of the form.

Myth: The hospital takes care of everything, nothing to check. Reality: The parents sign the form: an error at this stage follows the child on every document.

Estimated budget

Quezon City: ₱350 (₱150 Certificate of No Record + ₱200 late registration fee), plus notarization of the affidavits. Other LGUs set their own fees.

Processing time

Release after a mandatory 10-day posting (11 calendar days in Quezon City).

• After 30 days, the birth can only be registered through the delayed registration procedure.
• You must first prove that no record exists: negative certification from the PSA and Certificate of No Record from the LCR.
• The application is posted for 10 days before the registration is released.

Myth: Without a registration within 30 days, the child can never get a birth certificate. Reality: Delayed registration remains possible, with more documents and a posting period.

Estimated budget

Under RA 9048: ₱1,000 for a clerical error, ₱3,000 for a change of first name; under RA 10172: ₱3,000 for the day and month of birth or the sex. Court correction: lawyer's fees.

Processing time

Administrative petition: weeks to months, including a posting period. Court petition: longer.

• Clerical or typographical errors and a change of first name are corrected by petition at the Local Civil Registrar, without going to court.
• Since RA 10172, an error in the day or month of birth or in the sex can also be corrected administratively when it is clearly a clerical error.
• Changes to nationality, legitimacy or filiation, and errors in the year of birth, require a court petition.

Myth: Any error on a birth certificate requires a court case. Reality: Clerical errors, a first name, and the day, month or sex in clear cases are corrected at the LCR.

Estimated budget

Fees set by your embassy or consulate. PSA birth certificate for the file: ₱155.

Processing time

Japan: within 3 months of birth. Other countries: check the embassy's deadline.

• A Philippine birth certificate does not register the child in your country: each country has its own procedure.
• Japanese parent of a child who also has another nationality: the birth must be declared with the reservation of Japanese nationality within 3 months, or the child loses Japanese nationality from birth.
• French parent: the transcription of the birth at the consulate creates a French birth record, useful to obtain French documents for the child.

Myth: The child automatically has my nationality, so there is no hurry. Reality: Some countries tie the nationality to a declaration within a deadline, such as Japan's 3 months.

Estimated budget

No fee for the Philippine citizenship itself; PSA birth certificate ₱155 and Philippine passport ₱950 (₱1,200 expedited).

Processing time

Philippine citizenship exists from birth; the documents follow the birth registration.

• Philippine citizenship is transmitted by blood: a child with a Filipino mother or father is a natural-born Filipino, wherever born.
• When the Filipino parent is the father and the parents are not married, the father's filiation must be established, for instance by his acknowledgment on the birth record.
• The other nationality depends on the foreign parent's law; some countries set conditions or deadlines for dual nationals (Japan: declaration within 3 months; Korea: rules and deadlines for dual nationals by birth).

Myth: A child born in the Philippines is Filipino. Reality: Birthplace alone does not give Philippine citizenship; a Filipino parent does.

Estimated budget

Foreign passport: fees set by your embassy. BI: the 2025 Citizen's Charter lists, for native-born persons aged 14 or more, an NBCR fee of ₱1,400 alongside the ECC (₱700) and ACR fee (₱1,000); for younger children, confirm the fees with the BI.

Processing time

Passport: depends on the embassy. ECC or Certificate of Exemption at the first departure: same day at a BI office in most cases.

• A child born in the Philippines to two foreign parents is not Filipino: the child has the parents' nationality under their law.
• The birth is still registered at the Local Civil Registrar; the foreign passport is issued by your embassy.
• On the child's first departure, the BI requires an ECC, or a Certificate of Exemption for a minor, as a native-born temporary visitor.

Myth: Born here, the child can stay as long as the parents want. Reality: A foreign child needs an immigration status like any foreigner.

Estimated budget

No surname fee; PSA copy of the parents' marriage certificate: ₱155.

Processing time

At the birth registration.

• A child conceived or born during a valid marriage is legitimate.
• A legitimate child uses the father's surname; the mother's maiden surname appears as the middle name in Philippine practice.
• The marriage must be recorded: a foreign marriage of a Filipino should be reported (Report of Marriage) so that the PSA shows it.

Myth: The child can freely take the mother's surname even if the parents are married. Reality: Philippine law gives a legitimate child the father's surname.

Estimated budget

Notarization of the affidavits; registration fees set by each LGU.

Processing time

At the birth registration, or later: the AUSF must be registered within 20 days of its execution.

• A child of unmarried parents uses the mother's surname, unless the father expressly recognizes the child and the AUSF is executed.
• Under 7, the mother signs the AUSF; from 7 to 17, the child signs it with the mother's attestation; from 18, the child decides alone.
• The child remains illegitimate and under the mother's sole parental authority; the Supreme Court has held that the father cannot force the use of his surname.

Myth: With the father's surname, the child becomes legitimate. Reality: The surname changes, not the status; only legitimation or adoption changes the status.

Estimated budget

Notarization of the affidavit of legitimation; registration fees set by each LGU.

Processing time

After the marriage, by registration at the Local Civil Registrar where the birth is recorded.

• A child born to parents who were free to marry each other at the time of conception, or prevented only because one or both were under 18, is legitimated by their later valid marriage.
• If one parent was still married to someone else at the time of conception, legitimation is impossible: the child stays illegitimate.
• The effects of legitimation go back to the birth.

Myth: Marrying after the birth always makes the child legitimate. Reality: Only if the parents had no impediment to marry each other at conception, other than age below 18.

Estimated budget

Court action to establish filiation or support: lawyer's fees, not a registry fee.

Processing time

Birth registration is immediate; a court case takes months or more.

• Without the father's recognition, the child uses the mother's surname and the father is not entered as acknowledging the child.
• The mother has sole parental authority.
• Filiation can be proven in court, and with it the right to support from the father.

Myth: If the father does not sign, the child has no rights against him. Reality: Filiation can be established in court, with support and inheritance rights.

Estimated budget

₱950 regular or ₱1,200 expedited (DFA), plus the PSA birth certificate ₱155.

Processing time

Online appointment, except for children aged 7 and below; release after the DFA processing time.

• The minor must appear in person, accompanied by a parent.
• For a child of unmarried parents, the mother is the one who accompanies, as holder of parental authority.
• A minor's passport is released only to the parents or to a representative with a Special Power of Attorney and an Affidavit of Support and Consent.

Myth: A child with a foreign passport cannot have a Philippine passport. Reality: A child with a Filipino parent is Filipino and can hold both passports.

Estimated budget

DSWD travel clearance: ₱300 per child for one year (₱600 for two years according to a 2018 DSWD notice).

Processing time

Within 3 working days after a complete file (DSWD Field Office XI); apply 1 to 2 weeks before the trip.

• A Filipino minor travelling alone or with someone other than a parent, legal guardian or person with legal custody needs a DSWD travel clearance.
• An illegitimate minor travelling with the biological father needs a travel clearance, unless a court gave him sole parental authority or custody.
• A legitimate minor with either parent, or an illegitimate minor with the mother, needs no clearance; no minor under 13 may travel alone.

Myth: With my child's foreign passport, the DSWD rules do not apply. Reality: The rules target Filipino minors; a dual national is Filipino, and a foreign child also faces BI checks on departure.