Certain documents that is neither a vital record, a public record, nor publicly recordable, and issued under the authority of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines can be copy certified at the Philippine Embassy, for submission to foreign government authorities requiring such documents.
Copy certification by the Embassy does not grant authenticity or add to the acceptability of the copy certified original document. The procedure merely confirms that the copy produced from the original document is accurate and complete.
To avail of this service, clients must bring the original document to the Consular Section and submit the same for photostatic copying at the Embassy. After a photo copy is made, the consular official will compare the copy with the original, and issue the certification if satisfied that the copy is an accurate, faithful and complete representation of the original.
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IMPORTANT The bearer of the documents for copy certification must be the document owner himself/herself. If the document owner is unable to appear in person at the Consular Section for this transaction, he/she may send a representative with a duly signed letter of authorization, providing the name of his/her chosen representative and the intended reason for copy certification of his/her document. The representative must be able to provide a suitable proof of identity at the Consular Section in order for the transaction to be accepted. |
Examples of acceptable documents for copy certification include the following:
- Philippine passport
- Philippine Driver’s License Card issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)
- Professional ID / License Card issued by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)
- Philippine ACR i-Card issued by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration
- Similar ID cards and issuances
Philippine-sourced documents that cannot be accepted for copy certification include:
- Records of vital events such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Contracts, etc. issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority
- Notarized instruments / Deeds / Powers of Attorney
- Land Titles and Transfer Certificates of Title
- Other public / registered documents or civil registry documents
