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How to get a PSA Birth Certificate

This is the paper that proves you were born, who your parents are, and when and where you were born. The PSA prints it on special green security paper (SECPA), and almost every ID, job, school, and passport application asks for it.

PSA Birth Certificate
PSAHelpline.ph (Pilipinas Teleserv, authorised PSA online channel) - close-up of a PSA Certificate of Live Birth on SECPA security paper with the Philippine Statistics Authority dry seal

The three ways to get it

Online

Yes

PSA Serbilis is the PSA's own website. PSAHelpline is run by Pilipinas Teleserv under a Memorandum of Agreement with the PSA, and the Philippine Information Agency calls it 'the authorized online platform of the Philippine Statistics Authority'.

PSAHelpline costs more (PHP 365 vs PHP 330 for the first copy) but its Metro Manila delivery is faster. Serbilis gets cheaper per copy when you order several at once.

Both have a no refund policy: once you pay, the request is processed and that counts as service given, even if the answer comes back 'no record found'. A returned parcel because you gave a wrong address also counts as service given.

Do not order too early after the birth: allow at least 2 to 4 months if the birth happened in Metro Manila, and at least 6 months if it happened outside Metro Manila, or the PSA will not have the record yet.

  1. Choose one official site: PSA Serbilis at www.psaserbilis.com.ph, or PSAHelpline at psahelpline.ph. Both are authorised. Do not use look-alike sites.
  2. Pick 'Birth Certificate'.
  3. Fill in the details of the person on the certificate: full name, date of birth, place of birth, father's full name, and mother's full maiden name. Copy the spelling exactly as it is in the record, not as you write it today.
  4. Fill in your own details as the requester, and say how you are related to the person (self, child, parent, spouse).
  5. Choose how you want it: door-to-door delivery, pick up at an LBC branch, pick up at a PSA outlet, viewable online, or delivery abroad.
  6. Type your complete delivery address, mobile number, and email address. A wrong address is treated as service already given, and there is no refund.
  7. Write down your Reference Number or Batch Request Number.
  8. Pay. PSA Serbilis takes Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, GCash, Maya, ShopeePay, GrabPay, BDO, UnionBank, Bayad, ECPay, and 7-Eleven CLiQQ. PSAHelpline takes Visa and Mastercard only for cards (no JCB, no American Express), plus GCash, Maya, 7-Eleven CLiQQ, Bayad, Palawan, QRph, DragonPay, and BancNet ATM bills payment.
  9. Track your order online using the Reference Number.
  10. Wait for the courier. Have your valid ID ready when it arrives.
  11. New option since February 2026: for a digitally signed PDF instead of paper, order a PSA E-Certificate at e-cert.psahelpline.ph. You upload a valid government ID and take a live selfie, then you get an email link. You can open the PDF for 60 days, so download and save it right away.

Walk-in

Yes

Book early. Popular Metro Manila outlets like East Avenue and Mandaluyong fill up weeks ahead.

Senior citizens, persons with disability, and pregnant women are usually still accommodated as true walk-ins without an appointment. If the PSA has no record of you, the outlet will hand you a Certification (Negative) instead - see the tips.

You may also go to the Local Civil Registry Office (lcro) of the city or town where the birth was registered for a Local Civil Registrar copy, but many agencies specifically want the PSA copy on security paper, so ask first which one they accept.

  1. Book a free appointment first at appointment.psa.gov.ph (the Civil Registration Service Appointment System). Most PSA CRS outlets will not accept you without a confirmed slot.
  2. On the site, say your purpose, choose 'Birth Certificate', and fill in the details.
  3. Enter the One-Time Password sent to your mobile number.
  4. Choose the PSA outlet you want, then a date and a morning (8AM to 12PM) or afternoon (1PM to 5PM) slot.
  5. Check everything, confirm, and save the appointment slip with the QR code that is emailed to you.
  6. On the day, bring the printed or on-screen appointment slip, your original valid government ID, and cash.
  7. Fill out the Birth Certificate Application Form at the outlet.
  8. Give the form at the window, pay PHP 155.00 per copy, and keep the receipt.
  9. Wait to be called and claim your certificate. At most big outlets you get it the same day.

Representative

Partly

This is where most people get caught. A representative works for a normal delivery or an ordinary PSA outlet claim, and PSA Memorandum Circular No. 2019-15A is the rule cited for it: the release needs the owner's ID, the representative's ID, and an authorisation letter or SPA. But a representative is not allowed at all for two Serbilis options - 'Viewable Online' and 'Pick up at PSA outlet'.

For those, the PSA states plainly that payment and pickup must be made in person by the document owner, or by the nearest of kin if the owner has died. And on PSAHelpline the courier will only hand the parcel to the requester or to the person named in the online Letter of Authorization, so a handwritten letter waved at the delivery rider will be refused.

One order, one assigned representative.

  1. The owner writes and signs an authorisation letter, or has a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) made. It must say what document is being asked for, how many copies, and the purpose.
  2. The owner gives the representative the original or a photocopy of the owner's valid ID, with photo and signature.
  3. The representative brings their own valid ID, with photo and signature.
  4. At the PSA outlet or at the door when the courier arrives, the representative shows all three: the signed authorisation letter or SPA, the owner's ID, and their own ID.
  5. On PSAHelpline you cannot do this with a handwritten letter. Before you submit the order, tick 'I will assign someone and accomplish the online LOA'. After you pay, upload a photo of your valid ID, take a live selfie, then type the representative's full name and date of birth. Only that one named person can receive the parcel, and only at the delivery address you registered.

What to bring

  • The complete name on the record: first name, middle name, last name
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth: city or municipality, and province
  • Complete name of the father
  • Complete maiden name of the mother (her name before she married)
  • One valid government ID with your photo and signature. The PhilID or ePhilID is accepted, and so are a passport, driver's licence, UMID, PRC, postal ID, voter's ID, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, NBI or police clearance, PWD or senior citizen ID, TIN card with photo and signature, and a school ID if you are 18 or older
  • Your purpose for asking (passport, job abroad, school, and so on)
  • Complete delivery address, mobile number, and email address, if you want it delivered
  • Payment

The details

Who can apply

Under PSA rules, a civil registry document can only be released to:

  1. the owner, or a duly authorised representative
  2. the owner's spouse, parent, direct descendant (child, grandchild), guardian, or the institution legally in charge if the owner is a minor
  3. a court or proper public official, when needed in a legal or administrative case to prove who a person is
  4. the nearest of kin, if the owner has died. Extra note on the online channels: on PSAHelpline you may order only for yourself, your child, or your parents - for any other relative you must go to a PSA outlet. On PSA Serbilis, to request the certificate of your spouse, your own civil status must be Married or Widowed

Cost

The PSA document fee itself is PHP 155.00 per copy. What you pay on top depends on how you get it.

  1. PSA outlet walk-in or 'pick up at PSA outlet' via Serbilis: PHP 155.00 per copy
  2. PSA Serbilis door-to-door delivery inside the Philippines, pick up at an LBC branch, or delivery to an embassy in the Philippines: PHP 330.00 for the first copy, then PHP 50.00 less for each extra copy (so a 2nd copy is PHP 280.00)
  3. PSAHelpline door-to-door: PHP 365.00 per copy, already including the service fee and nationwide courier
  4. PSA Serbilis delivery outside the Philippines via PHLPost: USD 20.30 per copy; if you choose DHL Express instead, DHL bills the shipping to you separately
  5. Viewable Online copy (you read it on screen for 60 days using an access code): PHP 130.00, but you must pay in person at a PSA CRS outlet
  6. DocPrint - printing that viewable online copy on security paper at a PSA outlet within the 60 days: PHP 80.00 per printed copy
  7. Government agency E-Copy sent straight to a government office: PHP 300.00 per copy
  8. Booking an appointment at appointment.psa.gov.ph is free
  9. PSA E-Certificate, the digitally signed PDF launched February 2026 at e-cert.psahelpline.ph

How long it takes

PSA Serbilis, counted from the day your payment is received: Metro Manila 3 to 4 working days; other provinces 6 to 8 working days; add 5 to 7 more days if your address is outside the courier's normal delivery area; other countries 6 to 8 weeks by PHLPost. A Government agency E-Copy is ready in 2 to 3 working days.

PSAHelpline publishes faster figures: Metro Manila next day after the PSA releases the document, and 3 to 8 working days for anywhere else in Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao (they use one 'provincial' bucket, not separate island figures). Walk-in at a big PSA CRS outlet is usually same day if you go in the morning.

Add 10 to 15 working days on any channel if the PSA has to search its microfilm and paper archives by hand - you are told during the online application and by email if this happens. PSAHelpline calls this 'manual verification' and says it adds about 7 days.

How long it lasts

It does not expire. Republic Act 11909, the Permanent Validity of the Certificates of Live Birth, Death and Marriage Act (signed 28 July 2022), says a birth certificate issued by the PSA, the old NSO, or a Local Civil Registrar is valid forever, no matter how old the copy is.

Section 5 even bans government offices, private companies, schools, and NGOs from asking you for a newer copy when you already have a valid one. The only condition: the paper must still be whole, readable, and still clearly show its security features.

So a torn, faded, or water-damaged copy will be refused, and that is the real reason people are told to buy a 'new' one. If an office still insists on a copy issued in the last 6 months, you may point to RA 11909 - but many offices, and most foreign embassies, which are not covered by a Philippine law, still ask for a fresh copy, so budget for one.

Tips

  • A 'Certification (Negative)' means the PSA has no record of your birth, not that you were never born. It usually means the birth was never registered, or the Local Civil Registry Office never sent the record to the PSA. The fix: go to the lcro of the city or town where the birth was registered and ask them to endorse a copy to the PSA. You can fill out an Electronic Endorsement Request Form for free on PSA Serbilis, print it, and bring it to the lcro with the Negative Certification. This takes weeks, so start it long before any deadline.
  • Spelling mistakes will stop a passport. The DFA treats the PSA birth certificate as the main proof of who you are, and the name on it must match your application exactly. Even a tiny difference triggers a Document Evaluation Memo: 'Ma.' instead of 'Maria', a missing middle initial, a missing 'Jr.', or reversed given names. Simple clerical errors in a first name, nickname, or a misspelled surname are fixed by filing a petition under RA 9048 at the lcro where the birth was recorded. After it is approved, order a NEW PSA copy - the DFA needs the one that shows the marginal notes (the annotation describing the correction). Check your certificate months before you need it, not the week before.
  • Late registration is a different, slower process. If your birth was never registered, you register it at the lcro of the place of birth first, and only after the lcro sends the record to the PSA can you order a PSA copy. The lcro's late registration fee is set by the local government, not the PSA, so it is different in every town.
  • Order more than one copy at a time. Offices keep the copy you give them, so you will need several. On PSA Serbilis every extra copy in the same order is PHP 50.00 cheaper, so 2 copies delivered cost PHP 610.00, not PHP 660.00.
  • Check that the paper is real before you hand it over. Download the official PSA e-Verification app on Android or iOS and scan the QR code on your certificate - the details on screen should match the details printed on the paper. Ordinary QR scanners will not read it. A PSA certificate with no QR code is still valid under RA 11909, as long as it is intact, readable, and still shows its security features.

Not verified

The research could not confirm these against an official 2026 source. Phone the office before you travel.

  • no official price list is published on e-cert.psahelpline.ph or psahelpline.ph. One PSAHelpline page mentions a '300Php PSA e-Certificate fee' while explaining e-Apostille, and non-official blogs quote PHP 290, but neither is an official fee schedule. Check the portal before ordering.

Sources