What documents do I have to submit to correct an entry on my birth certificate?

The petition is itself an affidavit

There is no form to fill in. The petition takes the shape of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person authorised by law to administer oaths, and The affidavit shall set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and shall show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated. Two things follow. It must contain facts rather than conclusions — how the error came to be there, what the entry should say. And it must show, on its face, that you are in a position to know those facts, which is the affidavit's version of the direct and personal interest the law requires.

Name the entry, precisely

The section requires the petitioner to state the particular erroneous entry or entries sought to be corrected, and the change sought to be made. Precision is not a formality here. A petition asking that a certificate be corrected leaves the registrar to work out what is wrong; a petition identifying the field, quoting what it currently says and stating exactly what it should say gives him something he can act on and post. It also protects you, because the decision that follows will be framed by what you asked for.

The documents

Three categories are listed. First, a certified true machine copy of the certificate, or of the page of the registry book, containing the entry sought to be corrected. Second, At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based — private documents count, so school, church, employment and membership records all qualify. Third, other documents that you, the registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and necessary for approval. That third category is open, so expect the counter to ask for something particular to your case.

A change of first name asks for more

If what you are seeking is a change of first name or nickname rather than a clerical correction, the same documents are required and two further things are added: publication of the petition at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and a certification from the appropriate law enforcement agencies that you have no pending case or criminal record. Finally, whichever petition you file goes in three copies — one to the registrar or consul general, one to the Office of the Civil Registrar General, and one kept by you. Keep that third copy.

One amendment to check before you file

Republic Act No. 10172 (2012) amended this Act after the text quoted above was enacted. It extended the same administrative route to the day and month of the date of birth and to the sex entry, neither of which the 2001 text allowed, and it set additional requirements for petitions of that kind. Nothing here sets out what those added requirements are. If what you want corrected is a birth date or the sex entry rather than a name or a misspelling, treat the procedure described above as the starting point only, and check the amended provisions before you prepare anything.

Related provisions

• RA 9048, Section 2 — Definition Of Terms
• RA 9048, Section 3 — Who May File And Where
• RA 9048, Section 5 — Form Contents And Publication
• RA 9048, Section 6 — Posting Decision And Transmittal