RA 10172 allows correction of birth certificate without court order

Are you problematic because of errors in your birth certificate? Here is another good news. RA 10172 now allows correction (of errors) in your birth certificate without court order.

President Aquino signed a new law that extends the power of local civil registrars to correct errors in birth certificate without any court order. What does it mean? Court approval is no longer needed to correct errors in your birth certificate –  such as misspelled names, date of birth and gender. The law, which was signed by the President last Aug. 19, amended several provisions of Republic Act 9048.

Here is what the law says.

Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of July, two thousand eleven.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10172]

AN ACT FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN THE DAY AND MONTH IN THE DATE OF BIRTH OR SEX OF A PERSON APPEARING IN THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL ORDER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED NINETY FORTY-EIGHT

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 9048, hereinafter referred to as the Act, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 1. Authority to Correct Clerical or Typographical Error and Change of First Name or Nickname. – No entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order, except for clerical or typographical errors and change of first name or nickname, the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry, which can be corrected or changed by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul general in accordance with the provisions of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.”

SEC. 2. Section 2, paragraph (3) of the Act is likewise amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 2. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(1) xxx xxx

(2) xxx xxx

(3) ‘Clerical or typographical error’ refers to a mistake committed in the performance of clerical work in writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and month in the date of birth or the sex of the person or the like, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing record or records: Provided, however, That no correction must involve the change of nationality, age, or status of the petitioner.”

SEC. 3. Section 5 of the Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. – The petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error, or for change of first name or nickname, as the case may be, shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person authorized by law to administer oaths. 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. The petitioner shall state the particular erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or the change sought to be made.

The petition shall be supported with the following documents:

(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed;

(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based; and

(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition.

No petition for correction of erroneous entry concerning the date of birth or the sex of a person shall be entertained except if the petition is accompanied by earliest school record or earliest school documents such as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other documents issued by religious authorities; nor shall any entry involving change of gender corrected except if the petition is accompanied by a certification issued by an accredited government physician attesting to the fact that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant. The petition for change of first name or nickname, or for correction of erroneous entry concerning the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a person, as the case may be, shall be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

Furthermore, the petitioner shall submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcements, agencies that he has no pending case or no criminal record.

The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three (3) copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul general; second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and third copy to the petitioner.”

SEC. 4. Section 8 of the Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 8. Payment of Fees. – The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall be authorized to collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition. An indigent petitioner shall be exempt from the payment of the said fee.

The fees collected by the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general pursuant to this Act shall accrue to the funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the Office of the Consul General for modernization of the office and hiring of new personnel and procurement of supplies, subject to government accounting and auditing rules.”

SEC. 5. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act shall at any time be found to be unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder thereof not affected by such declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. – Any laws, decrees, rules or regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3113 and House Bill No. 4530 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 30, 2012 and June 5, 2012, respectively.

Approved: AUG 15 2012

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the signed copy of Republic Act 10172. This was also published on Official Gazette. You can also CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Republic Act 9048.