Apostille of Documents From and For the Philippines
An Apostilled document has a golden seal and does not have a red ribbon.
One of the things we often do for our clients is get an apostille of documents, sometimes as part of a case and sometimes just specifically to get that apostilled or authenticated document for the client.
We do this for Philippine documents to be used in another country as well as foreign documents for use in the Philippines.
If you need assistance with obtaining documents or obtaining an apostille, whether on a foreign document for use in the Philippines or a Philippine document for use abroad, or for other legal matters, you can reach us through our website, www.lawyerphilippines.org or through email admin@lawyerphilippines.org
What is an apostille?
Apostille makes authenticating documents faster and easier.
If you need a document from one country for official use in another country, you may need to have it apostilled.
Apostille meaning is the international certification of a document under a treaty known as the Hague Apostille Convention. It is comparable to a notarization.
It certifies that the signature or seal of the person or authority that appears on a document is authentic and it certifies the capacity in which the signature or seal was made.
Through an apostille, someone in one country can rely on a document issued in another. The apostille is enough to certify a document’s validity if two countries are parties to the treaty.
Until recently, the Philippines was not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.
This meant that, every time some official document needed to be used across borders, there would be a laborious process to authenticate it before either the Philippines or the foreign country would accept the document as authentic.
The process required a double-certification, by the originating country and then by the embassy of the receiving country.
This has changed with our accession to the Convention.
Since May 14, 2019, a Philippine public document that you need to present in a foreign country
no longer has to be authenticated by that country’s Embassy or Consulate here.
Authentication by our Department of Foreign Affairs is enough if that country is also a member of the Apostille Convention.
Likewise, a document from outside the Philippines no longer needs to be “red ribboned” or authenticated by the Philippine embassy there before it can be accepted in the Philippines as genuine.
Who issues the Apostille?
The DFA no longer admits walk-ins so your appointment must be scheduled by emailing the DFA Office Of Consular Affairs website and/or the satellite offices.
In the Philippines, it is the Department of Foreign Affairs that does this.
Countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention designate the competent authority who can issue an apostille.
The apostille of this foreign competent authority – it might be their Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Office of their Secretary of State – is enough for this foreign public document to be accepted as genuine in the Philippines.
Because 118 countries are parties to the Apostille Convention, the Philippine membership makes document authentication a lot easier all over the world.
The only exceptions to this benefit among the member countries are Austria, Finland, Germany and Greece.
These countries have submitted reservations to the Philippine accession which, under the terms of the Convention, means that apostille cannot be resorted to between them and the Philippines.
For these countries, as well as those which are not treaty members — such as Canada, Thailand, China, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia — the old process of authentication still applies between them and the Philippines.
This means that, aside from the internal certifications required in those countries, foreign documents still have to be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate in them before they can be used in the Philippines.
And vice versa – for a Philippine public document to be accepted as authentic in those foreign countries with whom the treaty does not apply, their embassies here need to first authenticate that document.
How do you obtain an apostille in the Philippines?
Always bring your Special Power of Attorney along with the copy of owner’s valid ID and your ID if you are a representative.
Certain documents can be brought for apostille directly to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Others require intermediate steps before the DFA will issue an apostille on them.
For example, if it is a notarized document, the seal of the notary alone will not suffice. The DFA will also require that you present the notary’s CANA — his Certificate of Authority for a Notarial Act.
The CANA is issued by a Philippine court to which the notary public reports. You’ll need to obtain the notary’s CANA from the court with authority over him and bring it to the DFA.
If what you need to submit is a court document, for example a Philippines court decision or a court notice on the status of a case, there are also additional steps before you can get this apostilled
First of all, the court document needs to have been duly certified by the responsible court officer.
What’s more, the DFA further requires that you go to the Supreme Court and get a certification of the court officer’s signature from the Supreme Court.
Similarly, school documents which you want to have apostilled may have to be certified by the Department of Education or the Commission on Higher Education before the DFA will apostille them.
Getting these requirements takes some legwork and familiarity with the apostille process.
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I have res ribbon docs 10 yrs ago. Then i want to convert it to apostille but dfa told me to go to my school ask for renewal of school docs then go to Ched. My school told me to wait for 2 months which is too much time to wait. is there any other options
It is probably best to obtain the apostille.
Would it be easier for a deed of extrajudicial settlement with SPA to be signed by the heirs abroad first and have them apostille it and send it back to the Philippines? Than for the heirs in the Philippines to sign first?
Yes, in many cases the heirs each signing a SPA would be simpler.
Hello. I wish to ask, if a Holographic Will is made by a Filipina abroad, does it need to be apostilled before sending the same to the Philippines?
A holographic will does not need to be notarized and therefore does not need to be apostilled.
You may find our article on last wills and testaments helpful: https://lawyerphilippines.org/last-will-testament-philippines/
What type of document will I choose for SPA/CANA? Is it under COURT DOCUMENTS?please reply ..thank you
A court document refers to one issued by a court rather than a SPA.
Hi. pwede po na ma apostille ung certifcate of finality and court decision ko processed tru a sharia divorce?
Yes. You will need additional certifications on the court documents to do this, but they can be apostilled.
Good day. Im from Bacolod City. Is CANA available here in RTC-BACOLOD? If it’s not what are the nearest province where i could obtain a CANA?
It can be obtained from the RTC that issued the license to the notary.
We are going to amend our Articles of Incorporation; for which Directors’ certificate are required. How do we secure their signatures on this document to be considered valid for use in the Philippines? One is in Texas, the other one in Massachussetts.
The documents can be notarized and apostilled in the various US states.
Regarding an Apostille being used in the Philippines: I am in possession of a divorce decree and a marriage certificate on a Philippine citizen (at the time of the divorce and marriage). The divorce and marriage took place in Nevada. The documents were sent back to Nevada and The Secretary of State affixed the appropriate stamps and Apostille documents. My question is, can those documents be used in a court in the Philippines as is ie., the Apostille attached and stamps, or is there something else needed for those two documents to get them in a Philippine court to comply with the rules of evidence?
For a foreign divorce to be recognized in the Philippines, at least one of the spouses must be a non-Filipino at the time of the divorce.
That said, if the Nevada documents are apostilled by the Secretary of State of Nevada, then they should be admissible before a Philippine court.
Note though that the divorce law of Nevada must also be proved if this is for a recognition of foreign divorce case.
hello.. I need an apostille for my signature on my written testimony which is to be used in court in Israel. is the seal of notary public lawyer enough for me to get an apostille?
No, it will also need to have a Certificate Authorizing Notarial Act (CANA) from the Regional Trial Court.
Send us an email at admin@lawyerphilippines.org if this is something you need assistance with.
Hello Attorney,
A pleasant day!
Can Special Power of Attorney regarding Proxy marriage to be held in a Country where it is provisioned for in EU be possibly drafted and notarized here in the Philippines? How long does it take to obtain CANA for the notarized document?
What type of official documents can be referenced for proving whether or not publication or posting of Marriage bann is a requirement for all current citizens here as basis for existing personal laws [civil status, and impediment] regardless if the marriage will applied be for and will be celebrated abroad?
We cannot answer this without more information particularly as it involves foreign as well as Philippine laws.
Magandang araw po gusto ko magpa CANA para master employment contract para poea,hingi po sana ako ng tulong kung saan po ako pwede magpanotaryo ng cana,sa ngaun po nasa san pablo city laguna ako,sana po ako ay matulungan ninyo
Salamat po
Will send you an email.
Hello po, may i ask how much is the price to have CANA in rtc?thank you and Godbless.
This may depend on the RTC.
We are going to participate on International Bidding in Bangladesh and one of their requirements are the Certificate of Completion of our previous projects which is needed to be authenticated by DFA. Do we need to present the original Certificate of Completion at the DFA? Because sometimes, the client only send us the certificate through email and we dont have a copy of that certificate.
The DFA will not authenticate an email printout. You will have to obtain the original or a certified copy.
Hi! My mother in Qatar needs an SPA to process a few documents in behalf of us (her children).
Qatar is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention.
The Philippine Embassy requires the document to be red-ribboned by the DFA.
Is there still a red ribbon services for those countries not part of the Hague convention?
If none, how do I obtain a CANA, and where can I obtain it?
Thank you very much.
A CANA is obtained from the court. We’d need further details to speak to your situation. Will send an email.
Hi, my document is already notarized and next step is to bring it to the RTC for CANA. My question is hong long it takes to process the CANA? Can I wait for it on the same day?
This is sometimes possible, but it depends on the court.
My daughter is working in the US, selling her property here in the Phil. Buyer is applying for a loan with PAGIBIG, wants me to get a PAGIBIG formatted SPA form signed by my daughter to be able to proceed with sale, how do I go about this? Thanks for your reply!
Create an SPA with a lawyer who is familiar with working with Philippine agencies since Philippine agencies are extremely bureaucratic and quite specific as to the requirements needed.
If you are abroad and in a country part of the Hague Apostille Convention, then you may have it notarized and apostilled. Otherwise it must be authenticated.
Good day,
I will be needing a certified true copy of my certificate of employments issued on 2011 and 2012. My employment during that time was in Abu Dhabi, UAE and both employers only gave me a scanned/pdf copy through email on the same years. Now, what I only have are soft copies of those and cannot ask for the original anymore as the companies got dissolved already. Is there a way that scanned/pdf copy of my employment certificates could be certified/apostile’d? Please help. Thank you in advance.
Hi Joseph – you will need to contact your employers and then apostille where they are located.
Hi. Does all province’s supreme court issuing the CANA? Is it possible that I had my Certificate of Employment Certified True Copy by an Atty in my province, then I will have it CANA in quezon city?
No. The CANA must be issued by the court with authority over the specific notary.
Why need a report of marriage to file judicial recognition of foreign divorce in Philippines?
I married with pilipino and I divorced her in Korea , and I want to recognize my divorce in the Philippines court , I was married in Philippines first and after that I report my marriage to my Country so why need my report of marriage and where I can get that one?
There is no need for a Report of Marriage if the marriage took place in the Philippines. The document to obtain in that case is the Certificate of Marriage from the Philippine Statistics Authority. See our post on Recognition of Foreign Divorce here: https://lawyerphilippines.org/recognition-of-foreign-divorce-in-the-philippines-process/
Regarding apostille, I received a special power of attorney from my sister in Sweden authorizing me to act in her behalf here. She told me that it was notarized there.
But reading it, I noticed that below my sister’s name & signature are some writings with stamp & signature, but i dont understand anything of it since it is in Swedish. My sister told me that it was the notarization.
The document is just one page.
Query: Can i use such special power of attorney here?
Is Sweden a party to the treaty on apostille?
How to determine if the one-page special power of attorney is apostilled?
Yes, Sweden is a signatory to the convention.
Sweden does not offer online verification of apostilles (https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/directory/255-verification-of-foreign-apostilles), but you may check with their embassy here or with our DFA for guidance if there is a serious reason to question the document.