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Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines Metro Manila Eleventh Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fourth day of July, two thousand.
[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9048]
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO
CORRECT A CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN AN ENTRY AND/OR CHANGE OF FIRST
NAME OR NICKNAME IN THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL ORDER, AMENDING
FOR THIS PURPOSE ARTICLES 376 AND 412 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
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 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.
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms - As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
"City or Municipal civil registrar" refers to the head of the local civil registry office of the city or
municipality, as the case may be, who is appointed as such by the city or municipal mayor in accordance
with the provisions of existing laws.
"Petitioner" refers to a natural person filing the petition and who has direct and personal interest in the
correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry or change of first name or nickname in the civil
register.
"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 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, status or sex of the
petitioner.
"Civil Register" refers to the various registry books and related certificates and documents kept in the
archives of the local civil registry offices, Philippine Consulates and of the Office of the Civil Registrar
General.
"Civil registrar general" refers to the Administrator of the National Statistics Office which is the agency
mandated to carry out and administer the provision of laws on civil registration.
"First name" refers to a name or nickname given to a person which may consist of one or more names in
addition to the middle and last names.
SECTION 3. Who May File the Petition and Where. - Any person having direct and personal interest in
the correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry and/or change of first name or nickname in the
civil register may file, in person, a verified petition with the local civil registry office of the city or municipality
where the record being sought to be corrected or changed is kept.
In case the petitioner has already migrated to another place in the country and it would not be
practical for such party, in terms of transportation expenses, time and effort to appear in person before the
local civil registrar keeping the documents to be corrected or changed, the petition may be filed, in person,
with the local civil registrar of the place where the interested party is presently residing or domiciled. The two
(2) local civil registrars concerned will then communicate to facilitate the processing of the petition.
Citizens of the Philippines who are presently residing or domiciled in foreign countries may file their
petition, in person, with the nearest Philippine Consulates.
The petitions filed with the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall be processed in
accordance with this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.
All petitions for the clerical or typographical errors and/or change of first names or nicknames may be
availed of only once.
SECTION 4. Grounds for Change of First Name or Nickname. - The petition for change of first name or
nickname may be allowed in any of the following cases:
The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to
write or pronounce.
The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has
been publicly known by that by that first name or nickname in the community: or
The change will avoid confusion.
SECTION 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. - The petition shall be in the form of an affidavit,
subscribed and sworn to before any person authorized by the 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.

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The petition shall be supported with the following documents:

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.
At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or
change shall be based; and
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.
In case of change of first name or nickname, the petition shall likewise be supported with the
documents mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph. In addition, the petition 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 enforcement 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.
SECTION 6. Duties of the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General. - The city or
municipal civil registrar or the consul general to whom the petition is presented shall examine the petition
and its supporting documents. He shall post the petition in a conspicuous place provided for that purpose for
ten (10) consecutive days after he finds the petition and its supporting documents sufficient in form and
substance.
The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall act on the petition and shall render a
decision not later than five (5) working days after the completion of the posting and/or publication
requirement. He shall transmit a copy of his decision together with the records of the proceedings to the
Office of the Civil Registrar General within five (5) working days from the date of the decision.
SECTION 7. Duties and Powers of the Civil Registrar General. - The civil registrar general shall, within
ten (10) working days from receipt of the decision granting a petition, exercise the power to impugn such
decision by way of an objection based on the following grounds:
The error is not clerical or typographical;
The correction of an entry or entries in the civil register is substantial or controversial as it affects the civil
status of a person; or
The basis used in changing the first name or nickname of a person does not fall under SECTION 4.
The civil registrar general shall immediately notify the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul
general of the action taken on the decision. Upon receipt of the notice thereof, the city or municipal civil
registrar or the consul general shall notify the petitioner of such action.
The petitioner may seek reconsideration with the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition
with the proper court.
If the civil registrar general fails to exercise his power to impugn the decision of the city or municipal
civil registrar or of the consul general within the period prescribed herein, such decision shall become final
and executory.
Where the petition is denied by the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general, the petitioner
may either appeal the decision to the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition with the proper
court.
SECTION 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.
SECTION 9. Penalty Clause. - A person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction,
be penalized by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or a fine of
not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand pesos
(P100,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.
In addition, if the offender is a government official or employee he shall suffer the penalties provided
under civil service laws, rules and regulations.
SECTION 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The civil registrar general shall, in consultation with
the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Supreme Court Administrator,
the University of the Philippines Law Center and the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, issue the
necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act not later than three (3) months
from the effectivity of this law.
SECTION 11. Retroactivity Clause. - This Act shall have retroactive effect insofar as it does not prejudice
or impair vested or acquired rights in accordance with the Civil Code and other laws.
SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared void or
unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions thereof shall not be affected by such declaration.
SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, other issuances, or
parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

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SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication
in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
WHAT IS REPUBLIC ACT 9048?
Republic Act (RA) 9048 authorizes the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general to correct a
clerical or typographical error in an entry and/or change the first name or nickname in the civil register
without need of a judicial order.
RA 9048 amends Articles 376 and 412 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, which prohibit the change of
name or surname of a person, or any correction or change of entry in a civil register without a judicial order.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved the act on 22 March 2001. With the law taking effect on 22
April 2001, the Civil Registrar-General promulgated Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 2001, which was
published in the newspaper in August that year.
WHAT CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE BY RA 9048?
RA 9048 allows these corrections:
correction of clerical or typographical errors in any entry in civil registry documents, except corrections
involving the change in sex, age, nationality and status of a person.
(A clerical or typographical error refers to an obvious mistake committed in clerical work, either in writing,
copying, transcribing, or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as a
misspelled name or misspelled place of birth and the like, and can be corrected or changed only by
reference to other existing record or records.)
change of a person's first name in his/her civil registry document under certain grounds specified under
the law through administrative process.
WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS UNDER RA 9048 THAT THE PETITIONER NEEDS TO COMPLY WITH?
(1) The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult
to write or pronounce;
(2) The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has
been publicly known by that first name or nickname in the community; or,
(3) The change will avoid confusion.
WHO MAY FILE THE PETITION?
Whether it is for correction of clerical or typographical error, or for change of first name, the petition may be
filed by a person of legal age who must have a direct and personal interest in the correction of the error or in
the change of first name in the civil register.
A person is considered of legal age when he is eighteen years old and above. Thus, a minor (less than
eighteen years old) cannot by himself file a petition, either for correction of clerical or typographical error or
for change of his first name.
Only the following persons are considered to have a direct and personal interest in the correction of clerical
error or change of first name:
Owner of the record that contains the error to be corrected or first name to be changed
Owner's spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, guardian, or any other person duly
authorized by law or by the owner of the document sought to be corrected.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE FORM AND CONTENT OF THE PETITION?
The petition, whether it is for correction of clerical error or for a change of first name, should be
accomplished properly and in the prescribed form. Section 5 of RA 9048 and Rule 8 of Administrative Order
No. 1, S. 2001 require that the petition should be in the form of an affidavit, hence, it should be subscribed
and sworn to before a person authorized to administer oath.
Basically, the petition must contain the following facts or information:
Merits of the petition
Competency of the petitioner
Erroneous entry to be corrected and proposed correction; first name to be changed and the proposed new
first name
WHAT SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR CORRECTING A CLERICAL OR
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN A CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENT?
The petition shall not be processed unless the petitioner supports it with the required documents. The

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supporting documents should be authentic and genuine, otherwise, the petition shall be denied or
disapproved pursuant to Rule 5.8 of Administrative Order No. 1, S. 2001. The following supporting
documents are admissible as basic requirements:
Certified machine copy of the certificate containing the alleged erroneous entry or entries
Not less than 2 public or private documents upon which the correction shall be based. Examples of these
documents are the following: baptismal certificate, voter's affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record,
medical record, school record, business record, driver's license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land
transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry records of ascendants, and others.
Notice and Certificate of Posting
Certified machine copy of the Official Receipt of the filing fee
Other documents as may be required by the City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR)
WHAT ARE THE SUPPORTING PAPERS FOR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME?
As in the case of correction of clerical error, no petition for change of first name shall be accepted unless the
petitioner submits the required supporting papers, as follows:
All the documents required of the petitioner for the correction of clerical error shall also be required of the
petitioner for change of first name.
Clearance from authorities such as clearance from employer, if employed; the National Bureau of
Investigation; the Philippine National Police; and other clearances as may be required by the concerned
C/MCR.
Proof of Publication. An affidavit of publication from the publisher and copy of the newspaper clippings
should be attached.
HOW MUCH IS THE FEE IN FILING A PETITION?
The C/MCR and the District/Circuit Registrar (D/CR) are authorized to collect from every petitioner the
following rates of filing fees:
One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for the correction of clerical error
Three thousand pesos (P3,000.00) for the change of first name
In the case of a petition filed with the Consul General (CG), the fees are the same for all Philippine
Consulates. The fees are the following:
Fifty U.S. dollars ($50.00) for the correction of clerical or typographical error
One hundred fifty U.S. dollars ($150.00) for the change of first name
A migrant petitioner shall pay an additional service fee to the Petition Receiving Civil Registrar (PRCR).
This service fee shall accrue to the local treasury of the PRCR.
Five hundred pesos (P500.00) for correction of clerical or typographical error
One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for change of first name
WHERE SHOULD THE PETITION BE FILED?
The general rule is that petition shall be filed with the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) where the record
containing the clerical error to be corrected or first name to be changed is kept. Included in this general rule
is the case of the Office of the Clerk of Shari'a Court where records of divorces, revocations of divorces,
conversions to Islam are kept and where some Muslim marriages are registered.
However, in case the petitioner is a migrant within or outside the Philippines, meaning his present residence
or domicile is different from where his civil registry record or records are registered, he may file the petition
in the nearest LCRO in his area. His petition will be treated as a migrant petition.
http://census.gov.ph/civilregistration/civil-registration-laws/faq-republic-act-no-9048
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Fifteenth Congress

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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

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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.