DFA Apostille: Fees, Requirements, Red Ribbon
Department of Foreign Affairs · authentication
Quick answer
A DFA apostille costs ₱100.00 for regular processing released after 5 working days, ₱200.00 expedited after 2 working days, and ₱200.00 for an e-Apostille after 1 working day. The apostille replaced the red ribbon when the Philippines joined the Apostille Convention on 14 May 2019.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from DFA's official published sources: DFA Authentication Division | Schedule of Fees (https://www.apostille.gov.ph/schedule-of-fees-tab/, retrieved 2026-08-31); DFA Authentication Division | Documentary Requirements (https://www.apostille.gov.ph/documentary-requirements/, retrieved 2026-08-31); DFA Authentication Division | FAQs (https://www.apostille.gov.ph/faqs/, retrieved 2026-08-31). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with DFA before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-08-31.
The red ribbon is gone. Since 14 May 2019 the Philippines has been a party to the Apostille Convention, and the certificate DFA staples to your document is an apostille. Authentication is still required; what changed is what happens afterwards.
What it costs
| Processing | Fee | Released after |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | ₱100.00 | 5 working days |
| Expedited | ₱200.00 | 2 working days |
| e-Apostille | ₱200.00 | 1 working day |
The gap between regular and expedited is ₱100.00 for 3 working days saved. The e-Apostille costs the same ₱200.00 as expedited and lands 1 working day sooner still.
Unclaimed apostilles are disposed of 3 months from the scheduled date of release.
What the apostille replaced
| Before 2019 | With an apostille | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Certification by the relevant government agency | Certification by the relevant government agency |
| Step 2 | Authentication by DFA, the red ribbon | Apostillisation by DFA-OCA |
| Step 3 | Legalisation by the embassy or consulate of the destination country | Not required, if the destination is an Apostille country |
DFA’s own framing is that the apostille means “more convenience, less cost and processing time”. The Convention only applies when both the issuing country and the destination country are parties to it.
For non-Apostille countries and states that objected to the Philippine accession, nothing changed: DFA issues a physical Certificate of Authentication for subsequent legalisation by the appropriate embassy in the Philippines.
The Fully Digital Apostille
DFA implemented the Fully Digital Apostille on 16 March 2026. Two document classes are affected.
| Document | For Contracting Parties | For Non-Contracting Parties |
|---|---|---|
| PSA eCertificates | Electronic apostille only; physical apostilles are no longer issued | Physical Certificate of Authentication, for embassy legalisation |
| CHED eCAVs | Electronic apostille only; applied for through PARS at apply.apostille.gov.ph | Physical Certificate of Authentication |
DFA adds practical rules for eCAV submissions: documents scanned properly in PDF, no hands or fingers inside the document boundaries, no duplicates or unnecessary documents. Incomplete scans may be rejected.
What each document needs first
This is the part that costs people a return trip. Every document must bear the visible signature of the issuing agency’s official signatory.
| # | Document | What DFA requires before the apostille |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NBI clearance | Original with dry seal, verifiable online. A personal copy is not accepted |
| 2 | PSA birth, marriage, death, CENOMAR, advisory on marriage | Ordered through PSA Helpline at apostille.psahelpline.ph. QR entries must match the document. For newly registered records, the LCR copy certified by PSA |
| 3 | Elementary and high school Form-137 and diploma | Certified true copies from the school, plus a CAV from the DepEd Regional Office |
| 4 | Technical and vocational TOR and diploma or National Certificate | Certified true copies, plus a CAV from the TESDA Regional Office |
| 5 | State colleges and universities TOR and diploma | Certified true copies and CAV from the school itself |
| 6 | Private and local colleges TOR and diploma | Certified true copies from the school, plus a CAV from CHED via CHED OneTouch |
| 7 | PRC documents | Originals, except board certificate, board rating and ID, or certified true copies from PRC |
| 8 | Medical certificates | For employment, a DOH stamp per document; otherwise a DOH certification with the medical certificate attached |
| 9 | CAAP documents | Certified by CAAP |
| 10 | Driver’s licence | A certification, with receipt, from the LTO |
| 11 | Certificates of employment, training, seminars, baptismal and other private documents | A notarised affidavit attesting accuracy, plus a Certificate of Authority for a Notarial Act (CANA) from the Regional Trial Court |
| 12 | SPA, affidavit of consent or advice, joint affidavit | Notarised instrument plus a CANA signed by the Executive or Vice-Executive Judge |
| 13 | Court documents | Certified true copies from the court, all pages |
| 14 | Immigration records | Certified by the Bureau of Immigration |
| 15 | DSWD clearance | Original issued by DSWD |
| 16 | Police clearance or sundry | Original issued by the PNP |
| 17 | Business registration, SEC, DTI, BIR, SSS, business permit | Certified true copy from the issuing office |
| 18 | Barangay clearance or certificate | The mayor’s certification or clearance with jurisdiction over the barangay |
| 19 | Export documents | DOH, DA or BFAD, depending on the nature of the document |
| 20 | Foreign documents for certification, for use in the Philippines | Attested first by the issuing country’s embassy or consulate; certification only at DFA Aseana |
| 21 | Passport certification | Certification from the Passport Division with a certified true copy of the passport bio page |
Two of these have their own guides here. The NBI clearance guide covers the ₱130.00 original in row 1, and the PSA birth certificate guide the ₱130.00 document in row 2.
Note the affidavit rule in rows 11 and 12: the affiant’s name appears on the apostille’s caption, and a copy of a Notarial Commission is not the same thing as a CANA.
Foreign nationals
For a certificate of employment or similar private document, a foreign national presents the Alien Employment Permit from DOLE and the Alien Certificate of Registration from the Bureau of Immigration.
DFA-OCA does not apostillise foreign documents. A document from another Apostille country only needs apostillisation by that host government to be used validly in the Philippines.
Where to go
| Site | Detail |
|---|---|
| DFA Aseana | Bradco Avenue corner Macapagal Boulevard, ASEANA Business Park, Parañaque City |
| Consular Offices with authentication services | 11 named sites: NCR West at SM Manila, NCR Northeast at Ali Mall, NCR South at Alabang, NCR East at SM Megamall, Pampanga at Robinsons Starmills, La Union at CSI Mall, Legazpi at Pacific Mall, Cebu at Robinson’s Galleria, Iloilo at Robinsons Place, Davao at SM Davao, Cagayan de Oro at SM Downtown Premier |
| Appointments | Required, at appointment.apostille.gov.ph, under DFA’s online-appointment-only service policy |
| Verification | Philippine apostilles are verified through DFA’s e-registry, or by scanning the QR code on the apostille |
| Contact | oca.verification@dfa.gov.ph for verification, oca.apostilleconcerns@dfa.gov.ph otherwise, or (02) 8834 4000 loc 7765-67 |
What the surrounding documents cost
| Document | Published fee | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| NBI clearance | ₱130.00 plus a ₱30.00 e-payment fee, ₱160.00 in total | NBI clearance requirements |
| NBI clearance, delivered | ₱200.00 within NCR or ₱350.00 outside | NBI clearance renewal |
| PSA certificate, viewable online copy | ₱130.00 | PSA birth certificate |
| PSA CENOMAR | ₱185.00 | PSA marriage certificate |
| Philippine passport, regular | ₱950.00 | Passport renewal |
| Philippine passport, expedite | ₱1,200.00 | New passport |
| LTO licence certification | ₱100.00 | Driver’s licence renewal |
| Apostille, regular | ₱100.00 | This page |
| Apostille, expedited or electronic | ₱200.00 | This page |
Worked totals by document
Nothing here is a DFA quotation. Each line adds the apostille fee to the published fee for obtaining the underlying document, so you can see what a finished, apostillised file costs.
| Document | Underlying fee | Apostille, regular | Apostille, expedited |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBI clearance, collected | ₱160.00 | ₱260.00 | ₱360.00 |
| NBI clearance, delivered within NCR | ₱360.00 | ₱460.00 | ₱560.00 |
| NBI clearance, delivered outside NCR | ₱510.00 | ₱610.00 | ₱710.00 |
| PSA birth certificate, viewable online copy | ₱130.00 | ₱230.00 | ₱330.00 |
| PSA marriage certificate, viewable online copy | ₱130.00 | ₱230.00 | ₱330.00 |
| PSA CENOMAR | ₱185.00 | ₱285.00 | ₱385.00 |
| LTO licence certification | ₱100.00 | ₱200.00 | ₱300.00 |
| Three documents at once, regular | - | ₱300.00 in apostille fees | - |
| Five documents at once, regular | - | ₱500.00 in apostille fees | - |
| Five documents at once, expedited | - | ₱1,000.00 in apostille fees | - |
The last three rows assume DFA charges the fee per document, which is how the Schedule of Fees is written. DFA does not publish a bulk rate.
Choosing a processing speed
| Regular | Expedited | e-Apostille | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | ₱100.00 | ₱200.00 | ₱200.00 |
| Released after | 5 working days | 2 working days | 1 working day |
| Extra cost against regular | - | ₱100.00 | ₱100.00 |
| Working days saved against regular | - | 3 working days | 4 working days |
| Cost per working day saved | - | about ₱33.00 | ₱25.00 |
| Physical certificate | Yes | Yes | Electronic |
Those per-day figures are arithmetic on DFA’s two published columns, not a figure DFA prints. The e-Apostille is the better deal at the same ₱200.00, where the document class and destination allow it.
The dates that matter
| Date or period | What happened, or what it means |
|---|---|
| 14 May 2019 | The Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention; the apostille replaced the red ribbon |
| 16 March 2026 | DFA implemented the Fully Digital Apostille for PSA eCertificates and CHED eCAVs |
| 5 working days | Regular release |
| 2 working days | Expedited release |
| 1 working day | e-Apostille release |
| 3 months | Unclaimed apostilles are disposed of, counted from the scheduled release date |
| 11 | Consular Offices offering authentication services, besides DFA Aseana |
| 21 | Document classes with their own pre-apostille requirement on DFA’s list |
What a document costs before it reaches DFA
| Document | Published fee | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| NBI clearance | ₱130.00 plus a ₱30.00 e-payment fee, ₱160.00 in total | NBI clearance requirements |
| NBI clearance, delivered within NCR | ₱200.00 courier, ₱360.00 all in | NBI clearance renewal |
| NBI clearance, delivered outside NCR | ₱350.00 courier, ₱510.00 all in | NBI clearance renewal |
| PSA birth, marriage or death certificate, viewable online | ₱130.00, valid 60 days | PSA birth certificate |
| PSA CENOMAR or CENODEATH | ₱185.00 | PSA marriage certificate |
| PSA Electronic Endorsement Request Form | Free of charge | PSA birth certificate |
| LTO License Certification | ₱100.00 | Driver’s licence renewal |
| Philippine passport, regular | ₱950.00, released in 10 working days in NCR | Passport renewal |
| Philippine passport, expedite | ₱1,200.00, released in 5 working days in NCR | New passport |
What this page does not cover
DFA does not publish, on the pages read for this guide, the fee for a CAV from DepEd, TESDA or CHED, the fee for a CANA from the Regional Trial Court, the number of documents one appointment slot covers, a courier charge, or the list of countries that objected to the Philippine accession. None of those are stated here.
Related
New passport and passport renewal cover the other DFA consular service most people need in the same trip. Passport appointment booking covers the appointment system.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is an apostille?
- ₱100.00 for regular processing, released after 5 working days. ₱200.00 for expedited processing, released after 2 working days. ₱200.00 for an e-Apostille, released after 1 working day.
- Is the red ribbon still a thing?
- No. On 14 May 2019 the Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention, and the Apostille replaced the Authentication Certificate known as the red ribbon. Authentication is still required for Philippine documents used abroad, but the proof of it is now an apostille.
- What changed in practice?
- Before the apostille, a Philippine document used abroad needed certification by the issuing agency, authentication by DFA, and then legalisation by the embassy or consulate of the destination country. With an apostille, that final embassy legalisation is no longer needed if the destination is also an Apostille country.
- What if the destination country is not in the Convention?
- The old process continues for non-Apostille countries and for states that objected to the Philippine accession. DFA issues a Certificate of Authentication, a physical certificate, for subsequent legalisation by the appropriate embassy in the Philippines.
- Do I need an appointment?
- Yes. DFA operates an online-appointment-only service policy for authentication and apostille, and appointments are booked at appointment.apostille.gov.ph.
- What do I bring for an NBI clearance or a PSA certificate?
- For an NBI clearance, the original document with dry seal, verifiable online; a personal copy is not accepted. For PSA documents, DFA asks that they be ordered through PSA Helpline at apostille.psahelpline.ph, with QR entries matching the details on the document.
- What is the e-Apostille?
- The electronic apostille, at ₱200.00 and released after 1 working day. Following DFA's implementation of the Fully Digital Apostille on 16 March 2026, only electronic apostilles are issued for PSA eCertificates and CHED eCAVs intended for Contracting Parties to the Convention.
- How long do I have to claim it?
- Unclaimed apostilles are disposed of 3 months from the scheduled date of release.
Sources
- DFA Authentication Division | Schedule of Fees, retrieved
- DFA Authentication Division | Documentary Requirements, retrieved
- DFA Authentication Division | FAQs, retrieved