First Time Jobseekers: The Fees RA 11261 Waives
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
The First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act waives government fees on 10 pre-employment documents, including NBI and police clearance, PSA certificates, TIN and UMID. You prove eligibility with a barangay certification, and the benefit may be availed only once. Passports and driver's licences are excluded.
Every figure on this page is from LawPhil Project's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Republic Act No. 11261, the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
The First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act, Republic Act No. 11261, approved 10 April 2019, waives government fees on the documents an employer asks for. It is used once, and it is proved with a barangay certification.
What is covered
Section 4 lists 10 transactions where no fees or other charges may be collected. Against each, what the document costs someone who does not qualify.
| Covered document | What it otherwise costs |
|---|---|
| Police clearance certificate | ₱150.00 |
| NBI clearance | ₱130.00 plus ₱30.00, ₱160.00 total |
| Barangay clearance | Set locally, with no national fee published |
| Medical certificate from a public hospital | Lab tests not included, see below |
| Birth certificate | ₱130.00 |
| Marriage certificate | ₱130.00 |
| Transcript of academic records from state colleges and universities | Set by the institution |
| Tax Identification Number | Already free for an employee |
| Unified Multi-Purpose ID card | SSS publishes no fee |
| Other documentary requirements issued by the government that employers may require | Varies |
On the four with published national fees, the waiver is worth ₱570.00. That addition is arithmetic on figures published by the NBI, PNP and PSA, not a total the Act prints.
The NBI clearance guide, the police clearance fee guide and the PSA birth certificate guide carry each of those in full.
Who the duty falls on
All government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and government hospitals shall not collect fees or charges from a first time jobseeker.
The condition is that the fee is paid in connection with applying for and being granted licences, proofs of identification, clearances, certificates or other documents usually required in the course of employment locally or abroad.
So the test is the purpose of the document, not the name of the office.
What is not covered
This is the part that catches people, because the excluded items are among the most expensive.
| Excluded by Section 8 | |
|---|---|
| PRC licensure examination application | |
| Philippine passport application | |
| DFA authentication and red ribbon of documents | |
| CSC Career Service Examination application | |
| LTO driver’s licence application |
A passport is not free under this Act. What the exclusions cost, on figures each agency publishes:
| Excluded item | Published fee |
|---|---|
| New passport, regular | ₱950.00 |
| New passport, expedited | ₱1,200.00 |
| DFA apostille, regular | ₱100.00 |
| DFA apostille, expedited | ₱200.00 |
| PRC licensure examination, baccalaureate | ₱900.00 |
| PRC licensure examination, non-baccalaureate | ₱600.00 |
| CSC Career Service Examination | ₱500.00 |
| Driver’s licence renewal | ₱585.00 |
A ₱950.00 regular passport on its own costs more than the ₱570.00 the waiver is worth across all four covered documents with published national fees. Add a ₱900.00 licensure examination and the excluded items are roughly 3 times the value of the waiver. The Act covers the cheap documents and leaves the expensive ones, which is worth budgeting for. Those comparisons are arithmetic on published figures, not points the Act makes.
There is a second carve-out inside a covered item. The medical certificate from a public hospital is free, but the Act states that fees and charges collected for laboratory tests and other medical procedures required for the grant of that certificate shall not be free of charge. The paper is waived; the bloodwork is not.
Proving you qualify
| Proof required | A barangay certification stating that the applicant is a first time jobseeker |
| How often | Once. The benefit shall only be availed of once |
| If falsified | Any person found guilty of fabrication or falsification is liable under the law |
Agencies maintain a roster of everyone issued documents under the Act, submitted regularly to the DICT, which compiles a database accessible to all relevant agencies. The once-only limit is enforced against a record, not against an honour system.
The barangay clearance guide covers the office that issues the certification.
Where to get help
Section 7 makes the Public Employment Service Office, the PESO in each province, city and municipality, a one stop shop that assists first time jobseekers in securing the required pre-employment documents from the relevant agencies.
Who is excluded entirely
Beneficiaries of the JobStart Program under RA 10869, and of other laws giving similar exemptions for the same documents or transactions, are not qualified to avail of this Act. You cannot hold both.
The clauses that favour you
Two provisions are unusually protective and worth quoting when an office hesitates.
Section 9 provides that the Act is not to be construed as implied authority for any agency to impose or collect fees it was not already authorised to charge.
Section 11 provides that any ambiguity in interpreting the Act shall be resolved in favour of the applicant, and that no agency shall issue unduly restrictive regulations rendering the benefits nugatory. Doing so is an administrative offence punishable under the Administrative Code.
An interagency monitoring committee sits over it, with the Secretary of Labor and Employment among its members.
What this page does not cover
The Act sets no validity period for the barangay certification, no processing time for any covered document, and no fee for the certification itself, so none is stated here. It also does not list what each state college charges for a transcript, which is set institution by institution. The Act was passed by both chambers on 6 February 2019.
Related
The NBI clearance guide covers the separate first-time jobseeker portal NBI runs, the barangay clearance guide covers the office issuing your proof of eligibility, and the TIN registration guide covers the number an employee must obtain within 10 days of employment, and the work abroad without experience guide covers the routes open to a first-time applicant heading overseas.
Frequently asked questions
- What does RA 11261 actually waive?
- Government fees and charges on documents usually required in the course of employment, from all government agencies and instrumentalities, GOCCs, local government units and government hospitals. The Act lists 10 covered transactions, and the benefit may be availed only once.
- What do I need to prove I qualify?
- A barangay certification stating that you are a first time jobseeker. That single document is the proof of eligibility under Section 5, and anyone found guilty of fabricating or falsifying it is liable under the law.
- Is my passport free?
- No. Section 8 expressly excludes a Philippine passport application, and DFA authentication and red ribbon of documents. It also excludes PRC licensure examinations, the CSC Career Service Examination, and an LTO driver's licence application.
- Is a medical certificate free?
- The certificate itself is, from a public hospital. But the Act states plainly that fees and charges collected for laboratory tests and other medical procedures required for the grant of that certificate shall not be free of charge.
- How much does this actually save?
- On the published fees, an NBI clearance is ₱160.00, a National Police Clearance ₱150.00, and PSA birth and marriage certificates ₱130.00 each. Those four alone come to ₱570.00, which is what a first time jobseeker does not pay.
- Can I use it more than once?
- No. Section 3 provides that the benefit shall only be availed of once. The agencies maintain a roster of everyone issued documents under the Act, submitted to the DICT, which compiles a database accessible to all relevant agencies.
- Who helps me get the documents?
- The Public Employment Service Office, or PESO, in your province, city or municipality. Section 7 makes PESO a one stop shop that assists first time jobseekers in securing required pre-employment documents from relevant government agencies.
- Can an agency refuse or add conditions?
- The Act is written against that. Section 11 provides that any ambiguity shall be interpreted in favour of the applicant, and that no agency shall issue unduly restrictive regulations rendering the benefits nugatory, which constitutes an administrative offence.