PDOS Certificate: The Mandatory Seminar Before You Fly
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration · requirements
Quick answer
The Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar is mandatory for departing migrant workers and carries no fee. OWWA's in-house PDOS for Japan and Canada runs 1 day; another session runs 2 hours. The electronic Certificate of Attendance follows by email.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from OWWA's official published sources: OWWA | Citizen's Charter 2026 (1st Edition) (https://owwa.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/OWWA_CC_2026v3-1.pdf, retrieved 2026-08-31); Department of Migrant Workers | Citizen's Charter 2026 (1st Edition) (https://dmw.gov.ph/resources/citizen-charter, retrieved 2026-08-31). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with OWWA before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-08-31.
PDOS is the seminar you cannot skip. OWWA calls it a mandatory orientation-seminar for departing migrant workers, it costs nothing, and the certificate it produces turns up later in the OEC paperwork.
What it covers
OWWA lists the content directly: work standards, the general profile of the country of destination, the stages of the OFW’s life abroad, health and safety, travel tips, airport procedure, and government programmes and services. The seminars are country-specific and in some cases skill-specific, which is why there is more than one version.
The versions, and how long each runs
| Version | Who it is for | Duration | Published total | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OWWA in-house PDOS | Departing OFWs bound for Japan and Canada | 1 day | 1 day and 35 minutes | None |
| PDOS session | Includes workers under the Government Placement Branch for KSA, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Japan and Israel | 2 hours | 2 hours and 4 minutes | None |
| Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program (CPDEP) | Household service workers | 1 to 6 days | Per the charter | Per the charter |
The 2-hour session runs Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The in-house PDOS runs Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
CPDEP is a different animal: a 1 to 6 day in-house language and culture familiarisation training for domestic workers before employment overseas, intended to equip them with basic survival communication skills for the labour migration challenges ahead.
What to bring
For the in-house PDOS, Japan and Canada:
| # | Requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Photocopy and original passport and working visa | DFA and the concerned embassy |
| 2 | Endorsement letter | Philippine recruitment agency |
| 3 | Employment contract verified by the Migrant Workers Office in the country of work | MWO or DMW |
| 4 | For Japan: Certificate of Eligibility (COE) and the Addendum to the Master Employment Contract | Foreign employer or foreign recruitment agency, and the MWO |
| 5 | For Canada: Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) | Foreign employer |
For the 2-hour session:
| # | Requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One photocopy of your passport | DFA and the concerned embassy |
| 2 | Photocopy of the employment contract verified by the MWO in the country of work | Migrant Workers Office |
| 3 | E-Registration Form, for the clearance or compliance phase | DMW Name-Hire Online Services Portal |
| 4 | For Government Placement Branch workers bound for KSA, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Japan or Israel: an endorsement letter | DMW Government Placement Bureau |
That third row links this seminar straight back to the DMW system. The OEC online appointment guide covers creating the e-Registration account it refers to.
The steps
In-house PDOS, published as 1 day and 35 minutes in total:
| Step | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The recruitment agency fills in and submits your requirements through the online in-house PDOS enrolment portal; enrolment staff send the training schedule to the agency’s registered email after checking completeness | 5 minutes |
| 2 | You attend the seminar | 1 day |
| 3 | You obtain the electronic Certificate of Attendance a day after the PDOS, released by email via the agency and to the OFW | 30 minutes |
The 2-hour session, published as 2 hours and 4 minutes in total:
| Step | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scan the QR code for PDOS; staff assist the trainees | 1 minute |
| 2 | Fill out the online application form; staff verify trainee identity against the submitted documents | 2 minutes |
| 3 | Attend the PDOS training, conducted by a resource speaker | 2 hours |
| 4 | Obtain the electronic Certificate of Attendance at the end of the seminar, sent to your email | 1 minute |
The difference in certificate timing is worth planning around: a day after on the in-house route, at the end of the seminar on the 2-hour route.
Who is allowed to run a PDOS
OWWA also accredits providers. Its Recognition of Providers to Conduct Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar service covers recruitment agencies and other bodies applying to deliver PDOS to departing OFWs.
| Step in the accreditation | Published time |
|---|---|
| Submission and receipt of requirements | 10 minutes |
| Conduct of the training of PDOS trainers | 16 hours |
| Conduct of the PDOS inspection and the PDOS proper | 4 hours |
| Recommendation and compliance | 3 to 5 days |
| Issue of the certificate | 10 minutes |
The applicant provider submits an accomplished PDOS Provider Data Sheet, OWWA’s standard format for the PDOS, its Certificate of Participation or Completion template, and photographs of the actual PDOS venue. That is the answer to whether a seminar you were sent to is legitimate: OWWA recognises the provider, and the certificate format is OWWA’s own.
Where the certificate is used
The DMW Citizen’s Charter lists the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar Certificate among the OEC processing requirements for government-hired workers, to be secured from the OWWA Program and Service Division, alongside a visa photocopy, an e-ticket, a DMW official receipt and, for some destinations, medical documents.
That same OEC processing step is where the fees land: Pag-IBIG ₱600.00, an OWWA membership contribution of USD 25.00, and a DMW processing fee of USD 50.00 for government-hired workers, with workers bound for Japan, Germany and Taiwan having all applicable fees shouldered by employers, Croatia-bound workers paying only the Pag-IBIG contribution, and South Korea and Saudi Arabia-bound workers shouldering all fees. The OEC guide sets out the full schedule.
What this page does not cover
OWWA does not publish, in the sources read for this page, the PDOS schedule or venue list, the validity period of a Certificate of Attendance, whether a certificate can be reissued, the fee or requirements for CPDEP in detail, or the rules for workers bound for destinations outside those named in the two services above. None of those are stated here. OWWA’s published hotline is 1348.
Related
The OWWA membership guide covers the USD $25.00 contribution paid alongside this seminar in the OEC process. The OFW insurance guide covers what that membership pays out, and the OEC guide covers the exit clearance the PDOS certificate feeds into.
Frequently asked questions
- What is PDOS?
- The Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar. OWWA describes it as a mandatory orientation-seminar aimed at orienting departing migrant workers with basic information most beneficial to them, and the sessions are country-specific and in some cases skill-specific.
- What does it cover?
- Work standards, the general profile of the country of destination, the stages of an OFW's life abroad, health and safety, travel tips, airport procedure, and government programmes and services.
- How much does it cost?
- The OWWA Citizen's Charter records the fee to be paid at every step of its in-house PDOS as none.
- How long does it take?
- OWWA's in-house PDOS for workers bound for Japan and Canada is a 1-day seminar, with a published total of 1 day and 35 minutes. A separate PDOS session runs 2 hours, with a published total of 2 hours and 4 minutes.
- When do I get the certificate?
- For the in-house PDOS, an electronic Certificate of Attendance is released a day after the seminar, sent by email through the recruitment agency and to the OFW. For the 2-hour session, the electronic certificate is sent at the end of the seminar.
- What do I bring?
- For the in-house PDOS: original and photocopy of your passport and working visa, an endorsement letter from your recruitment agency, and an employment contract verified by the Migrant Workers Office in your country of work. Japan-bound workers add a Certificate of Eligibility and the Addendum to the Master Employment Contract; Canada-bound workers add a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
- Is there a longer version for household workers?
- Yes. The Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers is a 1 to 6 day in-house language and culture familiarisation training, intended to equip domestic workers with basic survival communication skills.
- Where does the PDOS certificate get used?
- The DMW Citizen's Charter lists the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar Certificate among the OEC processing requirements for government-hired workers, secured from the OWWA Program and Service Division.