TESDA Free Courses: What Free Actually Means
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority · training
Quick answer
TESDA publishes fees of None for Application for Scholarship and Enrolment and for Application for Assessment and Certification. It does not publish tuition, which is set by the training institution, so free enrolment does not always mean free training.
Every figure on this page is from TESDA's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Citizen's Charter CY 2025 (First Edition)1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with TESDA.
“Free TESDA course” is one of the most searched phrases about the agency, and the honest answer has two halves.
What TESDA publishes as free
| Service | Fees to be paid |
|---|---|
| Application for Scholarship and Enrolment | None, at every published step |
| Application for Assessment and Certification | None |
Those are TESDA’s own entries in the Citizen’s Charter CY 2025, First Edition.
The TESDA Online Program
The genuinely free option, and the one most people mean by “free TESDA courses”, is the TESDA Online Program (TOP) at e-tesda.gov.ph. TESDA describes it as:
a web-based platform that offers free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for the technical education and skills development of the Filipino workers.
Through information and communication technologies, TESDA says the TOP delivers technical-vocational education and training at the learner’s own space and time. Registration is free and the courses carry no fee.
It is also available for blended learning through the Multi-Regional TESDA Online Program (MRTOP), offered by TESDA Technology Institutions.
Courses are grouped by sector, and many map to a National Certificate qualification.
| Sector | Examples of what it carries |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Organic Agriculture Production NC II, Agricultural Crops Production NC II, Agro-Entrepreneurship NC II and NC III, Aquaponic Food Production, Fruit Growing |
| Construction | Plumbing NC II, Photovoltaic Systems Installation NC II, Technical Drafting NC II |
| Electrical and Electronics | Computer System Servicing NC II, Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC II, Renewable and Alternative Energy |
| Human Health and Health Care | Caregiving (Elderly) NC II, Massage Therapy NC II, Barangay Health Services NC II, Contact Tracing NC II |
| HVAC and Refrigeration | Domestic Refrigeration and Airconditioning Servicing, Commercial Air-Conditioning Installation and Servicing NC III |
| Automotive and Land Transport | Automotive Servicing (Engine Repair) NC II |
| Entrepreneurship | Start and Improve Your Business, iSTAR Program, OFW RISE |
| 21st Century Skills | Communication, Language Literacy, Environmental Literacy, Digital Literacy, Job Ready Courses |
The important limit: an online course is not an assessment. Completing a TOP course in Caregiving does not itself produce a National Certificate. The certificate comes from competency assessment, which is a separate step with its own published position on fees. The national certificate guide covers what the NC actually is and how it is obtained.
What TESDA does not publish
Tuition. The charter contains no per-course price, because the training itself is delivered by training institutions rather than by the charter’s own service counters. This page therefore states no tuition figure.
The distinction that matters:
| Published by TESDA | Set by the training institution | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrolment application | None | - |
| Assessment application | None | - |
| Certified True Copy of an NC or CoC | ₱50.00 | - |
| Course tuition | Not published | Yes |
| Assessment center charges | Not published | Yes |
What will cost you regardless
The documents on TESDA’s own checklists come from other agencies, and those have published prices.
| Requirement | Published fee | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| PSA or NSO birth certificate | ₱130.00 for a viewable online copy | PSA birth certificate |
| Marriage certificate, for married women | ₱130.00 | PSA marriage certificate |
| Medical certificate from a government hospital or clinic | Not published | - |
| 4 pieces of 1x1 ID pictures, for enrolment | Not published | - |
| 2 passport-size photos with collar and name tag, for assessment | Not published | - |
The scholarship machinery
TESDA’s enrolment service is titled Application for Scholarship and Enrolment, and the charter carries the supporting services behind it:
- Issuance of Scholarship Grant Certificates to Regional Offices
- Transfer of Scholarship Funds to TESDA Regional Offices
The scholarship guide covers what TESDA publishes about them.
For OFWs
The Overseas Assessment Program conducts competency assessment for OFWs overseas through training organisations or Filipino communities, via the Migrant Workers Office, run by CO-TOTACU. The charter publishes no fee for it. The Migrant Workers Office guide covers the office it routes through.
What the surrounding documents cost
| Document | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Certified True Copy of an NC or CoC | ₱50.00 |
| PSA birth certificate, viewable online | ₱130.00 |
| PSA marriage certificate, viewable online | ₱130.00 |
| National Police Clearance | ₱150.00 plus a convenience fee |
| NBI clearance | ₱160.00 all-in |
| Security guard LESP | ₱500.00 |
| Seafarer’s Record Book | ₱1,000.00 |
| PRC licence renewal, 3 years | ₱450.00 |
| Travel tax, economy | ₱1,620.00, or ₱0.00 for an OFW |
TESDA dormitory rates are ₱300.00 per day for an executive room, ₱250.00 for an air-conditioned room with its own CR and ₱220.00 with a common CR, for walk-in or non-TESDA guests.
What this page does not cover
TESDA does not publish, in the charter read for this guide, tuition for any course, charges levied by assessment centers or training institutions, the number of scholarship slots, eligibility criteria for a scholarship grant, or the cost of the required medical certificate. None of those are stated here.
Related
The courses guide covers the published services. The enrolment guide covers the six documents. The National Certificate guide covers assessment.
Frequently asked questions
- Are TESDA courses really free?
- The government services around them are. TESDA's 2025 charter publishes fees of None for Application for Scholarship and Enrolment and for Application for Assessment and Certification. It does not publish tuition, which is set by the training institution delivering the course.
- So what might I still pay?
- TESDA does not publish this, so no figure is stated here. What it does publish is one charge in these services: ₱50.00 for a certified true copy of a National Certificate or Certificate of Competency.
- Do I pay for the assessment?
- TESDA's Application for Assessment and Certification carries fees of None with a published total of 34 minutes. Fees charged by individual assessment centers are not published in the charter.
- What documents will cost me money?
- The ones from other agencies. A PSA birth certificate is ₱130.00 for a viewable online copy and is on both TESDA checklists. A medical certificate from a government hospital or clinic is required for enrolment, and TESDA does not publish its cost.
- Is there a scholarship?
- TESDA's enrolment service is titled Application for Scholarship and Enrolment, and its charter includes services for the Issuance of Scholarship Grant Certificates to Regional Offices and the Transfer of Scholarship Funds to TESDA Regional Offices.
- Who qualifies to enrol?
- High school graduates, the working age population, and any citizen who is qualified for a given training program.
- Is anything free for OFWs?
- TESDA runs an Overseas Assessment Program conducting competency assessment for OFWs overseas through training organisations or Filipino communities, via the Migrant Workers Office. The charter does not publish a fee for it.
- How do I check a course is registered?
- Through TESDA's Registered Courses list and its Program Registration and Accreditation service. An unregistered program does not lead to a National Certificate.