Philippine Document Apostille in the U.S. — 2026 Guide

This changed on 15 May 2019, when the Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention. From that date the consulates stopped authenticating two whole categories of U.S. paperwork: documents notarised by a U.S. notary public, and documents signed or issued by federal, state, county, city, university or school officials. Those now need only a U.S. apostille.

Quick facts

The old red ribbon that people still ask for is gone for these documents. Asking a consulate to authenticate a notarised U.S. deed today simply produces a referral to the Secretary of State.

Fees breakdown

What the posts still do is notarise private documents signed in front of a consular officer for use in the Philippines. That is a different service from authenticating something already notarised elsewhere.

How to prepare a document for the Philippines

1. Decide whether the document is a public record or a private one you are about to sign.
2. Public records go for an apostille to the state that issued them, or to Washington for federal ones.
3. Private documents you intend to sign can instead be notarised at the consulate, in person.
4. Order PSA copies of Philippine civil records directly from the Philippine statistics service.
5. Keep the whole set together and check how recent each document must be.

Required documents

• Original certified copy with signature and seal.
• Completed state authentication request and payment.
• Prepaid return envelope for mail filings.
• Photo ID for in-person service.

What consulates do instead

They notarise private documents for use in the Philippines, issue passports and visas, take dual citizenship applications, process reports of birth, marriage and death, and acknowledge fingerprint cards for police clearance applications.

Additional notes

Philippine documents going the other way

Philippine public documents are apostilled by the foreign affairs department in the Philippines, not by posts abroad.

PSA copies

Birth, marriage and death certificates come from the Philippine statistics service and can be ordered online from the United States. Almost every consular file requires them.

Police clearance

Applications for a Philippine police clearance from abroad involve a fingerprint card acknowledged at the consulate, which is charged as a notarial service.

Order two copies

Philippine offices retain what they receive. A spare apostilled original saves repeating the chain.