Great news! A legislation that seeks the permanent validity of birth, death, and marriage certificates lapsed into law on July 28, 2022. This means that all of these documents are now considered as valid… for life!
The sponsor of the law in the Senate, Senator Bong Revilla, Jr., clarified that certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), its predecessor, the National Statistics Office (NSO), and Local Civil Registries, are now confirmed as permanently valid, regardless of the date of issuance.
PH Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates Now Valid for Life
On Tuesday, August 2, Senator Revilla shared a copy of a letter from Malacañang, GMA News reported. The letter was addressed to the Senate President, informing him about the enactment of R.A. No 11909. It was signed by Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez.
The letter states that pursuant to Article 6, Section 27 (1) of the Constitution, R.A. No. 11909 — an Act providing for the permanent validity of Certificates of Live Birth, Death, and Marriage — lapsed into law on July 28, 2022.
Moreover, the letter mentions that certificates that are issued, signed, and certified or authenticated by the PSA, NSO, and Local Civil Registries are considered as permanently valid. The same goes for Reports of Birth, Death, and Marriage that are registered and issued by Philippine Foreign Service Posts.
Senator Revilla explained that R.A. No. 11909 was proposed to address the growing concern regarding birth, death, and marriage certificates. Apparently, some government agencies and private institutions have been accepting certificates that were obtained during the past 6 months only, thus creating the impression that there is a 6-month validity for such documents.
Although the PSA has clarified that these documents do not have an “expiration date,” Senator Revilla explained that the frequent changing of the color of the security paper has resulted in the rejection of documents by some institutions.
Fortunately, the recent enactment of R.A. No. 11909 confirms that all birth, death, and marriage certificates issued by the PSA, NSO, or Local Civil Registries — regardless of the date of issuance — shall be recognized as valid and accepted in all government and private institutions.
With the enactment of this law regarding birth, death, and marriage certificates, Filipinos no longer have to worry about having to obtain such documents time and time again. As long as you have a copy of these certificates, you can use them as proof of identity or as supporting documents for various purposes.
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