Understanding the Authentication Process for PSA Birth Certificate

Introduction

Authentication of certificates is necessary to prove the genuineness of a certificate. Authentication or legalization is the process of verifying the conformity of certificates or documents by scrutinizing the signatures and stamps on them through different government hierarchies to certify them as valid before law. A birth certificate authentication is vital to confirm its validity for the purpose of study, work, do business or to migrate to foreign countries. In the Philippines, any civil documents registration functions are performed by PSA which stands for Philippine Statistics Authority. A PSA birth certificate can be authenticated by two means- embassy legalization or an apostille. This written note will provide you information on PSA birth certificates, the process of authenticating a PSA birth certificate, and the importance of authenticated PSA birth certificate.

PSA Birth Certificate

PSA or Philippine Statistics Authority is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government and is responsible for administering civil registration functions for the country. 

A birth certificate is the certificate showing the records related to a person’s birth. Documents or certificates are categorized into educational certificates, personal certificates and commercial documents. A birth certificate is a civil document typically known as a personal certificate/document or a non-educational document.

Process of Authenticating a PSA Birth Certificate

The birth certificates can be authenticated either by embassy legalization or by an apostille. 

Embassy Authentication in the Philippines:

The embassy legalization for PSA birth certificates is known as DFA Authentication. A DFA authentication process involves:

1. Certification: Obtaining the document(s) to be certified from the relevant government agency or entity.
2. Authentication: Taking the certified document(s) to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for authentication.
3. Legalization: Taking the authenticated document(s) to the relevant embassy or consulate for legalization.

Apostille Process for PSA Birth Certificate Authentication:

The apostille process discards the final step to include only the first two steps. Here are the steps in DFA apostille:

1. Certification: Obtaining the document(s) to be certified by the relevant government agency or entity.
2. Authentication: Taking the certified document(s) to the DFA for authentication

Therefore, apostille is a faster process because legalization is no longer needed.

Importance of Authenticated PSA Birth Certificate

A birth certificate authentication is important for the following reasons:

• Education: If you plan to study internationally, then you must authenticate your birth certificate. The birth certificates are authenticated for validating it for use by different academic institutions.
• Employment: Different employers require authenticated birth certificates of applicants to confirm the details in the birth records are genuine.
• Immigration Purposes: An authenticated PSA birth certificate is a prerequisite for immigration clearance when you travel abroad. 
• Visa Processing: The importance of certificate authentication for visa processing is inevitable since most countries demand an authenticated certificate.
• Marriage: Some legal systems demand the applicants to produce authenticated birth certificates to ascertain the identity of the individuals intending to get married.
• Legal Proceedings: An authenticated birth certificate may be beneficial in times when it comes to litigation, for instance, in a will or a custody case.

How Can Helpline Groups Help to Authenticate PSA Birth Certificate?

Confused about authenticating a PSA birth certificate? The Helpline Group can help you here. We are a team of expert professionals with more than 25 years of legacy serving our clients worldwide. We operate across borders with 10 international branches. We concentrate on a range of services including certificate attestation/apostille, company formation, police clearance certificate and PRO services.

Conclusion

We, the Helpline Group is the frontier service provider in attestation/authentication and apostille services.  We focus on simplifying the complex process of attestation/apostille with the right kind of guidance and assistance to the clients. We have thousands of happy clients worldwide emphasizing our reliability, integrity and honesty. We handle all the processes with utmost care considering the safety and security of information and documents provided by our clients. 

Contact us for any certificate authentication services.