Correction of Birth Date/Sex in Civil Registry

No entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order, except under Republic Act No. 9048 as amended by Section 1 of Republic Act No. 10172.
The exception applies to clerical or typographical errors and to change of first name or nickname under Section 1.
The exception also applies to the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry under Section 1.
The correction may be done by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general in accordance with the Act and its implementing rules and regulations under Section 1.

Section 2 amends the definition of “clerical or typographical error.”
A clerical or typographical error is a mistake in clerical work in writing, copying, transcribing, or typing a civil register entry that is harmless and innocuous under Section 2.
Examples expressly include misspelled name, misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and month in the date of birth, mistake in the entry of sex, and similar errors that are visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected only by reference to other existing record(s) under Section 2.
No correction must involve the change of nationality, age, or status of the petitioner under the proviso in Section 2.

The petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error or for change of first name or nickname must be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before a person authorized by law to administer oaths under Section 3.
The affidavit must set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and must show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated under Section 3.
The petitioner must state the particular erroneous entry or entries sought to be corrected and/or the change sought to be made under Section 3.
The petition must be supported by:
- (1) a certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry/entries sought to be corrected or changed;
- (2) at least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry/entries to be the basis of the correction/change; and
- (3) other documents the petitioner or the civil registrar/consul general may consider relevant and necessary under Section 3.

No petition for correction of erroneous entry concerning the date of birth or the sex of a person shall be entertained unless accompanied by the earliest school record or earliest school documents, such as but not limited to medical records, baptismal certificate, and other documents issued by religious authorities under Section 3.
No entry involving change of gender shall be corrected unless the petition is accompanied by a certification issued by an accredited government physician attesting that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant under Section 3.
For the change of first name or nickname, or for correction of erroneous entry concerning the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a person, the petition must be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation under Section 3.

The petitioner must submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcement agencies that the petitioner has no pending case or no criminal record under Section 3.
The petition and supporting papers must be filed in three (3) copies distributed as follows under Section 3:
- first copy to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general;
- second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and
- third copy to the petitioner.

The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general is authorized to collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition under Section 4.
An indigent petitioner is exempt from the payment of the fee under Section 4.
Fees collected accrue to the funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the Office of the Consul General for modernization of the office and hiring of new personnel and procurement of supplies, subject to government accounting and auditing rules under Section 4.

Separability is provided: if any provision of the Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder remains in full force and effect under Section 5.
Repealing is provided: any laws, decrees, rules, or regulations inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly under Section 6.
The Act’s effectivity rule is 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation under Section 7.