How to Order for your PSA Certificates Online

Our family will be traveling to Japan later this year and we are currently in the process of completing all our documentary requirements for our visa application.  I was tasked to take care of everyone’s copies of PSA birth and marriage certificates, and make sure these are ready for submission by the end of the month.

Back in the ‘90s, this would have been a herculean task – traveling all the way to an NSO branch (PSA used to be called NSO), lining up for my turn, and waiting until they are able to release my requested documents.  With the 15 names and 4 marriages in my list that needed PSA certificates, it would have taken me the whole day to get the errand done.  I would have had to take a leave from work and spend extra on gas, parking, and food.

Good thing I can do all these online now, through PSAHelpline.ph.  The moment I got my assignment from my Tita during our Sunday family lunch, I immediately borrowed by cousin’s laptop and began submitting my orders online.  The process is really easy and simple:

1. Log on to www.psahelpline.ph and click on the type of certificate you need (in my case, 15 birth certificates and 4 marriage certificates).  Take note that you will be placing one order for each person’s certificate (I had to be patient, but only for 30 minutes, not an entire day!).
2. Choose the reason for ordering the certificate.  I chose the first one: Passport/Travel; I also had to select the country we were traveling to.
3. You will be taken to a page where you’ll have to type the certificate owner’s information.  If you are applying for a different person (other than yourself), it’s best to have their complete information handy so you don’t waste your time going back and forth, asking for their personal details.  This is why I endeavored to finish the task while the entire family was literally, “under the same roof”.
4. After submitting all your information, you will be asked if you had any procedure done on your certificate such as: Correction of Entries, Legitimation, Adoption, Court Hearings, and Supplemental.  If you’ve never had any, just click on “None”.
5. The next page will ask who is requesting for the document.  Anybody can request for a person’s birth certificate PROVIDED he is of legal age and has a valid ID that matches the name on the application form.  The ID will be presented to the courier upon delivery.  On the same page, you will also be asked for authorized representatives who can receive the documents on your behalf in case you are not around when the courier arrives.  Again, these representatives must have valid IDs that they can present upon documents’ delivery.  As the requesting party, you must also provide the representatives with a Letter of Authorization and one of your valid IDs.
6. On the Checkout page, you have a chance to double check all the information you provided.  Before submitting your request, you will be asked to provide your contact information, the complete delivery address, and the number of copies you need delivered.  One copy costs P350, this already includes processing and delivery.
7. Upon hitting the “Submit” button, you will be taken to the confirmation page.  You will then receive an email from PSAHelpline with your order number and the different modes of payments.
8. Pay and wait for your orders to be delivered.

And now, the easier part: paying for my orders!  I was delighted to see that PSAHelpline now has various payment center partners that we could choose from.  Normally, I would simply whip out my credit card and pay online but since the transactions involved a lot of other people, I opted not to offer my card (hehe!).

Visit my blog again tomorrow for details on the different payment options of PSAHelpline.  Meantime, let me go online to shop for preloved winter clothes to prepare for our Japan trip!

Arigatou gozaimasu!