When an officer in a foreign country other than an officer of the Philippines performs a notarial or other official act on a document for use in the Philippines, the official character of the executing officer should be verified by the diplomatic or consular officer of the Philippines. Once verified, the diplomatic or consular officer of the Philippines shall then issue a certificate of authentication in order to give the service legal force and effect in the Philippines.

• JOD 18.750 (USD 25.00) for each document to be authenticated

The authentication procedure consists of a so-called chain of authentication as follows:

1. The applicant must first have the original document and its official English translation notarized or legalized by an authorized notary public or other official authority;
2. Afterwards, the signature of the notary public or official authority is then authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the document's country of origin;
3. The document in its original and one (1) photocopy included, with the stamp and signature of the MFA authentication official already affixed, may then be presented to the Consular Section of the Embassy;
4. The requesting party should also present his or her valid passport with two (2) photocopies of the details page for identification purposes;
5. Upon verification by the Consular Section, the requesting party may then pay the applicable fees to the cashier and get the official receipt;
6. The signature of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official is authenticated by the Consular Officer of the Embassy who then issues and signs a certificate of authentication, thus completing the process.

Note: For information on authentication of documents issued in the Philippines for use abroad, please check the DFA website.