I requested a copy of my PSA (formerly NSO) Marriage Certificate last Monday and received it today, on a Saturday afternoon. I was required to present 1 valid ID and submit a photocopy of it to the person who delivered my PSA Marriage Certificate.
Online request for PSA Marriage Certificate
On August 19, Monday, I requested a copy of my PSA Marriage Certificate online. It’s for my application for Japan visa so that’s the info I entered before clicking the “Submit” button. Then, I filled out the Marriage Details, Name of Husband, and Maiden Name of Wife. I was also asked if I had any of the following done to my marriage certificate: correction of entry, annulment, court hearings, supplemental, or legal separation… I just clicked the “None” button. And then, I had to fill out information on “Who is requesting for this Marriage Certificate?” which should match the receiver’s name in the valid ID to be presented when the marriage certificate is delivered. Upon checkout for the online ordering of my PSA Marriage Certificate, I provided my contact info, delivery address, and number of copies of the certificate. This is the point where one could add the name of authorized representatives if the owner will not be the one to receive the marriage certificate. If you are opting for this, make sure to print the LOA (Letter of Authorization).
Payment for my PSA Marriage Certificate online order
You may pay online using a credit card or GCash, or by bank transfer. I chose to use GCash.
Before sending payment for my marriage certificate, the status of my order was like this:
August 19, 2019, 10:22 am
Status
Waiting for Payment Confirmation from Payment Provider
After entering my GCash mobile number, I received an SMS asking for my GCash pin for confirmation.
Few minutes later, the status of my order was updated into the following:
August 19, 2019, 10:28 am
Status
Paid via GCash
NSO Processing
The next day, the status of my PSA marriage certificate online order became “processing”:
August 20, 2019, 1:34 am
Status
Submitted to NSO for processing
Delivery of the PSA Marriage Certificate
5 days after my online order, I received the following SMS at 7:34 AM:
Good morning. Please be advised that your requested PSA (NSO) document is for delivery anytime today. Kindly prepare the recipient’s original & photocopy of the valid ID as well as the Letter of Authorization with original & photocopy of the valid ID from the person issuing the letter (if applicable). For inquiries, pls call PSAHelpline at 737-1111. Thank you.
I checked the status of my order online and saw the following:
August 23, 2019, 4:01 pm
Status
For Delivery
Oooh, so it was already marked as “for delivery” since the day before!
At 12:59PM the delivery person texted me, asking me to prepare my valid ID and a photocopy of it. I was surprised that he asked me for a photocopy too. Previously, when I requested PSA (NSO) certificates, the delivery staff didn’t even check for valid IDs sometimes. I re-read the requirements at the PSA website and found this:
What are the necessary requirements to be presented when receiving the documents upon delivery?
If the person receiving the document is the owner or any of the Authorized persons(legal spouse, father, mother, son or daughter), he/she should present a signed valid original ID and submit a photocopy to the courier.
If the receiving party is not one of the authorized persons, he/she needs to present the following:
> Original signed letter of authorization (LOA) from the certificate owner/authorized persons (legal spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter)
> To present a valid original ID of the owner/authorized persons (legal spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter)
> A photocopy of the valid ID of the owner/authorized persons (legal spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter)
> A photocopy of the valid ID of the authorized representative
Oops! My bad, I didn’t check for the changes in the rules. I’m super lucky we have a printer with photocopy function at home. Otherwise, the marriage certificate would probably be re-delivered on another day because I don’t think we have any photocopy service near our home.
The delivery person arrived at our place around 1:45PM. He asked me to sign a document for receipt. He told me that PSA became more strict recently so they now require a photocopy of the valid ID, aside from presenting the actual ID to the courier. I was told that a lot of clients have been frustrated about this new requirement, and that one of the delivery persons was slapped by a customer before because he could not provide a photocopy of a valid ID. Ouch! But PSA really won’t allow us to receive the certificate anymore without submitting a photocopy of the ID, for data security purposes.
I live in America. I married my ex-wife in the Philippines in 2008. And now I need a marriage certificate. How can I apply for a copy of my marriage certificate to be sent to my address in the US? And what are the steps? please advise me.
Thank you