In a move aimed at simplifying the enrollment process, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced that parents and guardians will now only need to submit a student’s birth certificate once during the entire K-12 education cycle.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara confirmed the new policy on Saturday, stating that it is part of the department’s broader initiative to reduce enrollment delays and ensure that students are not hindered from attending classes due to missing documentation.
Under the revised guidelines, learners are required to submit either the original or a certified true copy of their birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Once this document has been submitted to the school system, it will no longer be required in succeeding grade levels, even when transferring between schools.
“This is a small but meaningful reform that will help millions of families, especially those in remote areas where acquiring official documents can be time-consuming and costly,” Secretary Angara explained. “Our goal is to focus on access to education, not on bureaucracy.”
For students who do not yet have a PSA-issued birth certificate at the time of enrollment, the DepEd will accept alternative government-issued IDs, such as the Philippine National ID, Persons with Disability (PWD) ID, or PhilHealth ID. These substitutes will be temporarily valid until October 31, by which time the PSA birth certificate must be submitted once available.
DepEd clarified that while the flexibility helps reduce barriers to enrollment, it is still important for students to have complete documentation for official records and other government transactions in the future.
The new policy has been welcomed by parents and school administrators alike, who say it will significantly ease the annual burden of compiling enrollment requirements.
This initiative is in line with DepEd’s broader mission of improving educational access and promoting a more learner-centered system, as the department continues to roll out programs under the K-12 reform and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
With this streamlined process, DepEd hopes to encourage early and smooth enrollment and allow schools to better focus on academic readiness rather than administrative issues.