Petition for Correction of Clerical Error

Petition for Correction of Clerical Error (PCCE)  in Civil Registry Documents

Republic Act (RA) No. 9048, as amended by RA No. 10172, allows Filipinos abroad to file a petition to correct a clerical or typographical error in an entry in the Civil Register without the need for a judicial order. The petition may be filed at the Philippine Embassy or Philippine Consulate General that has jurisdiction over the place of residence of the petitioner.

A clerical or typographical error refers to an obvious mistake committed in the performance of clerical work that is harmless or innocuous, such as the following:

• A misspelled first name or misspelled place of birth and the like, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing records
• Day and/or month in the date birth
• Sex, provided that the correction is not a result of sex reassignment surgery and the petitioner is still alive

The correction of clerical error can only be availed once per entry. Any subsequent correction for the same entry previously corrected under the law cannot be entertained and should be resolved through judicial means.

Who May File the Petition

• The owner of the record that contains the error to be corrected
• If the owner is a minor (below 18 years old) or physically or mentally incapacitated, the petition may be filed by the owner’s spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, guardians or persons duly authorized by law, provided that the document owner will appear in person

Where to File the Petition

• The general rule is that petition shall be filed with the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) or Philippine Embassy or Philippine Consulate General where the record containing the clerical error to be corrected is kept.
• In case the petitioner is a migrant within or outside the Philippines, meaning his present residence or domicile is different from where his civil registry record or records are registered, he may file the petition in the nearest LCRO in his area or Philippine Consulate General if abroad. His petition will be treated as a migrant petition.
• For time-sensitive /urgent petitions, applicants may file directly with the local civil registry office concern through an authorized representative in the Philippines, in view of the considerable time required for the transmittal of said petitions from the Philippine Consulate to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Civil Registrar Office and the Philippine Statistics Authority and back.

• Migrant petitions cannot be availed of if the entry to be corrected is the sex of the petitioner.

For guidance on how to file for the PCCE, please send an email to civilregistrysection@vancouverpcg.org.