How to Get Your Philippine Passport: How to Schedule Your Online Appointment (New or Renewal)

Tagalog Version (Click Here)

Five years ago, we used to have to call the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office to schedule an appointment and renew our passport. Now, however, you can do it all online, pay for the passport and appointment at the nearest 7-11, Bayad Center, or place you can pay utility bills, and have everything ready for your personal appearance at the DFA.

If you want to get your Philippine Passport or renew your old passport, here’s how to schedule for an appointment online.

How to Get Your Passport

Before you begin:

• You need to have a confirmed appointment to renew your passport. You have to schedule your application online and pay before your schedule gets confirmed. Those who qualify for the courtesy lane (Senior Citizens, Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), etc. Check this list to learn more) do not need this requirement.
• You must have a Gmail account for the payment reference email and confirmation notification email. Other email providers have incompatibilities with the DFA’s system and only Gmail works consistently.
  • NOTE: If you’re registering for a group, all members must have their own Gmail account.
• Prepare your passport requirements, originals AND photocopies, for your personal appearance at the DFA. 
  • Adult new applicants will usually need Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Authenticated Birth Certificates and an acceptable ID (click this link for the list) while renewals will need the old passport.
  • Minors who are new applicants will need a PSA Authenticated Birth Certificate, marriage certificate of the parent if only one parent is accompanying the child, proof of filiation and/or guardianship if needed, a valid ID of the parent, and a school ID of the child if they have one. For renewals, you will need the child’s old passport as well as the parent’s requirements.
  • The requirements are different for each scenario (adult, minor, new passport, renewal, lost passport, etc.). Please click this link to learn the details.
• Print your application form on A4 paper and do not sign it yet. You’ll receive this through email after the online application and payment.
• Special notice: “No show, no refund”. Choose your appointment date and time carefully and reschedule only if absolutely necessary.

Part 1: Go to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Website

1. Head to the official website of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA): https://www.dfa.gov.ph/
2. Under “Consular Services”, click on “Passport Appointment”. That will take you to: https://www.passport.gov.ph/appointment
   • Special reminder: Make sure there’s “HTTPS” in front of the URL and not “HTTP” because the HTTPS version is more secure against hackers and other online criminals.
3. Read the terms carefully as important notices will be announced there (e.g. Use a Gmail email address). Click the checkbox after you’ve read and understood the terms and conditions.
4. Click the Start an Individual Appointment button if you’re going alone, or the Start Group Appointment if you are going with friends or family. For the group appointment, you’ll need to specify the number of your group on the next step.
5. Choose the site location (Region, Country, and Site) where you’ll do the appointment, and click next.
6. Choose the date and time for your appointment (usually weekdays only).
7. Input your personal information, your family information, application information, contact information, and group contact information if you’re registering for a group.
8. You will also need to choose if you’re going to pay for regular processing (P950), or expedited processing (P1,200). Use expedited if you want to receive your passport sooner. There’s also an additional P50 convenience fee added to those.
9. Once that process is done, you’ll receive an email containing the payment reference number. You’ll need to pay for this to confirm your appointment.

Part 2: Payment and Confirmation

1. Open the email account you used for your passport appointment (check the junk or spam folder if necessary).
2. Open the Payment Reference email that you’ve received and take note of the reference number. If you used the group appointment system, they will each have their own payment reference number.
3. Go to any Bayad Center branch, 7-11, ECPay outlet, or some other DFA authorized partner such as Robinsons Malls & Supermarkets, LBC, eBiz, Perahub, USSC, Truemoney, Villarica, etc. Click this link for the list of authorized partners.
4. Pay for your appointment using your payment reference number. For group appointments, you will need to pay for each member’s reference number.
5. After payment, you should receive a confirmation notification email. Print the attached passport application form (PDF file) on A4 sized papers, but do not sign it yet. Bring it with you along with your other requirements (originals plus photocopies) to your scheduled appointment at the DFA.

Special notice: “No show, no refund”. If you can’t make it on your scheduled date, you have to reschedule.

Part 3: Personal Appearance at the DFA

1. Remember to observe the dress code for your personal appearance. Wear an appropriate shirt or top and avoid wearing too much jewelry or makeup. Double-check your requirements and their photocopies too!
2. Get to your chosen DFA office at least 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment.
3. On your scheduled appointment time, prepare your passport application form for verification (Step A) at the DFA entrance. You will be given a queue number once verified.
4. Go to the processing area and wait for your number to be called. Prepare your requirements and your old passport (for renewals). The DFA officer will take your forms and photocopies, disable your old passport if necessary, and confirm if you’re going to use the courier or not. They will also tell you the expected day when your passport will be released. When you’re done, head over to encoding and get a number.
   • Note: There’s a passport payment step between processing and encoding. Since you will normally pay before confirmation, this is probably for courtesy lane applicants who do not need an online appointment.
5. When your number is called at the encoding section, your photo, signature, thumb and index fingerprints (both hands) will be taken. Double check your information and confirm it with the DFA officer if it’s all correct. When done, take your original receipt as you’ll need it to claim your passport.
6. After encoding, there’s a courier service you can pay for in case you want your passport delivered to your house. If you don’t want to use it, you will have to go back to that DFA branch for pickup.

Passport pickup: Call your DFA branch in advance to double check if they already have your passport. Bring your receipt and old passport to your DFA branch and head to the releasing section. Submit your documents and wait to be called. They’ll let you inspect your new passport first, so double check the information inside and check for any errors. If it’s all correct, sign the release forms and let them deactivate your old passport.

You may need to sign your new passport to make it valid, by the way, and it’s also a good idea to fill up the emergency contact info section at the back.

After that, you may leave the area. Congratulations on receiving your new passport! Take good care of it, don’t write anything on it aside from the required sections I mentioned in the above paragraph, and make sure it does not get folded, damaged, or defaced.

That’s all for now! Do you have any questions about how to schedule a passport appointment online or how to get a Philippine passport? Just ask us in the comments section below!