How to get a Postal ID (Philippine Postal ID Guide)

Tagalog Version (Click Here)

Can you imagine life without a valid government-issued ID? You can’t open a bank account, you can’t verify yourself on online payment and transport apps like GCash and Grab, and you can’t prove your identity when picking up packages. Those are just some of the problems you’ll have to face, and you’re basically stuck and unable to do a lot of basic things simply because you don’t have a valid ID.

Unfortunately, most government IDs need OTHER valid IDs as a requirement to get them so if you don’t have an ID, you’re definitely stuck. Thankfully there’s one valid government-issued ID that’s relatively easy to get, and that’s the Philippine Postal ID (PID).

Here’s how to get your own Philippine Postal ID.

How to get a Postal ID

First off, find the nearest or most convenient post office branch where you can apply for a postal ID. Check out this map on the postal ID’s official website:
https://www.postalidph.com/where-to-apply.html

Bring necessary requirements: What do you need?

1. Postal ID Application Forms – 2 copies.
2. Proof of Identity – e.g. birth certificate, or another ID like a valid driver’s license.
3. Proof of Address – Barangay Clearance or Barangay Certificate of Residency, utility bills or bank statements under your name and address, etc.
4. Payment – P504 for regular processing or P650 for rush processing.

For the full list of requirements, click this link to the official Postal ID website. Take note of the additional requirements for foreign residents!

1. Postal ID Application Forms
You can get this at any Philippine Post Office branch that processes Postal IDs. You can also print your own by downloading it from this link: https://www.postalidph.com/uploads/5/8/5/0/58500909/pid_application_form.pdf

2. Proof of Identity (Bring the original and a photocopy)
While other IDs need OTHER valid IDs as requirements (making them incredibly difficult to get), you can get a Postal ID with just a valid birth certificate from the NSO or Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) as your proof of identity. If you already have other valid IDs, you can also use your driver’s license, passport, GSIS or SSS UMID among others (see list of requirements above).

3. Proof of Address (Bring the original and a photocopy)
If you don’t have utility bills, bank statements or credit card statements under your name and address, then the best proof of address requirement that you can use is a Barangay Certificate of Residency which seems to be a type of Barangay Clearance. You can get one from your area’s Barangay Hall for a small fee and it will take less than an hour to make. I heard that you’ll also need an birth certificate for this, and you might want to tell the Barangay officers that you need it for a Postal ID just to be sure that they give you the right kind. Get a photocopy of your Barangay clearance too or else they’ll take the original copy.

According to the post office employees I spoke to, minors can use utility bills under their parent’s names as a proof of address requirement as long as they live in the same home address. Adults, on the other hand, will need a Barangay Clearance or an NBI clearance if they don’t have utility bills, bank statements, or school billing statements under their name and address.

(Note: Check the full list of requirements to know what other things you can use as proof of address.)

*Special note: Since you’re at the Barangay Hall anyway, why not get a Barangay ID too? All you’ll need is a 1×1 picture and your birth certificate. It might also be useful for picking up your Postal ID.

4. Payment
You’ll need to pay either P504 (delivery in 1 month) or P650 for rush processing (branch pickup in 3-4 days).

Process: What do you need to do?

1. Bring your requirements and their photocopies to the post office. Fill out the PID application forms if you haven’t done so already.
2. Go to the main desk to pay for your ID. It costs P504 for regular processing and P650 for rush processing. Get your receipt.
3. Go to the biometrics capture station. They’ll take your ID photo, scan your thumb and index fingers (both hands) and take your digital signature.
4. Double-check the information they will put on your card and confirm it if it’s all correct.

The whole process shouldn’t take more than an hour depending on how many people are there in that branch. Once you’re done, you can wait for them to deliver it to your home or wait for the specified date for branch pickup if you chose rush processing.

Delivery or Pickup:

If you paid P504, the post office will deliver your ID to your registered address in about a month. If you paid P650, your ID will be ready in about 3-4 days and you can just pick it up from that branch. Remember to bring your receipt! to claim your ID.

*Just to be on the safe side, bring your original birth certificate too or a Barangay ID if this is your very first government-issued ID and you have no other valid IDs.

Pickup via Representative: By the way, you can have a representative pickup your ID for you. You just need to lend them the receipt and write an authorization letter stating that they can pick up your ID on your behalf. For more information, you can ask the post office personnel to see if you need to bring anything else.

The postal ID is valid for three years and all you’ll need for renewal are the application forms, the expired or expiring postal ID and a photocopy, and some money for payment.

And there you have it, the full guide on how you can get your own Postal ID! Again, it’s one of the easiest IDs to get and it works as a valid ID for a lot of official transactions. While it’s not “powerful” enough for things like opening bank accounts (you’ll usually need another valid ID in addition to your postal ID), you can still use it to verify your identity for things like GCash and GrabPay. It’s also very useful as a requirement for getting OTHER valid IDs.

I hope you found this guide useful! Please share it on your Facebook or Twitter so that more people can see it, and thank you for reading!