MANILA, Philippines—Married women renewing their Philippine passports may now choose to revert to their maiden names under the newly implemented Republic Act No. 11983, or the New Philippine Passport Act, the Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) said.

In a statement, the agency clarified that this option is voluntary and can only be exercised once. 

Citing the Section 5(f) of the law, the foreign affairs bureau said that women who choose to reclaim their maiden names must also update all existing government-issued identification cards and official documents accordingly.

Application process and requirements

Women seeking to change their passport name must submit the following documents:

• PSA-issued Certificate of Live Birth or PSA Report of Birth (original and photocopy)
• PSA-issued Certificate of Marriage or PSA Report of Marriage (original and photocopy)
• Notarized affidavit of explanation, stating the request for reversion and confirming that the applicant has not previously availed of the option
• Latest-issued Philippine passport
• Valid government-issued ID reflecting the maiden name

Special cases for automatic reversion

The DFA also outlined circumstances where women may revert to their maiden names due to legal reasons, such as the death of a spouse, annulment, legal separation, or a court-recognized foreign divorce.

For widows, the following documents are required:

• PSA-issued Certificate of Death of the spouse or an authenticated foreign death certificate (if applicable)
• PSA-issued Certificate of Live Birth or PSA Report of Birth
• Latest-issued Philippine passport

For those with annulled, legally separated, or dissolved marriages, the requirements include:

• PSA-issued Certificate of Marriage with an annotation of nullity, legal separation, or dissolution
• PSA-issued Certificate of Live Birth or PSA Report of Birth
• Latest-issued Philippine passport

The DFA reminded applicants to ensure that all legal documents and IDs reflect the name change to avoid complications.

The agency encouraged those interested to visit the DFA website or the nearest consular office for further details.