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Certified Philippine Paternity Acknowledgment Translation
Certified translation of the documents that establish paternity in the Philippines, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
RA 9255, and the AUSF
A Filipino child born outside marriage takes the mother's surname by default. Under RA 9255 the child may use the father's surname where he has acknowledged paternity, by executing an AUSF — an Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father — filed with the Local Civil Registrar.
Acknowledgment and use of the surname are two separate things, and the AUSF is the second. A file with an acknowledgment and no AUSF explains why a child still carries the mother's name.
The annotated PSA certificate
The proof is a PSA birth certificate on security paper with the annotation printed on it, issued after the Local Civil Registrar transmits the record. A Local Civil Registrar copy is a different document and offices frequently insist on the PSA issue.
An unannotated PSA certificate does not evidence the acknowledgment, whatever affidavits accompany it.
Legitimation, which is a different thing again
Where the parents were free to marry at the time of conception and later marry, the child is legitimated by that marriage — a distinct legal effect with its own annotation, changing the child's status rather than merely their surname.
RA 9858 extended legitimation to children of parents who were below marrying age. Legitimation, acknowledgment and adoption all produce annotations and all mean different things, and we name which.
The middle name is the mother's maiden surname
Filipino naming puts the mother's maiden surname in the middle-name position, so acknowledgment typically moves the mother's surname from last position to middle and the father's to last.
A US form that treats the middle name as a given middle name will record the change as a wholesale renaming. We label the element for what it is. See our Philippine birth certificate page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
My child still uses the mother's surname.
Acknowledgment and the AUSF are separate. Without the affidavit under RA 9255 the default surname stands.
LCR copy or PSA copy?
Offices generally require the PSA certificate on security paper with the annotation printed on it.
Is legitimation the same as acknowledgment?
No. Legitimation follows the parents' later marriage and changes the child's status, not just the surname.
What is the middle name on the certificate?
The mother's maiden surname. Acknowledgment moves it to the middle and puts the father's surname last.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.