Barangay Clearance and Other Barangay Certificates

Barangay Clearance

A Barangay Clearance is a certificate from your barangay that other offices ask for before they give you a permit. Section 152(c) of the Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160) says no city or municipality may issue a license or permit for any business or activity "unless a clearance is first obtained from the barangay where such business or activity is located or conducted." The sangguniang barangay (barangay council) may charge a reasonable fee. The barangay must act on the application within seven working days. If it does not, the city or municipality may issue the permit anyway.

Employers, banks and other offices also ask for a Barangay Clearance as general proof that you live in the barangay and have no pending complaint there. Each office decides what it needs.

Certificate of Residency

A Certificate of Residency states that you live in the barangay, sometimes with how long you have lived there. Schools, employers and government offices ask for it as proof of address. Barangays usually ask for a valid ID and may ask for proof such as a power or water bill, or a neighbour's confirmation. If an office instead asks for a sworn statement, see our Affidavit of Residency template.

Certificate of Indigency

A Certificate of Indigency states that a person or family has low or no income. People use it to apply for free legal help, medical or burial assistance and scholarships, among others.

For legal help, the Public Attorney's Office asks applicants to sign an Affidavit of Indigency (a sworn statement that they cannot afford a lawyer) and to bring one of: their latest income tax return or pay slip; a Certificate of Indigency from the DSWD or the local social welfare office; or a "Certificate of Indigency and/or No Income" from the Punong Barangay (barangay captain). PAO's income limits are ₱24,000 a month in Metro Manila, ₱22,000 in other cities and ₱20,000 in other municipalities, according to its website.

If you need a sworn statement of no income, see our Affidavit of No Income template.

Certificate to File Action

Many disputes between people living in the same city or municipality must first go through the Katarungang Pambarangay (barangay conciliation, where the barangay helps both sides settle). Under Section 412 of the Local Government Code, a complaint on a matter the lupon (the barangay's settlement committee) can handle may not be filed in court unless both sides met before the lupon chairman or the pangkat (a smaller panel of the lupon) and did not settle. The lupon or pangkat secretary certifies this, and the chairman signs to confirm it. That certification is the Certificate to File Action.

Exceptions include cases where the accused is in jail, habeas corpus cases (asking a court to free someone held unlawfully), cases that need urgent court orders such as an injunction (an order to stop doing something), attachment (holding property) or support pendente lite (support while the case is going on), and cases about to prescribe (run out of time to file). See barangay conciliation.

Barangay ID and Barangay Certification as ID

Many barangays issue their own resident ID. The 2008 amendment to the Rules on Notarial Practice lists "Barangay certification" among examples of competent evidence of identity (accepted proof of who you are) for notarization, though a notary may still ask for another ID. If a barangay document will be used abroad, the DFA asks for a certification from the mayor of the city or town where the barangay is before it will apostille it.

Fees and What to Bring

Each barangay sets its fees in a barangay ordinance (local rule), so they vary. Bring a valid ID, a Community Tax Certificate (cedula) if your barangay asks for one, and know what the certificate is for. Some certificates are given only to residents who come in person.