The Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) announced on Saturday that married women renewing their passports may now revert to using their middle names in accordance with Republic Act 11993, or the New Philippine Passport Act.
Under Section 5(f) of the law, women who wish to revert to their maiden middle name must submit an authenticated birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Women may apply for a name reversion in two circumstances: voluntary reversion or following marriage dissolution. Both cases require a PSA-issued Certificate of Live Birth or Report of Birth, the latest issued Philippine passport (if available), and a valid government-issued ID showing the maiden name.
For voluntary reversion, women must also provide a PSA-issued Certificate of Marriage and a notarized affidavit confirming the request. This affidavit must state that the applicant has not previously applied for name reversion.
In cases of marriage dissolution, additional documents are required. If the spouse is deceased, the applicant must present a PSA-issued Certificate of Death or Report of Death, or an authenticated foreign death certificate with an English translation. If the marriage was annulled or declared null and void, a PSA-issued Certificate of Marriage with an annotation reflecting the annulment or nullity of marriage is required.
The DFA clarified that name reversion can only be done once, and applicants are advised to use the prescribed affidavit template available on the DFA-OCA website.
This new provision gives married women the option to revert to their maiden middle names as part of the ongoing efforts to make passport services more aligned with personal identity changes, such as marital status and legal name alterations.