Standfirst: Two DepEd rules save families a great deal of queuing, and both are routinely not applied: school records transfer between schools without the parent carrying them, and the PSA birth certificate is required once for the whole of K-12, not every enrolment.
These are national DepEd rules. Where a school applies something different, the rules below are what you can point to.
The birth certificate is a one-time requirement
DepEd has simplified enrolment so that the original or certified true copy of the learner’s PSA-issued birth certificate is submitted once for the entire K-12 journey — not at every enrolment, and not at every transfer.
If the birth certificate is not available at the time of enrolment, secondary documents may be accepted, with the birth certificate provided once obtained. Enrolment is not meant to stop while a family waits on the PSA.
If a school asks for a fresh PSA copy every year, that is not what the national rule requires.
Records transfer is the school’s job, not yours
School Form 10 (SF10) — the document most parents still call Form 137 — is the learner’s permanent academic record, following the child from Kindergarten to Grade 12 with final grades, general averages and conduct and attendance for every year attended.
Two things about it are worth knowing:
It transfers school to school. Only authorised school personnel should handle the transfer of learner records. Schools cannot require the student or the parent to carry the records between schools themselves.
It is free. DepEd’s Citizen’s Charter lists school-level records services, including the school-to-school SF10 transfer, with fees to be paid: none.
So a demand that a parent personally collect the SF10 from the previous school, or pay for it, does not match the published rule.
Age for Kindergarten
A child must have reached five years of age by the cut-off date set for that school year — commonly 31 August, with a later cut-off applying under specific DepEd orders.
Because the cut-off is set per school year and can differ, confirm the exact date for the school year you are enrolling into rather than relying on a previous year’s date.
How enrolment can be done
Enrolment may be completed in person or remotely. In person means submitting the Basic Education Enrollment Form (BEEF) with the documents at the school. Remote options include sending completed digital forms to the school’s email or messaging platform, or dropping forms at designated collection points — schools, barangay halls and other announced locations.
A family without transport or time off work is not, by rule, shut out of enrolment.
If a school applies something different
Ask, politely and specifically, which DepEd issuance the requirement comes from. Requirements do exist beyond the national minimum in particular circumstances, and a school should be able to name the basis.
If that does not resolve it, the Schools Division Office is the next step above the school, and DepEd’s Citizen’s Charter is the published statement of what each service should cost and how long it should take.
Sources: DepEd enrolment guidelines and the simplification of documentary requirements, including one-time submission of the PSA birth certificate and acceptance of secondary documents pending its release; DepEd guidelines on the request and transfer of learner’s school records (School Form 10, formerly Form 137); DepEd Citizen’s Charter listing school-level records services at no fee; DepEd Kindergarten age requirement and cut-off; Basic Education Enrollment Form and remote enrolment options.
