Certificate of Eligibility (CSC): How to Get It in 2026

Filing for the 14 March 2027 Civil Service Exam opens on 2 November 2026, according to CSC Examination Announcement No. 05, s. 2026. Details are in our update: CSC exam March 2027, filing opens 2 November 2026.

Free letterhead certificate (first claim after passing):

• One original ID card that is not expired. Use the same ID you showed when you applied for the exam, if you still have it. Otherwise use another ID on the CSC list, such as a PhilID, passport, driver's license, PRC license, SSS ID or GSIS UMID.
• Your application receipt or CSC official receipt, only if you still have it.
• The office may ask for other documents to confirm who you are.

Security paper certification (extra copy, lost or damaged certificate):

• The Examination Records Request Form (ERRF), downloadable from csc.gov.ph.
• The Declaration Form, only if you took the exam before 2015.
• At least one valid ID. If you send the request by email, scan the front and back.
• PHP 100 per copy.

Extra documents in some cases:

• A representative files for you (security paper only): an authorization letter or Special Power of Attorney, one valid ID of the representative, and one 1x1 photo of you with a name tag and your signature over your printed name. The photo must be taken in the last 3 months. CSC does not accept computer-generated photos or signatures.
• You live or work abroad: file through a representative. Add a copy of your passport authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate, or a copy of one ID.
• You married after the exam: bring your PSA marriage certificate, or an ID showing your maiden name.
• Your ID has no birth date: bring your PSA birth certificate.

An expired ID is a last resort. CSC accepts it only until the end of the year it expired.

You can pay at the cashier when you claim. Some Regional Offices also let you deposit the fee in their bank account and email the deposit slip.

• Letterhead certificate after an exam: CSC announces the claiming date in the exam results advisory. In recent exams it was about five weeks after the results came out.
• Letterhead certificate requested by email: 3 working days after CSC receives complete documents (7 working days for a computerized exam).
• Security paper certification: 1 working day after CSC receives complete documents; up to 7 working days for complex cases.
• Authenticated copy: 1 working day after CSC receives complete documents.
• Online check in CSEVS: immediate.

CSC can extend these times once, for the same number of days, if it tells you in writing why.

The letterhead certificate comes from the CSC Regional or Field Office that covers your testing center. The security paper certification and authenticated copies come from any of the 16 CSC Regional Offices. The table further down lists them.

CSC uses both names, "Certificate of Eligibility" and "Certification of Eligibility", for the same proof (CoE). What changes is the paper:

For government appointment, agencies may accept the original, an authenticated copy, a certified true copy, a photocopy, a scanned copy or a screenshot from CSEVS (2025 Omnibus Rules on Appointments, CSC Resolution No. 2500358). So the free letterhead copy is usually enough.

Since October 2025, people with special eligibilities (for example barangay officials, honor graduates and barangay health workers) also get their CoE on CSC letterhead (CSC Resolution No. 2500911).

PRC board passers do not need either copy. Their PRC license and report of rating prove their eligibility (see RA 1080 below).

Employers and HR officers can check an eligibility online in the Civil Service Eligibility Verification System (CSEVS) at csevs.csc.gov.ph. It covers pen-and-paper and computerized exam passers and people with special eligibilities.

1. Open CSEVS.
2. Fill out the required fields.
3. Submit, then take a screenshot of the result. It can be printed.

You can use CSEVS for your own record too. There is no fee. A screenshot from CSEVS is accepted as proof of eligibility for appointment.

Request a Certification of Eligibility on security paper. It replaces a certificate that was lost (typhoon, flood, fire, theft), one you never claimed or gave to an agency, and one that is old, torn or corrected.

1. Fill out the ERRF, and the Declaration Form if your exam was before 2015.
2. File at any CSC Regional Office, by email or walk-in.
3. Pay PHP 100 per copy.
4. Claim it in person, or through a representative with an authorization letter and your 1x1 photo.

If you only need proof of your exam result, a Regional Office can also issue a verified exam result on CSC letterhead for free, in 1 working day.

Addresses and main phone numbers from the CSC contact pages. Each region name links to its official page, which also lists the Field Offices.

Call first to check that your certificate or the security paper service is available before you go.

No. The 2-year limit is only on the letterhead paper. CSC says the free letterhead certificate is valid for 2 years, while the security paper certification has no validity period. CSC sets no end date for the eligibility you earned by passing the exam.

If your letterhead copy is more than 2 years old and an office asks for proof, show a CSEVS screenshot or request the security paper copy (PHP 100) at any CSC Regional Office.

For board and bar passers, the law is explicit: Section 4 of Republic Act 1080 says the eligibility it grants "shall not prescribe", so it does not expire.

Yes. Republic Act 1080 treats the bar exam and PRC board exams as civil service exams. The eligibility counts for government positions whose duties need knowledge of that profession.

Since January 2, 1991, CSC no longer issues RA 1080 certificates. Board and bar passers are eligible automatically (CSC Memorandum Circular No. 57, s. 1990). When you are appointed, you attach:

• a copy of your valid PRC registration card (license), or your Certificate of Title of the Philippine Bar; and
• your report of rating.

This is the proof LET passers use too: the PRC license and the board rating, not a CSC certificate.