Serving summons and other documents in

Foreign Jurisdictions, as provided under the

Hague Service Convention
Starting 01 October 2020, the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents
in Civil and Commercial Matters (“Service Convention”) shall enter into force in the Philippines.

The Service Convention provides for the different channels through which a judicial or
extrajudicial document may be transmitted from one State Party (Requesting State) to another
(Requested State). Articles 2 and 18 of the Service Convention provide that State Parties must
designate a Central Authority and/or other authorities to undertake the requests for such service
of documents. Currently, for the Philippines, the Central Authority is the Office of the Court
Administrator (“OCA”) of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

In relation to this, the Supreme Court recently issued the Guidelines on the Implementation of
the Service Convention in the Philippines.[1] Under the said Guidelines, the Service Convention
shall apply if the following conditions[2]are met:

1. the document to be served is to be transmitted from one State Party to another State Party
(a list of Parties to the Service Convention may be viewed here.);
2. the address of the intended recipient in the receiving State Party is known[3];
3. the document to be served is a judicial document[4];
4. the document to be served relates to a civil or commercial matter.

For Outbound Requests for Extraterritorial Service

(from the Philippines to Other State parties)

A party in a civil or commercial proceeding may file a motion for leave of court, in accordance
with Rules 13 and 14 of the Rules of Court, as amended, together with the following documents
in duplicate:

1. Model Form (including the Request, Certificate, Summary of Documents to be Serviced,

Warning – copies of which may be accessed here)
2. Original documents to be served or certified true copies, with annexes;
3. Certified Translations of the aforementioned documents, if necessary for the Requested
State;
4. Undertaking to pay in full any fees associated with the service of the documents.
According to Part II, Section 3 of the Guidelines, failure to settle the fees shall be a
ground for direct contempt of court in addition to other sanctions allowed under the Rules
of Court, as amended;
5. Other requirements of the Requested State (reservations, declarations and notifications of
the State Parties may be found here).

The court will then evaluate if the extraterritorial service under the Service Convention is
necessary and its Order shall “include a directive to the requesting party to procure and submit a
prepaid courier pouch which shall be used for the transmission of documents from the court to
the Central Authority of the Requested State.”[5]

The court shall then coordinate with the Central Authority of the Requested State and transmit
the (i) Order granting extraterritorial service, (ii) the accomplished Request and Summary of
Document to be Served with Warning, (iii) the blank Certificate to be filled out by the said
Central Authority, (iv) documents for service, and (v) certified translations of the Model form
and accompanying documents, if necessary. The OCA should also be furnished with a copy of
the request and update on the status of the request for extraterritorial service.[6]

Once the Central Authority of the Requested State processes and attempts the service in
accordance with its domestic laws, it shall provide a Certificate whether the service was
successful or not. The accomplished Certificate shall be transmitted back to the requesting court
and shall form part of the records of the case.[7]

For Inbound Requests for Extraterritorial Service

(from other State Parties to the Philippines)

All requests for extraterritorial service of documents originating from other State Parties shall be
referred to the OCA. To be a valid request, Part III, Section 2 of the Guidelines provides the
following requirements:

1. The documents sought to be served are judicial;

2. The Request conforms to the Model Form;
3. The document sought to be served is attached to the Request;
4. The Request and its attachments are accomplished/translated in English or Filipino;
5. The Request and its attachment/s are filed in duplicate; and
6. The address of the intended recipient is indicated with sufficient specificity (i.e. house
number, building, street name, barangay, municipality/city, province, zip code). Note that
post office boxes shall not be allowed;
7. Payment of US$100.00 for each recipient (or each address, in case of multiple recipients
residing in the same address) to be served as the cost of service. The OCA shall send an
updated Statement of Cost in case of a higher cost of service. For the payment methods,
kindly check the OCA website.

These requirements may be submitted via electronic mail or registered mail or courier services
(see Part III, Section 4 of the Guidelines).

Upon OCA’s evaluation of the sufficiency of the requirements, it shall forward the request to the
court having jurisdiction over the area where the intended recipient resides.[8] The Executive
Judge or the Presiding Judge shall then assign a sheriff, process server, or other competent
personnel to effect service in accordance with the Rules of Court, as amended.[9]A Return shall
be executed and submitted to the same judge within five (5) days from service. If unserved, the
officer shall return the document to the court to be forwarded to the OCA.[10] The judge shall
also issue a Certificate following the Model Form and submit it to the OCA together with the
Return within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of the request. Expenses that may be
incurred for the service shall be advanced by the concerned Judge, subject to reimbursement the
request for which must be submitted to the OCA.

[1] SC En Banc Administrative Order No. 251-2020, Guidelines on the Implementation in the
Philippines of the Hague Service Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents in
Civil and Commercial Matters, 16 September
2020 available http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/135... (last accessed 20 September 2020).

[2] Section 2 of the Guidelines.

[3] Service Convention, art. 1 states “This Convention shall not apply where the address of the
person to be served with the document is not known.”

[4] Part I, Section 5 (f) of the Guidelines defines Judicial Documentas “orders, resolutions,

judgments or other official documents issued by courts in relation to civil or commercial
proceedings, as well as pleadings and other court submissions by parties to such civil or
commercial proceedings[.]”

[5] Part II, Section 2 of the Guidelines.

[6] Part II, Section 4 of the Guidelines.

[7] Part II, Section 7 of the Guidelines. (Note: Part II, Sections 5 and 6 were missing in the
Guidelines).
[8] Part III, Section 6 of the Guidelines.

[9] Part III, Section 7 of the Guidelines.

[10] Part III, Section 8 of the Guidelines.

 o
 Remote Online Notarization (Philippines):  The Philippine Supreme Court also is
allowing the notarization of documents via videoconference in cases where the
notary public holds office in an area under community quarantine.  Please visit
the Philippine Supreme Court website or contact the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines for more information and for a list of local lawyers who are providing
this service.
 Apostille:   An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public
document.  Philippine authentications are accepted and recognized for use in the
United States in compliance with the Hague Convention Abolishing the
Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille
Convention).  Documents that carry a Hague apostille* are entitled to recognition
in any other convention country without further authentication.  The United States
and the Philippines are both parties to this convention.  U.S. federal courts and
state authorities should accept documents with the Hague apostille.  For private
transactions, please confirm with the other party first to make sure they will
accept foreign authentications.
 *An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document.
 Philippine public documents, such as National Bureau of Investigation
clearances, birth certificates, and marriage certificates, among others, can be
used abroad once authenticated with an apostille from the Philippine Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
 Notarization under the Philippine system is a three-step process:
 Step 1:  Sign the document in front of a notary public.
 Step 2:  Obtain a Certificate of Authority for a Notarial Act (CANA) signed by an
Executive Judge/Vice-Executive Judge/or any other office authorized as
signatories for notary services; this designation is issued by the Regional Trial
Court.  Contact the Office of the Court Administrator to determine who may sign
a CANA in your region.
 Step 3:  Next, visit the Philippine DFA website and follow the instructions to have
a Hague apostille affixed to your document.
 Keep in mind that if your document is written in a language other than English,
you may need to have it translated by a certified/sworn translator.
 Notarization at the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consular Agency:  Before booking an
appointment, please consult the information below about the types of notary
services U.S. embassies typically can provide.