You already Pass the Bar exam, now you have to get your Notarial Commission and be a Notary Public. First off, passing the Bar exam is your ticket to a lot more expenses and many more processes. When I passed the 2017 Bar exam, I cannot find any guide online on how to get my Notarial Commission. Luckily, we have a friend who guided us and helped us get the requirements for our Petition to become a Notary Public. Since I am a good person, I am saving a great deal of trouble for you by posting online. If I am helpful, please share my website to your friends. Thanks
Disclaimer: Some processes might be different depending on your chosen chapter. However, all requirements are the same.
You need the following as your Annexes for your petition: (Note: You can get this list from your RTC Clerk of Court)
a. A Copy of the Certificate of Membership in the Philippines Bar – You get this after you sign your Roll of Attorney. Have it photocopied, you do not have to have it certified.
b. Certification of no pending administrative case from the OBC – This one is the cause of delay of all petitions. It took us a month before we can get this one. To get this, you have to go to the OBC, fill out the form and pay the fees (about P100. 00 in 2017) plus LBC if you want them to send it to you. One LBC can fit at least Three (3) Certificates so you can split the cost with your friends. What we did is that we gave one address (our friend) and have all our OBC Clearance sent there. By the way, it took us a month before we received our OBC Clearance.
To avoid delay, go to the OBC after Roll signing and fill out the form for your Notarial Commission.
c. Certificate of Good Moral Character by two executive officers of the Local Chapter – Get this from your local chapter. In Baguio-Benguet, the local chapter is located at the IBP building located beside Justice Hall. The IBP persons are very friendly and accommodating. Important: Bring your IBP receipt before going there. You can get this immediately depending on your chapter.
d. Clearance from the Office of the Clerk of Court (RTC Clearance) – Go to the RTC Clerk of Court and pay the fees. You can get this within Thirty Minutes to an hour.
e. NBI Clearance – If you are from Baguio City, I have a guide here. You can still use this guide even if you are not from Baguio since the process is the same.
f. Three (3) Specimen Signature – Sign a blank bond paper with the signature that you want to use. I am sure that most of us have been experimenting with our signatures since First Year Law. I recommend opting for a short signature instead of a long formal signature because you will be signing a lot of documents in the future.
g. Three (3) Pieces of Passport sized ID – Paste/glue it in a piece of bond paper.
h. IBP Membership Receipt – You will get this once you paid your fees in the Supreme Court
i. PTR Receipt – Get this from your City/Municipal Hall, get your CEDULA first tell them that you are a NEW LAWYER with no office yet. Bring your CEDULA to the counter for PTR Receipt, tell them that you are a NEW LAWYER. The fee will not exceed P500 for new lawyers.
Now that you have the required documents, you may now draft your Petition. If you have none, my store offers a Notary Petition plus Formal Offer of Evidence templates. you can have these forms for a minimal fee. You can edit this and share if you wish.
Bring your Petition together with the Annexes checked by the Clerk of Court first before paying for the filing fee. Make sure to photocopy all your Annexes.
You do not have the liberty to choose which newspaper will publish your Petition. The court will conduct a raffle and the chosen newspaper will publish and give you the affidavit of publication. The fees that we paid is P2500 each lawyer, other batches paid P1500 each, others P650 each. Yes, very expensive. However, our friend filed a petition for recomputation before the Office of the Clerk of Court and we were able to get Php 1500 refund each. Newspapers have prescribed rates, so always ask for recomputation. Only one person filed the Petition for recomputation and it benefited us all. So, if the publication fees are excessive, go to the Clerk of Court.
Before the hearing, you have to submit a FORMAL OFFER OF EXHIBITS with the clerk of court. If you have no copy, my store offers a bundle of Notary Petition plus Formal Offer for a minimal fee. The forms are in word format and follow the Efficient Paper Rule. Bring all originals with you together with the Formal Offer and submit it to the Clerk of Court. You may submit it on the day of the Hearing but it is advisable to submit it a few days before the hearing.
How to become a Notary Public for new Bar Passers the Philippines. If you wish to have a copy of our wordbook containing Affidavits and Contracts, you may buy our bundle book: