Affidavit of discrepancy / one and the same person: when it works and when it does not
You show up at SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG and the clerk says your name on one record is not the same as on your PSA birth certificate. Someone tells you to "just get an affidavit of discrepancy". This page is for a person with a name or birth date mismatch across records. At the end you will know what that affidavit is, which agencies actually ask for one, and when you need the civil registrar instead.
PhilForms has a one-and-same-person affidavit template you can fill. It does not notarize, file or correct anything, and PhilForms is not affiliated with PSA, SSS, Pag-IBIG or any government agency. This is general information, not legal advice. For a court case, a surname dispute or anything involving property, ask a lawyer.
What the affidavit is
It is a sworn statement, made before a notary, in which you say that two spellings, or two versions of a name, belong to the same person and, usually, why they differ. It does not change what is written in the civil register. Under RA 9048, "no entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order", except the cases the law gives to the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general (RA 9048, section 1). So the affidavit is a stopgap to get an agency to treat two records as yours. It is not the correction.
Which agencies ask for one
- SSS. For a correction to a totally different name or middle name, SSS lists a joint affidavit of two persons who know the facts, stating that the two names refer to one and the same person and why the name was used (SSS: Become an SSS member). See the SSS E-4 guide. - Pag-IBIG. Its provident benefits checklist says that where discrepancies are noted in public documents submitted, an Affidavit of Two Disinterested Persons is required (HQP-PFF-377 checklist, a hosted copy of Pag-IBIG's checklist). Pag-IBIG's form for that is HQP-PFF-029, Joint Affidavit of Two Disinterested Persons. - PhilHealth, BIR, banks, employers. I did not find a page where they name a standard "affidavit of discrepancy". Ask the office what it wants.
When you need the civil registrar instead
If the error is in the PSA birth certificate itself, an affidavit will keep being asked for every time. The administrative route:
- RA 9048 lets the city or municipal civil registrar correct a clerical or typographical error and change a first name or nickname. It must be a mistake that is harmless, visible to the eye or obvious, and correctable by reference to other records, and it may not involve a change of nationality, age or status (RA 9048, section 2). - RA 10172 added the day and month of birth and sex to what the registrar can correct when the error is patently clear. The petition is an affidavit with supporting documents, including a certified copy of the entry and at least two public or private documents showing the correct entry (RA 10172, sections 1 to 3). - The petition is filed with the local civil registry office where the record is kept. PSA explains the process on its administrative petition for correction page. - A change that touches the year of birth, nationality, civil status, or a different surname or identity is outside those laws and may need a court. Ask a lawyer.
After the entry is corrected, update SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG with the new PSA copy. The fix-my-records pack lists the update forms.
A different "affidavit of discrepancy"
Searching this phrase also finds the Land Registration Authority's affidavit of discrepancy. That is a different paper: a registered owner swears that the technical description of a land title is erroneous and gives the correct one. It does not correct a person's name, and its own note says the affidavit does not alter the certificate of title.
Correcting the record itself
An affidavit explains a mismatch; it does not change the record. To correct a clerical error in a birth record — a misspelling, a wrong day or month of birth, or a sex entry that is clearly a clerical error — file a petition with the local civil registrar where the birth was recorded, without going to court (RA 10172). The petition for correction of clerical error follows RA 9048 Form No. 1.2; a change of first name uses the first-name petition.
Questions
Is an affidavit of discrepancy the same as one and the same person?
People use both phrases for a sworn statement about a mismatch. SSS and Pag-IBIG describe theirs as a joint affidavit of two persons. Use the agency's wording and ask what it expects.
Can I use an affidavit instead of correcting my birth certificate?
Only as a stopgap. The affidavit does not change the civil register. If the error is a clerical one, the RA 9048 or RA 10172 petition fixes the source.
Do I need two witnesses?
SSS and Pag-IBIG each name two persons. Check your agency's requirement and whether the notary needs their IDs.
Does PhilForms notarize the affidavit?
No. PhilForms fills the template; you sign it before a notary public.
Last checked 2026-10-16. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.
Fill Pag-IBIG Joint Affidavit of Two Disinterested Persons now