There are a lot of reference materials online that you can find which tell you how to apply for a Solo Parent ID and what requirements you should prepare in order to do so.
Let me give you a straightforward idea by sharing with you my own experience when I applied for one.
I also included here my experience when I applied for a renewal (Solo Parent ID has 1 year validity upon issuance).
Please take note that your own experience and the requirements that you would need to submit may differ depending on your situation and certain qualifications.
But for now, let me set your expectations by sharing my actual experience.
Requirements I Prepared
1) Notarized Affidavit of Solo Parenthood (original)
— I went to a nearby Notary Public in our area and just requested for a Notarized Affidavit of being a Solo Parent.
— The lawyer just asked for 1 valid ID (I presented my Driver’s License) and the name and birthday of my daughter.
Cost: P300.00 (I was given 2 copies of the affidavit)
2) Barangay Certificate (original)
— I went to our Barangay Hall and informed the staff that I am applying for a Barangay Certificate to be used for my application for a Solo Parent ID.
— I was asked to fill-out a form and provide a photocopy of my valid ID (Driver’s License).
— Since I live in a townhouse, I was asked for an endorsement from the President of our Homeowners’ Association.
I wasn’t expecting this piece of requirement so I mentioned that I wasn’t able to secure one.
I was just advised by the staff to bring the form which I filled out to the Kagawad who was there and request for an endorsement.
NOTE: Since the requirements might differ from one Barangay to another or depending on certain conditions, I suggest you call first your Barangay Hall to ask for the complete list of requirements.
Well, in my case, I did, however, I was still given an incomplete information.
The person I talked to did not mention about any endorsement letters that I needed to present.
— I approached the Kagawad and just told him that I was requesting for his endorsement so I could apply for a Solo Parent ID.
The Kagawad was very accommodating and signed my form without needing to ask him twice.
— I submitted the form back to the staff and, upon seeing that the form has been completely accomplished and contained the endorsement from the Kagawad, she asked me to proceed with submission for further processing.
— I went back to Window #1 to submit my form and they handed the Barangay Clearance to me after paying for the corresponding fee.
Cost: P50.00 (I was given 1 copy)
3) Income Tax Return (ITR)
If you are employed, this is one of the requirements that you should expect.
You can request for a copy from your Human Resources department.
I can’t provide further details here as to how you can obtain it because it may vary depending on your company policies and procedures.
4) Birth Certificate of your child/children (photocopy)
You can visit NSO website or call NSO Helpline 8-737-1111 to request for a copy of the Birth Certificate in case you still haven’t secured it.
5) 2 pcs. of 1×1 ID picture
6) Certificate of Employment (original) or latest payslip (photocopy)
Again, the procedure in obtaining these items may depend on your company’s policies and procedures.
Better coordinate with your HR Department for guidance.
NOTE: I was not married to the father of my child, therefore, there’s no need to present any document pertaining to marriage or annulment of marriage.
Application and Processing
After completing all the requirements, I went to our Municipal Hall and went to the DSWD Department where I submitted and applied for a Solo Parent ID.
The staff just asked me to fill out the application form and submit all the requirements.
NOTE: Initially, when I called the DSWD office of our Municipal Hall, I was not informed that COE or latest payslip was part of the requirements that’s why I did bring any of those.
Good thing that I was just advised that I could submit it for later and it’s not a showstopper for my application (whew!).
After submitting all the requirements I was told that someone from DSWD would perform a “home visit”.
The person who will conduct the home visit will also be the one to advise when the Solo Parent ID would be made available.
My expectation was set that the home visit should happen in the next coming weeks as the end-to-end application process takes about 30 days to complete.
NOTE: During the home visit, my presence was not necessary, as long as a family member is there or somebody who could confirm that you’re, indeed, a resident.
The home visit did not happen within the time period I expected that’s why I needed to call DSWD multiple times (3 times) to make a follow-up.
Reasons why the home visit got delayed:
1) Home visit in our barangay has not been scheduled yet
2) The person who was supposed to perform the home visit was on sick leave
After multiple follow-up calls, finally, I was home visited but I was still sleeping so it was my mother who accommodated the staff.
After having a quick look at the house and confirming that I live there, the staff advised my mother that I could claim the Solo Parent ID a week after.
Just to give you the key dates:
— October 16th was when I applied and submitted my application and requirements
— December 13th was when the home visit happened
— December 19th was when I was advised that the Solo Parent ID was already available for claiming
— December 23rd was when I was able to claim it
All in all, the processing took about 65 days versus the 30-day lead time they advised when I initially applied for it.
Renewal of Solo Parent ID
Upon issuance of the Solo Parent ID, it would only be valid for 1 year.
Therefore, you have to apply for a renewal once it has expired because it would no longer be honored when you submit it as a requirement.
The good news is that the renewal process is so much easier and faster than when you are applying for it for the first time so there’s no need to worry about it.
Keep in mind, though, that although I said it is much easier and faster, I would still suggest that you contact the DSWD of your local municipality beforehand in order to confirm the requirements (in any case that there would be additional requirement specific to your area).
In my experience, I was only asked to submit the following:
- Barangay Clearance
- My expired Solo Parent ID
After securing the requirements, you just need to go to the DSWD of your local municipality where you also applied for your Solo Parent ID before.
When I arrived there, I just informed the staff that I was applying for Solo Parent ID renewal and I was assisted accordingly.
After giving her my Barangay Clearance and my expired Solo Parent ID, I was asked to fill-out the renewal form and another form which also asked for some personal details (I wasn’t able to catch the name of the form but it’s just a simple one).
Once I was able to fill-out both forms, the staff already proceeded to working on producing my new ID card.
I only waited for not more than 5 minutes and my new Solo Parent ID was handed over to me.
The renewal process ended there — very simple and straightforward!
I initially thought that there would be another Home Visit that needed to be conducted when applying for a renewal, but I was happy to find out that it was not needed anymore.
Benefits of Solo Parents who have Solo Parent IDs
- 7 days additional Vacation Leaves
- Comprehensive help package for a solo parent whose income falls below poverty threshold as set by NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority)
- Pyschological assistance
- Family protection assistance
- Educational assistance from other government agencies such as DepEd, CHED, and TESDA
To get a more comprehensive set of information available regarding Solo Parent benefits, qualifications, requirements, and things to keep in mind, I suggest you read this article How to Get Solo Parent ID – Requirements in 2019.
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