Which Documents Can Be eNotarized in the Philippines?
Most documents Filipinos bring to a notary can now be eNotarized: affidavits, contracts, deeds, powers of attorney, leases, and more. The exceptions are notarial wills, depositions, and papers that must stay in wet ink.
What decides it is the form of the document, not its subject. The Supreme Court’s Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC) cover electronic documents in PDF or PDF/A, signed with a secure electronic signature or a digital signature, and notarized by an Electronic Notary Public (ENP) through an accredited Electronic Notarization Facility (ENF). If your document can be prepared as a PDF and signed that way, it can usually be notarized online.
The document types on Twala
When you request a notarization on Twala, you pick the document’s type from a list. It reads like the stack of papers on any notary’s desk:
| Document type | Where it usually comes up |
|---|---|
| Affidavits (support, loss, joint, witness, and others) | A lost ID or ATM card, support for a relative, two people attesting to the same facts |
| Authorization letters | Letting someone claim a document, a package, or a payment for you |
| Contracts | Supply, consulting, construction, and other business agreements |
| Deeds (sale, donation, assignment) | Transferring property or rights to another person |
| Extrajudicial settlement of estate | Heirs dividing a relative’s estate without going to court |
| Lease or rental agreements | Apartments, houses, market stalls, and office space |
| Loan or credit agreements | Loans from banks, lending companies, cooperatives, and private lenders |
| Memorandums of agreement | Arrangements between companies, schools, agencies, and organizations |
| Mortgage agreements | Securing a loan with real or personal property |
| Parental or travel consents | A parent’s consent for a child’s travel or activity |
| Powers of attorney (general or special) | Authorizing a relative or an agent to act for you |
| Quitclaims and waivers | Releasing claims, often at the end of employment |
| Sale or transfer agreements | Selling equipment, shares, or a business |
| Service agreements | Hiring a contractor, a freelancer, or a supplier |
If your document doesn’t fit any of these, choose Others. The notary reviews your request and accepts or declines it, and you can raise questions on the appointment’s Messages tab, which opens as soon as you send the request.
The five notarial acts
The document type tells the notary what you’re bringing. The notarial act is what the notary does with it. Twala supports five:
- Acknowledgment. You declare before the notary that the signature on the document is yours, that you signed it freely, and, if you signed for a company or another person, that you had the authority to do so. This is the usual act for contracts, deeds, leases, and powers of attorney, and you can sign on Twala before the session.
- Jurat. The notary has you sign the document and take an oath or affirmation that its contents are true. Affidavits are the classic example.
- Oath. You swear, under penalty of law, to the truth of a statement.
- Affirmation. The same solemn declaration, made without an oath, for those who would rather not swear one.
- Signature witnessing. You sign in the notary’s full view, and the notary attests that you are the person who signed.
You don’t have to pick the act yourself. The ENP chooses the one that fits your document, and most people need either an acknowledgment or a jurat. The act also decides when you sign: for a jurat or signature witnessing, the Rules on Electronic Notarization make signing part of the act, so ask your ENP on the appointment’s Messages tab when to sign. Our guide to getting an affidavit notarized online explains jurats and oaths in plain language.
What can’t be eNotarized
Three kinds of documents stay with traditional notaries under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice:
- Notarial wills. Wills carry formalities of their own under the Civil Code, and the Supreme Court left them under the old rules.
- Depositions. Testimony taken outside the courtroom for a pending case follows its own procedure.
- Paper documents with wet signatures that must stay on paper. A deed already signed in ink, or an original that an office insists on receiving in ink, can’t become an eNotarized document by being scanned.
That last point trips people up. A scan of a page signed by hand is not a document signed with a secure electronic signature or a digital signature, so it doesn’t qualify. The fix is to execute the document electronically from the start: upload the unsigned PDF and have it signed on Twala, at the point your notarial act calls for.
Check with the office that will receive it
Under the Rules, an electronic notarial act performed through an accredited facility has the same validity, force, and effect as a traditional one. Acceptance at the counter is a separate matter. Each bank, agency, school, and company sets its own submission requirements, and some are still working from checklists written for paper.
Before you book, ask the receiving office two questions: will it accept an electronically notarized PDF for your transaction, and how does it want to receive the file? If it hasn’t handled one yet, send it our guide on how to verify an eNotarized document. Anyone can check a PDF notarized on Twala at Twala’s verify page, which shows Document tampered if anything in the file has changed since notarization.
Getting your document ready
Whatever the type, the preparation is the same:
- Finalize the text. No blanks to fill in later and no annexes “to follow.”
- Save it as a PDF.
- Have it signed on Twala through an envelope. For an acknowledgment, everyone can sign before the session; for an affidavit or signature witnessing, book first and sign when your ENP tells you to.
- If you’re signing for a company or for someone else, keep your proof of authority ready: a board resolution, a secretary’s certificate, or a special power of attorney.
- Line up your witnesses if the document calls for them. Each one needs a Twala account and a current identity verification.
Still drafting? Start from a template in Twala’s gallery, or ask Lex, the AI inside Twala, to propose a draft from your own files. Its edits go in only when you click Apply, so the final wording stays yours to review before anyone signs. See document generation for how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Can I eNotarize a document I already signed on paper?
Not that copy. Execute it again electronically: upload the unsigned version as a PDF and have it signed on Twala, following your ENP’s lead on when to sign. If the paper original itself has to be notarized, a traditional notary is still the way to go.
Can a company document be eNotarized?
Yes. Whoever signs for the company brings proof of authority, such as a board resolution or a secretary’s certificate. Our guide to notarizing secretary’s certificates and board resolutions online covers the details.
Does remote or in-person change which documents qualify?
No. Remote electronic notarization (REN) and in-person electronic notarization (IEN) work with the same electronic documents. Choose based on where everyone is and what the receiving office prefers. Our comparison of IEN and REN can help you decide.
Is an eNotarized affidavit as strong as one notarized on paper?
Yes. Both are public documents with the same legal effect. The electronic one is also easier to check: its seal can be verified, not just looked at.
Once your document is ready, our step-by-step guide to notarizing online takes you from booking to the notarized PDF, and the complete guide to eNotarization in the Philippines covers everything around it. When you’re set, create a free Twala account or read Get notarized.
Twala is a Supreme Court-accredited Electronic Notarization Facility (ENF). Twala is a technology provider and does not give legal advice. Notarial acts are performed by commissioned Electronic Notaries Public.
