Getting my NBI clearance

Today, I just got my NBI clearance. I’m happy that the process of getting one is easier than what I expected.

Making use of online services

I signed up for an account on NBI Clearance Online Services and filled up the form with the information they needed. Then, I clicked Apply for Clearance and said that I would be bringing my passport for an ID. I think a school ID may also be valid here.

The next screen was where I had to schedule when I wanted to get my NBI clearance. In my case, the Quezon City Hall Branch was the closest one. I could choose between getting it in the morning or the afternoon, and since I wanted to get it over with, I chose the morning. It’s pretty nifty that I can see how many slots are still left.

I also had to say what my purpose was of getting my NBI clearance. Since I needed it for my job, I just chose Local Employment. After choosing this, it shows you the amount of money you need to pay for the processing fee (I think?). And since I’m doing this online, I have to pay an additional 25 pesos. That’s fine for me. I’m paying for convenience anyway.

I paid via online banking, and it was pretty quick to transfer funds. I think I only spent around 10 minutes to do everything, from the transferring of the money to waiting if the payment has been received. Once that was done, all I needed to do was take a picture and/or take note of the reference number, and go to the branch I indicated.

Getting my clearance

Going to the QC Hall branch was pretty easy, coming from Commonwealth. Although I have to admit, this was my first time commuting to that general area. I’m used to commuting to Katipunan or SM North, but I haven’t really gone around Kalayaan (or Diliman, I guess?).

I rode a jeep that was going to Quezon City Hall, and went down on the stop a few meters after the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI). You can either come from East Ave. or Kalayaan Ave. when you’re going to the office, but if you don’t want to walk as much, I’d recommend you come from Kalayaan. In my case, the jeep I rode passed by East Ave., so I had to walk a bit farther.

I read this blog post about the steps in getting one’s NBI clearance at QC Hall, and they mention that the office is located in front of the Red Cross building. I took note of that while looking for the office, since I wasn’t familiar with the place and there weren’t any obvious signs pointing to anywhere. Didn’t really expect there to be signs, but sometimes they have those so I was on the look out just in case.

When I got there, the most I had to do was wait. The people managing the lines did their best to organize the people into two lines: the ones who are still applying, and the ones who have paid already and just need to get their picture taken and biometrics scanned. I lined up to the latter, and just waited in line.

When it was my turn, I just needed to show my reference number to the person manning the booth. I gave them a photocopy of my passport, and he wrote the reference number on it. I also confirmed that the information listed on my account was correct, got my picture taken, gave my digital signature, and scan my fingers for the prints. I was expecting that I’d get my fingers dabbed in ink for this, but I was happy to see a digital fingerprint scanner. Hooray for clean fingers!

I had to go to the photocopier in order to get a copy of my photocopied passport (with the reference number) though, for that serves as my receipt for this transaction. I noticed the other people around me had certain slips, so I guess in lieu of that, my scanned passport will do.

After that, I proceeded to the counter where they released the clearances, and just like that, I got my clearance!

I think I got to the office at around 10:00 AM. I left at 10:39 AM. That was faster than I expected it to be. I’ve been advised before to bring a book or something to do while waiting because the waiting was really long. But while I was there, it was harder to focus on something for a while since the line kept moving, and thus I had to stop what I was doing or reading.

Final things to say

The process was pretty straightforward. Some things to note, though:

• Last I checked, the numbers listed in the NBI Clearance Online Services site couldn’t be called. I tried calling them the day before because I wanted to ask if I could cancel an earlier transaction I did. I even tried the Contact Us form, but a day has passed and I still haven’t gotten anything. Might be best to double check which branch you’re planning to go to before you pay for anything.

• As of this writing, for some reason, the official NBI website is down. When I was dealing with my issue in the previous bullet, I wanted to check if they had any Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or other numbers I could contact, but well, the site’s down. I’m not sure when they’re going to fix this, but I hope it’s soon!

• You can also do the online registration thing in the Quezon City Library. They have computers dedicated for those things.

That was my experience in getting my NBI clearance. I hope this helped someone get theirs!