Resume rules in the Philippines
What employers in the Philippines expect on a Resume (Curriculum Vitae), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for the Philippines or a resume for the Philippines: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in English.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Common
Common (1x1 or 2x2 passport-style with plain white background); optional but professional
What the law says: No law mandating or prohibiting photos
Date of birth: Common
Common for local applications (include date and place of birth); optional/avoid for international roles
What the law says: No law on date of birth in CVs
Marital status: Optional
Optional/avoid for international applications
What the law says: No law on marital status in CVs
Sex or gender: Uncommon
Uncommon/avoid for international applications
What the law says: No law on gender in CVs
Nationality: Uncommon
Uncommon/optional
What the law says: No law on nationality in CVs
National ID number: Uncommon
Uncommon/optional
What the law says: No law on national ID numbers
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Resume (Curriculum Vitae)
- Language to submit in
- English
- Typical length
- 1-2 pages
- Officially prescribed form
- Specific licensing requirements apply: PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) licence number and issue date required if profession is regulated
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- No law or practice found
- Other customary attachments
- PRC licence information for regulated professions (healthcare, engineering, law, etc.); employers legally required to verify
- Employer may not ask for
- Not explicitly stated
- Named statutes
- Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) licensing requirements
- Local language source
- English only
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. Medium confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Philippine resumes traditionally include photos and DOB locally, but international norms omit these. Practice strongly diverges by employer type (local vs. MNC/foreign). PRC licensing is a genuine legal requirement for certain professions.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this