How to fill out the Personal Data Sheet (CS Form 212, Revised 2026)
The Personal Data Sheet (PDS) is the form every government job applicant and employee fills in, and the one most often printed wrong. This page is for a fresh graduate applying to an agency and for an employee updating a 201 file. At the end you will know what is new in the 2026 version, what the Civil Service Commission (CSC) actually tells you about filling it, and what to check before you go to the notary.
PDFPhile fills the CSC form for you. It does not notarize it, and it is not the CSC: your agency decides what it accepts.
What changed from Revised 2025
The CSC's Memorandum Circular No. 05, s. 2026 adopts CS Form No. 212, Revised 2026, according to the DepEd Dasmariñas notice that passed it on. I could not open the circular itself, so this page does not state an effectivity date or a transition period. Ask your HR office which version it accepts today.
Comparing the two forms side by side (Revised 2025 copy and the Revised 2026 form), these differences are printed on the forms:
Item · Revised 2025 · Revised 2026; Item 13 · PhilSys Number (PSN) · PhilSys Card Number (PCN); Item 28, Work Experience · Dates, position, agency, status, government service Y/N · Adds monthly salary and salary/job/pay grade and step (format "00-0"); Signature caption at the foot of each page · "wet signature/e-signature/digital certificate" · "e-signature/digital certificate"
The CSC's own Guide to Filling Out the PDS (Revised 2026) still says the PDS must bear the wet signature, e-signature or digital certificate of the employee, with the date, at the bottom of every page. Follow the guide.
What the CSC guide says about the file and the print
From the same CSC guide:
- The PDS may be done in the MS Word or MS Excel format. Entries can be handwritten in block capitals with a pen, or typed. - Do not leave an entry blank. Write N/A if it does not apply. - Dates are dd/mm/yyyy. Names of schools, agencies and positions are written in full, not abbreviated. - The signature, with the date, goes at the bottom of every page.
What the guide does not say: it gives no paper size, margin or font. The PDS file on this site is A4, while many applicants report that their agency asked for long (8.5 x 13 inch) paper. Both are things to ask your HR office; do not guess. The common fix for layout trouble is to avoid "fit to page" when printing and to type into the official form rather than rebuilding it in another program. That is practical advice, not a CSC rule.
What to bring
- A passport-sized, unfiltered digital picture, 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm, taken within the last six months, per item 42 of the form and the CSC guide. - A government-issued ID, with its number and date and place of issuance, written in the boxes on page 4. - Your numbers: UMID, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, PhilSys (PCN), TIN, and agency employee number if you have one. - Civil service eligibility details: rating, date and place of exam, license number and validity if any. - The Work Experience Sheet, filled in, for a job application.
Step by step
Open the PDS and work through the sections in order.
1. I. Personal information (items 1-21). Surname, first name, name extension, middle name. Date of birth is dd/mm/yyyy. Civil status "Others" needs specifics, per the guide. 2. II. Family background (22-25). The mother's name is her maiden name. List the full names of all children. 3. III. Educational background. Full school names, no abbreviations. If you did not graduate, write the highest level or units earned. 4. IV. Civil service eligibility (27). List every eligibility with rating, date and place. 5. V. Work experience (28). Start from your current work, include private employment. The guide says the Work Experience Sheet should be submitted with the PDS when applying for a vacant position, only for experience relevant to that position. Your duties go there, not on the PDS. 6. VI-VIII. Voluntary work, learning and development, and other information. Write the full name of each training provider ("Civil Service Commission", not "CSC"). 7. Questions 34-40. Answer every question and give details for any "yes". Be exact: the form's warning says a misrepresentation in the PDS or Work Experience Sheet can bring administrative or criminal cases. 8. 41. References. People who are not related to you by blood or marriage. 9. 42. Declaration. Stick the photo, sign inside the box, add the right thumbmark if you cannot sign, and write the date.
Oath and notary
Page 4 ends with "SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ..." and a space for the person administering the oath, with the ID you show. Applicants often ask whether to date the form on the day of notarization. The form does not answer that, so ask the notary or your HR office before you sign. Whether an agency wants the PDS notarized, and how many copies, is the agency's rule: ask HR.
Mistakes that get a PDS returned
- Abbreviations in school, agency and position names. - Blank entries instead of N/A. - Forgetting the signature or date on one page. - A filtered or old photo, or one that is not 4.5 x 3.5 cm. - Experience not relevant to the post on the Work Experience Sheet. - Writing a PSN where the 2026 form asks for the PCN.
Questions
Which PDS version should I use?
The CSC adopted the Revised 2026 form through MC No. 05, s. 2026. This page cannot confirm the date the older form stops being accepted, so ask the agency you are applying to.
Legal or A4 paper?
The CSC guide does not say. Ask your HR office what it wants, because agencies set their own rules for copies and paper.
Kailangan bang i-notaryo ang PDS?
The form carries a "subscribed and sworn" block, so it is meant to be sworn before an authorized officer. Whether an agency requires it for your case is the agency's call.
Ano ang ilalagay sa Work Experience Sheet kung fresh graduate ako?
The CSC guide asks for experience relevant to the position you are applying for. If you have none, write N/A and ask the agency whether it wants anything else, for example internship or OJT.
Is the PhilSys number the same as the PCN?
On the 2026 form, item 13 asks for the PhilSys Card Number (PCN). The 2025 form called it the PhilSys Number (PSN).
Last checked 2026-10-12. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.