First job requirements: TIN, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG

You got the job offer, and HR sent a list: TIN, SSS number, PhilHealth number, Pag-IBIG MID, plus clearances. This guide walks you through the four government numbers, in order. You fill each form once, here, and keep the same numbers for the rest of your working life.

Before anything: do you already have the number?

You keep one number per agency for life. Check first:

- TIN — if you ever registered with BIR (a part-time job, a scholarship stipend, an online business), you already have one. Never apply for a second TIN: the Tax Code says a person who secures more than one TIN is criminally liable (NIRC, section 236(j)). Ask HR to update your existing record instead. - SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG — a summer job, OJT or a parent registering you may have given you one already. Give HR the old number.

1902 or 1905? Form 1902 is only for someone with no TIN. If you already got a TIN — for example one issued under E.O. 98 for a bank account, an ID or a one-time transaction — you do not apply again: your employer updates that registration with BIR Form 1905, which lists "transfer of registration of individuals not engaged in business (E.O. 98/ONETT/employee)" among its own documentary requirements (BIR Form 1905).

If you have none of them, here is the order most HR teams use.

Step 1 — TIN: BIR Form 1902

BIR Form 1902 is the TIN application for people earning purely from employment (BIR's own copy: 1902, October 2025 edition). Your employer submits it to the BIR office for your address.

What you need: your PSA birth certificate (or another document showing your name, birthdate and address) and a valid ID. Fill the form with your name exactly as on your birth certificate — middle name included.

Step 2 — SSS number: E-1 Personal Record

The SSS E-1 gets you an SSS number (SSS's copy). You need your birth certificate. Your employer then reports you as its employee, and both of you start paying contributions.

Step 3 — PhilHealth: PMRF

The PhilHealth Member Registration Form (PMRF) is used both to register and to update your record. Tick Registration as the purpose. You can list your dependents now or later.

Step 4 — Pag-IBIG MID number

The Pag-IBIG membership registration form gets you your Pag-IBIG MID number.

The clearances: free for first-time jobseekers

Under the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act (RA 11261), government offices may not charge you for documents you need to get your first job. Section 4 lists them:

Document · Free under RA 11261; Police clearance · Yes; NBI clearance · Yes; Barangay clearance · Yes; Medical certificate from a public hospital · Yes (lab tests and procedures may still be charged); PSA birth certificate · Yes; Marriage certificate · Yes; Transcript of records from a state college or university · Yes; TIN · Yes; UMID card · Yes

To claim it, bring a barangay certification that you are a first-time jobseeker (section 5). The benefit can be used only once (section 3) — so get all your documents in the same round.

Mistakes that send a form back

- Name mismatch. Use the spelling, middle name and suffix (Jr., III) exactly as on your PSA birth certificate, on all four forms. A mismatch between agencies is the most common reason records have to be corrected later. - A second number. Applying again because you forgot your old number creates duplicate records that take months to merge. - Typing it four times. Every form asks for the same name, birthdate and address. In the first job pack you type them once and every form opens filled.

Questions

Can I start work without a TIN?

Your employer needs your TIN to withhold and report your tax, so HR will ask for it on day one. If you have none, they file BIR Form 1902 for you.

Is the first-time jobseeker benefit available more than once?

No. RA 11261 section 3 says it can only be availed of once, so request every document you need in the same round.

What proves I am a first-time jobseeker?

A barangay certification stating that you are a first-time jobseeker (RA 11261 section 5). Faking it is punishable under the Revised Penal Code.

BIR told me to file 1905 instead of 1902. Why?

Because you already have a TIN. Form 1902 is for people with no TIN; an existing TIN (from E.O. 98, a past job or a one-time transaction) is updated and moved to your employer's records with Form 1905.

I had a TIN from a part-time job. Do I need a new one?

No — and you must not get one. Give your new employer the TIN you already have.

Last checked 2026-10-11. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.

Fill BIR 1902 now