What Documents Do I Need to Refinance My Home Loan Philippines?

Philippine banks generally require documents across four categories: personal identification, income proof, property documents, and your existing loan details. Here is a master checklist to get you started:

• Personal IDs: Two valid government-issued IDs with photo and signature
• Filled-out application form: Provided by the bank you're refinancing into
• Income documents: Payslips, ITR, Certificate of Employment (for employed); BIR Form 1701, audited financial statements (for self-employed)
• Property documents: Original Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) or Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT), Tax Declaration, and latest Real Property Tax (RPT) receipt
• Existing loan documents: Latest Statement of Account (SOA) from your current lender, amortization schedule, and loan agreement or disclosure statement
• Marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Appraisal report: Some banks arrange this themselves; others require you to submit one

The exact list varies by bank. Nook's advisors will give you a lender-specific checklist before you apply — for free.

Most banks require two valid, government-issued photo-bearing IDs. Accepted IDs typically include:

• Philippine Passport
• Driver's License
• SSS or GSIS ID (or Unified Multi-Purpose ID / UMID)
• PhilHealth ID
• Voter's ID or Voter's Certification
• PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) ID
• Postal ID
• National ID (PhilSys)
• Senior Citizen ID
• Alien Certificate of Registration (for foreign nationals with Philippine-based loans)

Tip: Make sure both IDs show your current address. If your address differs from your property or employment records, you may need to provide a proof of billing address (e.g., utility bill or bank statement dated within the last 3 months) as a supporting document.

If you are employed — whether locally or overseas — you will typically need to provide the following income documents:

• Certificate of Employment (COE): Original, on company letterhead, dated within the last 30–60 days, stating your position, tenure, and compensation
• Latest one to three months' payslips: Most banks ask for the three most recent payslips
• Income Tax Return (ITR): BIR Form 2316 or Form 1700, stamped by the BIR, for the most recent tax year — or your employer's BIR-stamped 2316 if your employer withholds tax on your behalf
• Bank statements: Three to six months of statements from your primary savings or payroll account

For OFWs: You will additionally need a copy of your valid employment contract, a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) notarized abroad and authenticated by the Philippine consulate, and your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or POEA documentation. Some banks require your latest proof of remittance as well.

Self-employed applicants — including freelancers, sole proprietors, and business owners — face more rigorous income documentation requirements because banks cannot verify a payslip or COE. Expect to prepare:

• BIR Form 1701: Annual Income Tax Return for the past two years, stamped as received by the BIR
• Audited Financial Statements (AFS): Signed and stamped by a CPA, for the past two years
• DTI Business Registration (for sole proprietors) or SEC Certificate of Registration and Articles of Incorporation (for corporations)
• Business permits / Mayor's Permit: Current and valid
• Bank statements: Six months of business and personal bank statements
• List of trade references or contracts (some banks may request these for additional verification)

If your business income fluctuates, it helps to consolidate it across multiple bank accounts before applying. Nook's advisors can advise you on the best way to present your financials to specific lenders.

The bank you are refinancing into needs to verify that the property being used as collateral is properly titled, free of major encumbrances, and properly valued. Required property documents typically include:

• Original Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) for a house and lot, or Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) for a condo unit — the original owner's duplicate copy
• Latest Tax Declaration for land and improvements, issued by the local assessor's office
• Real Property Tax (RPT) receipts: Official receipts for the current year and sometimes the prior year
• Lot plan / vicinity map / sketch plan (often required for house-and-lot properties)
• Floor plan (especially for condominiums)
• Deed of Absolute Sale (if you are a recent buyer)

If your current loan is already annotated on the title (which it almost always is), you don't need to worry — the new bank will coordinate the cancellation of the old mortgage annotation as part of the refinancing process.

A Statement of Account (SOA) is an official document from your current lender that shows the outstanding balance of your existing home loan. It is one of the most important documents in a refinance application because the new bank needs to know exactly how much they need to lend you in order to pay off your existing mortgage.

Your SOA typically includes:

• Your remaining principal balance as of a specific date
• Any accrued interest
• Penalties or charges (if any)
• A computation of the full payoff or redemption amount

You can request an SOA directly from your current lender — most banks provide this within 3–5 business days, though some may take longer. Ask specifically for a Payoff or Redemption Statement valid for a specific date, as the outstanding balance changes with each payment. Some banks charge a small fee (typically 200–500 pesos) for this document. Nook can help you with the wording of your request to make sure you get the right format.

In most cases, the new bank will arrange and pay for the property appraisal themselves — it is part of their due diligence process. However, some lenders may ask you to submit a recent independent appraisal report conducted by an accredited appraiser.

Here's what you need to know:

• Bank-ordered appraisal: The bank sends their own accredited appraiser to inspect your property. You typically pay an appraisal fee (ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 pesos depending on property type and location) as part of your processing fees.
• Borrower-submitted appraisal: A small number of banks will accept a recently conducted appraisal (usually dated within 6 months) from a PRC-licensed or BSP-accredited real estate appraiser.
• Why it matters: The appraised value determines the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio the bank will allow, which affects how much you can borrow. Most banks lend up to 80% of the appraised value for refinancing.

Nook's advisors will let you know upfront whether your shortlisted lender requires a borrower-submitted appraisal or handles it themselves, so there are no surprises.

If you are married, Philippine law generally requires your spouse to be a co-borrower (or at minimum, to sign as a consent party) since real property acquired during marriage is considered conjugal or community property. Additional documents typically required include:

• PSA-authenticated Marriage Certificate: Issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, not a church or local civil registry copy
• Spouse's valid IDs: Two government-issued IDs, same as the primary borrower
• Spouse's income documents: If the spouse will be an active co-borrower (which can improve your qualifying income), their payslips, COE, ITR, or business documents will also be required
• Special Power of Attorney (SPA): If the spouse is based overseas or cannot be physically present to sign, a notarized and consularized SPA is needed

For co-borrowers who are not spouses (e.g., a sibling or parent), banks will require the same income documentation as the primary borrower, plus proof of relationship in some cases. Adding a co-borrower with a strong income profile can significantly improve your chances of approval and the terms you qualify for.

Yes — in most cases, you can begin the pre-qualification or preliminary assessment process with an incomplete set of documents. Banks and mortgage brokers like Nook can give you a conditional indicative offer based on your income profile and loan details before all documents are in hand.

However, formal loan approval and processing cannot proceed until your complete document set is submitted. Submitting an incomplete application can lead to:

• Delays of weeks or even months if the bank keeps requesting missing items one at a time
• A lower priority in the bank's processing queue
• In some cases, cancellation of the application if documents are not submitted within the bank's required timeframe

Our recommendation: use Nook's free advisory service to get your checklist before you start collecting documents. That way, you gather everything in one go and submit a complete package from day one. This dramatically reduces your approval timeline — often to as little as 2–4 weeks for straightforward applications.

If you have credit concerns in addition to documentation gaps, see our guide on how to refinance with bad credit in the Philippines for specific strategies.

For most borrowers, realistic document preparation takes between 2 and 6 weeks depending on how quickly you can gather items from third parties. Here's a breakdown by document type:

• Personal IDs: Already on hand — 1 day
• Payslips and bank statements: Printable or downloadable — 1–3 days
• Certificate of Employment: Request from HR — typically 3–7 business days
• ITR / BIR Form 2316: From employer or BIR — 1 week if not already available
• PSA documents (birth/marriage certificate): Orderline online at PSA Serbilis — delivery can take 1–3 weeks
• Statement of Account from current lender: 3–10 business days depending on the bank
• Tax Declaration and RPT receipts: Request from your city or municipal assessor's office — can take 1–2 weeks
• Audited Financial Statements (self-employed): If not already prepared, allow 2–4 weeks for your accountant

The smart move is to start with the items that take the longest — especially PSA documents, your SOA, and Tax Declaration — while you gather faster items in parallel. Nook's advisors will walk you through the exact sequence so you're not waiting unnecessarily.