TL;DR: DepEd's current national uniform schedule, set by DepEd Memorandum No. 028, s. 2025, has classroom-based personnel wearing Design A on Monday, Design B on Tuesday and Thursday, Design C on Wednesday, and "appropriate office clothes" on Friday, with office-based personnel following the same pattern under Designs D, E, and F. Compliance with the new designs became mandatory from SY 2026-2027, beginning June 2026, reiterated by DepEd Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-0693 dated 10 March 2026, which also prohibits sublimation-printed uniforms under Republic Act No. 9242, the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law. It is funded by an annual ₱7,000 uniform/clothing allowance under DBM Budget Circular No. 2024-1. The national memo aims for one uniform standard across all regions and divisions, but schools and division offices still issue their own supplementary memos on the details the national order leaves open, so always check your division's own guidance rather than assuming the national default is the whole story.
Last updated August 2026.
Every school year, a search for "DepEd uniform schedule" turns up a mix of outdated designs, conflicting wash-day rules, and division-specific memos that don't necessarily match what's posted nationally. This matters for public school teachers and non-teaching staff who need to know exactly which uniform to wear on which day, and for anyone preparing to become a teacher budgeting for the required wardrobe. This guide lays out the current national schedule under DepEd Memorandum No. 028, s. 2025, what the clothing allowance covers, and where local discretion still applies. Figures and schedule details below come from the official DepEd memorandum and DBM budget circular.
What Is the Current DepEd National Uniform Schedule?
DepEd Memorandum No. 028, s. 2025, "Guidelines on the New Department of Education National Uniform for Classroom and Office-Based Personnel," dated March 24, 2025, sets the weekly wearing pattern currently in effect. It introduces three new uniform design sets for classroom-based personnel and three for office-based personnel, replacing the uniforms that had been in use since DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2013.
School year 2025-2026 served as a transition period, during which personnel could still wear their old uniforms while preparing to purchase the new ones. That window has closed. DepEd Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-0693, issued 10 March 2026 by the Office of the Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development, and Infrastructure, reiterates full implementation: "Effective SY 2026-2027, beginning June 2026, all classroom and office-based DepEd personnel are required to strictly wear the prescribed new sets of uniforms, pursuant to Item 2 of DM No. 028, s. 2025."
DM 028, s. 2025 sits downstream of two other documents worth knowing. CSC Memorandum Circular No. 16, s. 2024, the Revised Dress Code for Government Officials and Employees, is the government-wide rule DepEd's internal guidelines had to align with. DepEd Memorandum No. 027, s. 2024 reconstituted the DepEd Uniform Committee, composed of teaching and non-teaching employee organisations, whose recommendation the Executive Committee acted on. The stated selection criteria were CSC MC 16 compliance, comfort and suitability to weather and working conditions, presentability and modesty with a simple form allowing unrestricted movement, availability of fabric in the market, gender inclusivity, and cost.
Disclaimer: uniform requirements are set and occasionally revised by DepEd issuance. Confirm the current schedule and any local variations with your school head or division office before purchasing uniforms.
What Does the Weekly Uniform Schedule Look Like?
| Day | Classroom-Based Personnel | Office-Based Personnel |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Design A (ASEAN- and Filipiniana-inspired) | Design D (ASEAN- and Filipiniana-inspired) |
| Tuesday | Design B | Design E |
| Wednesday | Design C | Design F |
| Thursday | Design B | Design E |
| Friday | Appropriate office clothes | Appropriate office clothes |
This table reflects DM 028, s. 2025 as currently published. "Appropriate office clothes" on Friday is not itemized further in the national memo, which is one of the specific points individual schools and divisions commonly clarify through their own supplementary memo, since "appropriate" is a judgment call that a school head or division office may define more precisely for their own personnel.
Two practical points fall out of the table. The Tuesday and Thursday design carries two days of the week, so a single set of it will not get anyone through a full week. And the split is by where the work is done, not by appointment title, which is why administrative officers, registrars, bookkeepers and other school-assigned support staff wear Designs D to F rather than the classroom set. If you are on the non-teaching side, or your role sits between a school and an office, our guide to the DepEd non-teaching personnel uniform covers who is classified as office-based, what Designs D, E and F are, and the exemption grounds in full.
Is the Uniform Schedule the Same in Every Division?
The national memo's stated intent is uniformity: it specifies that there are to be no separate regional office or schools division office uniform designs, meaning divisions are not meant to substitute their own uniform pattern for the national one. That's a change from the previous uniform order, DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2013, which had explicitly allowed regional and division offices that had selected their own uniforms to wear those on Wednesdays and/or Thursdays instead of the second national design.
Even with a single national design standard, division and school-level memos remain the practical reference point for day-to-day compliance questions the national order doesn't spell out: what exactly counts as "appropriate office clothes" on Friday, how physical education or sports-fest days are handled, whether a wet-season or heat-index exception applies on a given day, and how newly hired personnel should dress before their first uniform purchase. Treat the national schedule above as the default framework, and your own division's memo as the operative document for anything it doesn't cover.
What Fabric and Alterations Are Allowed?
DM 028, s. 2025 deliberately does not prescribe a specific fabric, "in recognition of the varying geographical/climate conditions," provided the design and colour comply with the guidelines and with Republic Act No. 9242, the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, and its 2023 Amended Implementing Rules and Regulations.
One material is now expressly out. DM-OUHRODI-2026-0693 states that "in strict adherence to Republic Act No. 9242, or the Philippine Tropical Fabrics (PTF) Law, the use of sublimation-printed uniforms is strictly prohibited," on the ground that sublimated fabrics are typically synthetic and do not meet the breathability and sustainability standards of the PTF Law and the Civil Service Commission. Sublimated uniforms are therefore deemed non-compliant with DM 028, s. 2025.
Alterations are narrowly allowed. In alignment with CSC MC No. 16, s. 2024, modifications are permitted "solely to ensure inclusivity in the workplace," and are limited to changes such as altering short sleeves to long sleeves for religious reasons. The overall design and colour must stay unchanged.
Separately, all DepEd personnel are required to wear their prescribed identification cards at all times while on official duty or when representing the Department outside schools and offices, which DM 028 ties to RA 11032, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
Who Is Exempt From Wearing the Uniform?
DM 028, s. 2025 lists seven grounds for exemption, covering the nature of the work, religion, health and disability, pregnancy, mourning, emergencies and inclement weather, and circumstances analogous to those. None of them is automatic: an employee who cannot comply must file a written request for exemption with their Head of Office, through their Personnel Unit, at least fifteen days in advance for approval, and if approved reports to work in the approved requested clothing or at least in smart casual attire.
The same seven grounds apply to teaching and non-teaching personnel alike, and we set them out ground by ground, with what each one actually covers and how the request is filed, in our guide to the DepEd non-teaching personnel uniform.
How Much Is the DepEd Clothing Allowance and When Is It Released?
The uniform/clothing allowance for eligible government personnel, DepEd staff included, is ₱7,000 per year, set under DBM Budget Circular No. 2024-1, "Updated Rules and Regulations on the Grant of the Uniform/Clothing Allowance (U/CA) to Civilian Government Personnel," issued April 4, 2024. That's an increase from the ₱6,000 rate that applied previously. The allowance is authorized under the General Provisions of the annual General Appropriations Act and released, subject to fund availability, "not earlier than the first working day of April" of a given fiscal year.
DM 028, s. 2025 carries its own allowance provision that tracks the same rule from the DepEd side: an allowance of ₱7,000, "or whichever amount is appropriated in the succeeding fiscal year for the purpose," released to all eligible personnel not earlier than the first working day of April of the current year, subject to accounting and auditing rules and to the release of the Notice of Cash Allocation from the Department of Budget and Management. That last condition is the one that moves the actual release date in practice, since the April floor is the earliest possible date rather than a guaranteed one.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue has ruled the ₱7,000 uniform allowance exempt from withholding tax as an authorized de minimis benefit.
Who Qualifies for the Clothing Allowance?
DBM Budget Circular No. 2024-1 covers civilian government personnel in regular, contractual, or casual positions, whether appointive or elective, and whether working full-time or part-time. To qualify in a given fiscal year, personnel must have rendered at least six months of service within that year, including periods of paid leave.
Excluded groups include:
- Job order and contract-of-service workers (no formal employer-employee relationship)
- Consultants
- Foreign service personnel stationed abroad
- Barangay officials
- Student laborers
Can Teachers Buy Uniforms From Any Supplier?
Yes, and DM 028, s. 2025 says so in current terms. Teaching and non-teaching personnel from the Central Office, Regional Offices, Schools Division Offices and schools "are free to purchase and obtain the prescribed uniform materials from any available source that complies with the standards set." Employee unions, associations and cooperatives may offer compliant materials to their members, subject to member consent, to secure a more reasonable price and consistency of colour and material. That is an option members can take, not a channel anyone can be pushed into.
The memorandum goes further and treats supplier pressure as a reportable act. It states that DepEd "has not endorsed, accredited, or authorized any particular supplier" to declare itself the exclusive distributor of uniform fabric, and directs that any supplier visiting DepEd offices and using the name of a DepEd official to secure a supply deal be reported to the Office of the Secretary, attention DepEd Uniform Committee. Separately, all concerned must send the Central Office a written report of any DepEd personnel who compel or coerce staff to buy uniform materials from a specific source or supplier.
This continues the principle in the earlier order. DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2013 stated plainly that "DepEd officials are prohibited from withholding any amount as payment for uniforms and/or fabrics." The clothing allowance is personnel's own money to spend on a compliant uniform, not a pass-through payment to a designated vendor.
What Should Teachers Budget For Beyond the National Uniform?
- Multiple design sets, not just one outfit. With three designs cycling across the week (plus Friday attire), personnel typically need more than a single uniform to comply with the full weekly schedule.
- Check the fabric before you pay. Sublimation-printed material is now expressly non-compliant, so a cheaper sublimated set is money lost rather than money saved.
- Non-uniform professional attire for Friday. Since Friday isn't a specified national design, budget for standard office wear that meets your school's expectations.
- Confirm your division's own memo early in the school year, since it's the practical reference for anything the national schedule leaves undefined.
- File early if you need an exemption, given the fifteen-day advance requirement for a written request.
For related administrative guidance, see our post on the DepEd no-collection policy, which covers what schools can and cannot ask parents to pay for, a topic often confused with clothing allowance and uniform costs. For the wider set of conduct rules that apply to licensed teachers, see our Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers explainer.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or explore more guides for Philippine educators and staff on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd — March 24, 2025, DM 028, s. 2025: Guidelines on the New Department of Education National Uniform for Classroom and Office-Based Personnel (official)
- DepEd SDO Tacurong City — Dissemination of DepEd Memorandum DM-OUHRODI-2026-0693: Reiteration on the Strict Wearing of the Prescribed DepEd National Uniform for SY 2026-2027 and Immediate Release of the FY 2026 Clothing Allowance (PDF, includes the full national memorandum)
- DepEd — DepEd prioritizes teacher and personnel concerns with reconstituted uniform committee (official press release, January 2025)
- DepEd — February 13, 2013, DO 7, s. 2013: Prescribing the DepEd National Uniforms for Teachers and Non-Teaching Personnel for School Years 2013-2015 (official)
- Supreme Court E-Library — DBM Budget Circular No. 2003-8, Rules and Regulations on the Grant of Uniform/Clothing Allowance
- BusinessWorld — BIR rules ₱7,000 uniform allowance for gov't employees not taxable
- Philstar — Teachers, personnel to receive ₱7,000 clothing allowance
- GABOTAF — Full Guide: DBM and COA Guidelines on the Grant of Uniform or Clothing Allowance to Government Employees
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd Non-Teaching Personnel Uniform: Designs D, E and F
- SchoolFinderPH — Teacher Salary in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — How to Become a Teacher in the Philippines
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd No-Collection Policy
