Quick Answer: DepEd's Omnibus Sworn Statement is Item 20(j) of the application checklist under DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, filed on the prescribed Annex C form. It carries two declarations: a Certification of Authenticity and Veracity covering every document in your folder, and a Data Privacy Consent under Republic Act No. 10173. Since DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024 it no longer has to be notarised; it must be sworn before any public officer authorised to administer oaths under Executive Order No. 292. Leaving it out removes you from the pool of official applicants entirely.
If you are assembling a DepEd application folder, the Omnibus Sworn Statement is the single sheet that makes everything else in the folder legally yours. It is also the item most commonly described wrongly online, because a 2024 amendment quietly removed the notarisation requirement and most guidance never caught up. This explainer works from the two issuances that actually govern it, and flags where practice varies by schools division office. For the wider application, see our DepEd teacher hiring requirements guide.
What Is the Omnibus Sworn Statement?
It is the last of the mandatory items on DepEd's application checklist. DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, the Guidelines on Recruitment, Selection, and Appointment in the Department of Education, lists it at Item 20(j) as the:
"Checklist of Requirements and Omnibus Sworn Statement on the Certification on the Authenticity and Veracity (CAV) of the documents submitted and Data Privacy Consent Form pursuant to RA No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012), using the attached form (Annex C)."
Notice that the title bundles three things into one sheet: the checklist itself, the authenticity certification, and the data privacy consent. That is why it is called omnibus. You are not filing three documents; you are filing one document that does three jobs.
The form is prescribed, not free-form. Annex C of the order is the template, and schools division offices reproduce it in their calls for applications.
What Is Actually Printed on Annex C?
The sheet has two halves. The top half is the checklist, with identifying fields and a row for each documentary requirement:
| Section | What it captures |
|---|---|
| Header fields | Name of applicant, application code, position applied for, office of the position applied for, contact number, solo parent status |
| Basic documentary requirements | One row per item from the letter of intent through to the performance rating, ticked by the applicant, with a verification column filled in by the HRMO or sub-committee |
| Attestation | Signature of the Human Resource Management Officer |
The bottom half is the sworn part, printed under the heading OMNIBUS SWORN STATEMENT, in two labelled blocks:
- Certification of Authenticity and Veracity. The applicant certifies "that all information above are true and correct, and of my personal knowledge and belief, and the documents submitted herewith are original and/or certified true copies thereof."
- Data Privacy Consent. The applicant grants DepEd "the right to collect and process my personal information as stated above, for purposes relevant to the recruitment, selection, and placement of personnel of the Department and for purposes of compliance with the laws, rules, and regulations being implemented by the Civil Service Commission."
Below those sit the applicant's name and signature, the subscription line, and a space for the person administering the oath. The form also carries a footnote invoking Republic Act No. 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, on the legal effect of electronic documents.
The Notarisation Rule Changed in 2024
This is the point most guidance still gets wrong. DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023 originally required the form "notarized by authorized official." DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024, the Amendments to DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, changed that:
"To relieve applicants from unnecessary costs incurred during the application process, the Checklist of Requirements and Omnibus Sworn Statement on the Certification on the Authenticity and Veracity (CAV) of a document submitted, as required under Section 20(j) of DO 007, s. 2023, shall no longer be required to be notarized."
The amendment then says the document "shall henceforth be required to be sworn before any public officer authorized to administer oath" under Book I, Chapter 10, Section 41 of Executive Order No. 292, as amended by Republic Act No. 6733 and further amended by Republic Act No. 10755.
Read that carefully, because the distinction is easy to blur. The document is still sworn. What changed is that a notary public is no longer the only route, and the notarial fee is no longer an unavoidable cost of applying.
Disclaimer: divisions differ in how they implement this. Some calls for applications still print "notarized" on their checklist, either from an older template or as a local preference. Follow the wording in the memorandum your own schools division office issued, and if it conflicts with DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024, ask the HRMO rather than assuming.
Who Can Administer the Oath?
Section 41 of Executive Order No. 292, as quoted in DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024, lists officers with general authority to administer oaths:
| Category | Officers named |
|---|---|
| National | The President, the Vice President, Members and Secretaries of both Houses of Congress, Secretaries of Departments |
| Judicial | Members of the Judiciary, clerks of courts |
| Local | Provincial governors and lieutenant-governors, city mayors, municipal mayors |
| Administrative | Bureau directors, regional directors, registrars of deeds |
| Other | All other constitutional officers, and notaries public |
The same section adds that the punong barangay is authorised to administer the oath of office of any government official, including the President, which is a narrower authority than the general list above and is about oaths of office rather than sworn statements.
For an illustrative sense of how this plays out: an applicant in a provincial division who would previously have paid a notary in the town centre may instead have the statement sworn before an officer already involved in the process, such as a regional director, where that officer is available and willing. Availability, not authority, is the practical constraint, which is why some applicants still choose a notary simply because it is faster.
What Happens If It Is Missing or False?
Two provisions of DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023 do the work here, and they cut in different directions.
On omission, Item 21 is categorical: individuals who fail to submit complete mandatory documents, Items 20(a) to 20(j), on the set deadline "shall not be included in the pool of official applicants." Item 22 adds that no additional documents shall be accepted after the deadline. Because the Omnibus Sworn Statement is 20(j), it falls inside the mandatory block, not the discretionary Item 20(k) documents whose absence does not warrant exclusion.
On falsity, Item 25 states that the applicant "assumes full responsibility and accountability for the completeness, authenticity, and veracity of the documents submitted, as evidenced by the Omnibus Sworn Statement," that the HRMO or sub-committee shall check and verify, and that "any false and fraudulent document submitted shall be grounds for disqualification." The sworn form is what converts a folder of photocopies into a personal declaration you are answerable for.
A Different Document With the Same Name
Search results for this phrase mix two unrelated things. In government procurement, an Omnibus Sworn Statement is filed by bidders in the form prescribed in the official bidding documents, covering declarations about eligibility and compliance. It is a supplier document, not a job-applicant document, and it is notarised under its own rules.
That regime also moved recently: Republic Act No. 12009, the New Government Procurement Act, revised Republic Act No. 9184 and took effect in August 2024, with its implementing rules approved in February 2025. If you landed here as a bidder rather than a teacher applicant, work from the current bidding documents published by the Government Procurement Policy Board rather than from any DepEd hiring guidance.
Filing It Correctly: A Short Checklist
- Use your division's copy of Annex C, not a version downloaded from a random blog, since divisions add their own header and application code fields.
- Tick only what is actually in the folder. The verification column is filled in by the HRMO against your physical documents, and a mismatch is noticed immediately.
- Sign before you swear. The oath is administered on a signed document, not a blank one.
- Check the addressee and deadline in your own call for applications, because the mandatory block closes on that date and nothing is accepted afterwards.
- Keep a photocopy of the completed sheet, since it is also the cleanest record of exactly what you submitted and when.
The two other documents that trip applicants up sit either side of this one: our guides to the letter of intent and the Position Description Form cover them. If you are earlier in the journey, start with how to become a teacher in the Philippines, and if you want to read the issuances yourself, see how to find DepEd Orders.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare education programmes and teacher preparation options across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd - DO 007, s. 2023: Guidelines on Recruitment, Selection, and Appointment in the Department of Education
- DepEd - DO 021, s. 2024: Amendments to DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023
- LawPhil - Republic Act No. 10173, Data Privacy Act of 2012
- LawPhil - Republic Act No. 12009, New Government Procurement Act
- SchoolFinderPH - DepEd Teacher Hiring Requirements
