NBI Clearance Official Website, Look-Alike Sites, Main Office and Contact Details: Where to Find Each

The official NBI website and the official clearance portal: nbi.gov.ph and clearance.nbi.gov.ph

The NBI's official website is nbi.gov.ph, and the official online portal for NBI clearance is clearance.nbi.gov.ph. Both sit on the Philippine government's gov.ph domain, but they do different jobs. Most people searching for the "NBI portal" or the "NBI clearance official website" want the second one.

• nbi.gov.ph (www.nbi.gov.ph redirects here) is the agency website of the National Bureau of Investigation: background on the bureau, press releases, announcements, contact details, the regional office directory, clearance guidance and the Citizen's Charter. Its NBI Clearance link points straight to clearance.nbi.gov.ph.
• clearance.nbi.gov.ph shows "OFFICIAL NBI CLEARANCE" as its browser title, and its footer reads "NBI Clearance Online Registration and Application Services." This is where you register, complete your profile, choose a branch and time slot, and generate the payment reference number. The home page also carries links for online renewal with delivery, online certificate verification, and first-time jobseekers.
• firsttimejobseekers.nbi.gov.ph is the separate portal that the NBI's How to Apply guide tells first-time jobseekers to use under Republic Act No. 11261, the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act. It is meant for local jobseekers who qualify under that law; foreigners normally use the main portal.

The NBI's Office Locator page reminds applicants to apply and pay online through the official portal before going to a clearance office. An advisory on the portal's home page says first-time and renewal applicants must present two valid government-issued IDs, with examples including the national ID, UMID, passport, driver's licence and a PSA-authenticated birth certificate, and that company IDs and barangay clearances are not accepted as valid IDs. Renewal applicants whose previous clearance needs any correction, even a single letter, must register online again.

Foreigners usually present a passport as the main ID. What counts as the second ID, such as an ACR I-Card, is up to the clearance office on the day; for which IDs work where, see valid IDs for foreigners in the Philippines. Registration uses one-time passwords sent to your mobile number and email, and the NBI guide stresses that the spelling of your name must match your IDs exactly.

This article does not repeat the full registration, booking, payment and biometrics process; for that, see how to get an NBI clearance. For what the NBI is and how it differs from the Bureau of Immigration and the police, see what the NBI is. Here we deal only with which website, which office and which email address.

Is clearance-nbi.ph official? How to tell look-alike, information and fixer sites from the real portal

clearance-nbi.ph is not an address published by the NBI. The clearance portal that nbi.gov.ph links to is clearance.nbi.gov.ph. On its own Disclaimer page, marked as updated in August 2026, clearance-nbi.ph states that it is an independent, privately operated information website with no affiliation to the NBI, the Department of Justice or any government agency; that it does not accept applications, book appointments or collect NBI fees; and that official transactions are handled only through clearance.nbi.gov.ph and NBI branch offices.

Searches for "NBI clearance" or "NBI portal" often return several .ph and .com sites with nbi and clearance in the domain name, some designed to look official. Some are information sites, some offer paid assistance, and their nature varies. We are not passing judgement on each one; instead, here is how to check for yourself:

1. Start from the source. Type nbi.gov.ph or clearance.nbi.gov.ph yourself, or follow the buttons on the NBI website. Do not go straight to an application page from an ad, a search result or a link someone sent you.
2. Read the whole domain. The official portal is clearance.nbi.gov.ph, with dots between clearance, nbi, gov and ph. Sites that join "clearance" and "nbi" with a hyphen and end in .ph or .com are not the portal address the NBI publishes.
3. Know which outside pages the official portal itself opens. When we checked in September 2026, the "NBI Clearance Online Verification" button on the official portal opened verification.nbi-clearance.io in a new window, and online renewal ran in a pop-up window inside the portal. So the test is not simply "anything outside gov.ph is fake" but "did I reach this page from a button on an official NBI page?"
4. Pay only inside the official flow. The portal generates a reference number, and you pay through the channels the portal lists. Ignore anyone who asks you to send money to a personal bank account or a personal e-wallet number. Fees are whatever the official portal currently shows.
5. Never hand over your password or one-time codes. Your portal password and the codes sent to your phone and email are not for any third party.

One practical note: while we were checking, nbi.gov.ph was briefly unreachable a few times, showing a browser error code, and came back after a short wait. If the official site is down, try again later rather than switching to another site from the search results. If you have already paid or uploaded ID documents on a suspicious site, save the payment record and screenshots, then see how to report cybercrime in the Philippines.

Where is the NBI main office? The new Pasay headquarters and the clearance center on UN Avenue, Ermita

The NBI main office is now in Pasay City; the "NBI in Ermita" people talk about is the NBI Clearance Center. The table below copies the addresses from the NBI Contact page as of September 2026:

Plenty of older guides, map pins and blog posts still say the NBI headquarters is in Ermita, Manila. That describes the situation before the move. Press reports on 1 December 2024 said the NBI headquarters was relocating that day to Filinvest Cyberzone Bay in Pasay City, while the NBI Clearance Center on UN Avenue would keep operating, with contact numbers, email addresses and service hours unchanged. So if you are searching for "NBI Ermita Manila," the clearance center is almost certainly what you want.

What each location is for:

• The clearance center in Ermita: NBI clearance applications, biometrics capture and release of certificates. The NBI's Mailed Clearance Abroad page states that all clearance applications from abroad are processed only at the NBI Clearance Building on United Nations Avenue, where the Mailed Clearance Section is on the third floor.
• The Pasay headquarters: the bureau's main office. In the NBI regional office directory, the National Capital Region office is also listed at "NBI HQ, Pasay City." For investigation matters or complaints, call or email first to confirm which unit handles your concern.

Before heading to Ermita, choose your branch, book a slot and pay on the official portal. In its instructions for representatives of applicants abroad, the NBI tells them to select "NBI Main Clearance Center" as the site in the portal, which is how the main center appears there. For the dress code and what to bring, see the NBI clearance guide; if you get a HIT and are told to come back later, see what to do about an NBI HIT.

On getting there: the clearance center is in Ermita, in the City of Manila, while the headquarters is on Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City. They are not the same place, so do not give a driver an old address. Check the full published address on a map before you set off, and allow for traffic on the day of your appointment.

Finding NBI clearance centers and regional offices outside Manila

To find the nearest clearance center, use the Office Locator map and the branch list inside the portal; to find a local NBI office, use the Regional & District Offices directory. The two serve different purposes, so do not mix them up.

• Clearance centers: the NBI Clearance Office Locator page embeds a map for finding the nearest NBI clearance office. Which site you can actually book, and on which days, depends on the branch list the clearance.nbi.gov.ph portal shows when you apply. According to the NBI guide, you choose a branch first and then a date and a morning or afternoon slot.
• Regional and district offices: the Regional & District Offices page lists the NBI's regional offices and district offices region by region, most with an address, phone numbers and an email address. It is a directory of the bureau's field offices as an investigative agency. Whether a particular office processes clearances is something to confirm through the Office Locator and the portal.

A few examples for cities where many foreign residents live, copied from the directory as of September 2026:

• Cebu: the Central Visayas Regional Office (CEVRO) is listed at NBI, Capitol Site, Cebu City, email [email protected]; the Cebu District Office (CEBDO) is listed in Brgy. Centro, Mandaue City.
• Davao: the South Eastern Mindanao Regional Office (SEMRO) is listed at NBI, J.P. Laurel Ave., Bajada, Davao City, email [email protected].
• Clark area: the Pampanga District Office (PAMDO) is listed at the One Stop Processing Center, Clark Freeport Zone, Mabalacat City; the Central Luzon Regional Office (CELRO) is listed at the Capitol Compound, San Fernando City.
• Baguio: the Cordillera Administrative Region office (CAR) is listed at 125 Upper Session Road, Baguio City, email [email protected].
• Metro Manila: the National Capital Region office is listed at NBI HQ, Pasay City, email [email protected].

A few offices in the directory have no phone number or email listed, and a couple of district offices list a Gmail address (for example the Pampanga and Batangas district offices). That is how the NBI website publishes them. When contacting a local office, go by what the official directory currently says rather than contact details given on third-party sites.

One more distinction: an NBI clearance is the bureau's criminal record certificate, while a BI clearance is a different document issued by the Bureau of Immigration. Make sure you go to the right agency; the difference is explained in the BI clearance certificate guide. If slots at your local site are fully booked, compare availability at nearby sites in the portal before deciding where to go.

NBI email addresses, phone numbers and social media accounts: use the right channel

For clearance questions, email [email protected]; for mailed applications from abroad, email [email protected]. The details below are copied from the NBI Contact page as of September 2026:

• NBI Hotline (main office): (02) 8523-8231
• Clearance Inquiries: landline (02) 8524-1277; mobile 0939 150 2880; email [email protected]
• Mailed Clearance: email [email protected], with two mobile numbers also listed
• Clearance Delivery and the Delivery Helpdesk: several mobile numbers are listed for each

Email addresses for field offices are on the Regional & District Offices page, mostly in the form [email protected], as in the examples above. For social media, the footer of nbi.gov.ph links to the NBI's official Facebook page and its official X (formerly Twitter) account. Follow those links from the website rather than searching the platforms by name, since pages with similar names may exist.

If you write to the NBI by email:

1. Put the topic in the subject line, for example "Clearance inquiry – HIT follow-up" or "Mailed clearance – status."
2. Give your full name exactly as registered on the portal, your date of birth, the reference or transaction number, and your booked site and date, and attach a screenshot of your proof of payment.
3. Never include your portal password or any one-time code.
4. Before writing, read the How to Apply page and the advisories on the portal home page; many questions are already answered there.

Email reply times vary. If you are working to a job start date or a visa deadline, do not rely on email alone: follow the schedule shown in the portal, go to the clearance office as booked, and leave yourself a margin.

If you need the NBI for something other than a clearance, such as reporting an online scam, see how to report cybercrime in the Philippines for where to file and how to preserve evidence. For the difference between a police clearance and an NBI clearance, see NBI clearance vs police clearance. For anything involving a criminal case, consult a licensed lawyer about your situation; this article is not legal advice.

Verifying a certificate, applying from abroad, and when it makes sense to get help

To check whether a certificate is genuine, use the Online Verification link on the official portal and look for the NBI's embossed dry seal. The clearance.nbi.gov.ph home page has an "NBI Clearance Online Verification" link, which the portal says lets you check an NBI clearance's authenticity and validity; when we checked in September 2026, it opened verification.nbi-clearance.io in a new window. If you need to check a certificate someone has given you, use the same link and follow what the verification page asks for. The NBI's Mailed Clearance Abroad page also tells applicants to check the certificate for the embossed NBI dry seal when they receive it, and to place their right thumbmark in the space provided.

Applying from abroad. According to the NBI's Mailed Clearance Abroad page, new applicants broadly follow these steps:

1. Get NBI Clearance Application Form No. 5 from a Philippine embassy or consulate; the form must carry the consulate's seal. A representative can also collect it from the Mailed Clearance Section on the third floor of the NBI Clearance Building by presenting an authorisation letter and a copy of your passport bio page.
2. Have rolled fingerprints taken at the embassy, consulate or a local police station; the person taking them signs, states their designation and applies their office seal on the form.
3. Attach a photo with a white background and a copy of your valid passport's bio page.
4. Mail the form to the Mailed Clearance Section, 3rd Floor, NBI Clearance Building, UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila, or have a representative submit it. The representative must first register on the official portal, select "NBI Main Clearance Center" as the site, and pay.

The same page says only certificates issued from 2014 onwards can be renewed by mail or through a representative; older ones are treated as new applications. Check that page for the current mailing costs and processing time. If you will use the certificate in China or another country, you will usually need an apostille as well; see the apostille guide.

Do you need help? You can do the whole process yourself on the official portal. Fingerprints and photos must be taken in person (or through the mailed procedure above if you are abroad). Ignore anyone who says you can get a clearance without appearing, or that a HIT can be made to disappear.

Yixing is a private consultancy registered in the Philippines (SEC registration CS202009551) and is not affiliated with the NBI or any other government agency. We can help you register on the official portal, check name spelling and IDs, choose a site, accompany you on the day, and line up the apostille afterwards. Whether a HIT comes up and when the certificate is released are for the NBI to decide, and we do not promise outcomes. To get in touch, use our settling-in service. If you are also setting up a bank account after arriving, see the Philippine banks ranking and types of banks. This article does not cover certificate validity periods or fees; rely on what the NBI currently publishes.