Identifying Marks in NBI – Importance, Benefits and Examples
Identifying Marks play an important role in recognizing a person by the NBI and Philippine Police Department. It can be a mole on the face or dimple on the cheeks, or a tattoo, the applicant must reveal it in NBI Clearance Application Form, and the NBI Authority will consider the identifying marks in the clearance process.
The NBI also considers identifying marks on the applicant’s body when checking their background in the criminal records database.
In order to get NBI Clearance, the applicant has to provide their personal information in NBI Clearance Application Form including their skin complexion and identifying marks on the body. The NBI stores the Identifying Marks in NBI Database along with applicant’s photo, signature, biometric data and personal information.
What are Identifying Marks?
The identifying marks are dots or scars or something on a person’s body that makes them different from others. For example, A person has a mole on their chin or a woman has a dimple on her right cheek. A man has a burn scar on his right arm or a woman has a tattoo on the back of her neck.
The identifying marks can be on a person’s body from birth or human made or due to an accident/injury or left after a surgery.
Importance of Identifying Marks in NBI Clearance
The identifying marks are very important in NBI Clearance Processing. Because the National Bureau of Investigation needs to identify a person accurately to know if there are any legal/criminal cases against them before issuing an NBI Clearance to them.
When a person’s name matches with a criminal’s name, the identifying marks on the body help the NBI to understand that both of them are different persons. It is possible that two persons have similar faces even if they don’t know each other, the identifying marks on one person’s body differentiate them from the other person.
The identifying marks can save a person from longer investigation during NBI Clearance Application and speed up the NBI Clearance Issuance Process.
Benefits of Identifying Marks in NBI Clearance
The identifying marks on applicant’s body can offer various benefits in NBI Clearance Process. Here I provide the list of benefits of identifying marks for the applicant and the NBI authority.
- Help NBI to accurately identify two different persons with same names and similar appearances.
- Help NBI to avoid confusion to recognize and identify a person from two or more people with similar personal details.
- Save valuable time of NBI Authority and the Applicant during NBI Appointment for New NBI Clearance or Renewal.
- Eliminate the chances of fraud or impersonation during NBI Clearance Application Process.
- Prevent NBI from misidentifying a person and releasing an NBI Clearance to a wrong person.
- Help NBI to make the NBI Clearance Process more secure and identify a criminal using the identifying marks and biometrics data.
How to Find Identifying Marks on Your Body
When you apply for NBI Clearance Online, you need to provide all your personal information including your height, weight, skin complexion and identifying marks. Before you proceed for NBI Online Application, you must have accurate knowledge about the marks on your body.
Some marks are easy to locate or find, while some are tough to find. Here I provide some effective tips to help you find identifying marks on your body.
- Check Visible Body Areas: You should check your face, neck, shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, hands and feet. If you find any mole, dimple, scar, birthmark, dot, tattoo or anything identical, just note it down.
- Stand in front of Mirror: You cannot see some portion of your neck and the entire back directly, so you can stand in front of a big mirror to find out identifying marks and note them down.
- Find the Exact Location: When checking your body in front of a mirror, you must check each mark twice to know its exact location.
- Note the Size, Shape and Colour: You should check and note down the size, shape and colour of each mark you find on your body. For example: “I have a circular brown mole on my chin, approximately 1 cm.”
- Reveal All Marks to NBI: You should honestly reveal all the marks found on your body in the NBI Clearance Application.
How to Describe Identifying Marks in NBI Clearance Application Form
When filling up NBI Clearance Application Form, the applicant must describe their identifying marks properly. The applicant should mention the type of mark, its size, shape, colour and its exact location.
Mention Type of the Mark:
To inform about the identifying marks, you should mention the type of the mark. Whether it is a mole or dimple or scar or birthmark or anything else, the first thing you should define is the type.
Describe Its Shape, Size and Colour:
You should describe the shape, size and colour of the mark to make the information more accurate and useful for the NBI.
Provide the Exact Location on Body:
At last, you should provide the exact location of the mark on your body with specifying left or right where it is applicable.
If you have multiple identifying marks on your body, you can mention them one-by-one using coma (,) in NBI Clearance Application Form.
Common Examples of Identifying Marks
| Birthmarks | A brown birthmark on center of the chin. A red birthmark besides the left nostril. |
| Moles | A black mole on left above the upper lip. A dark mole right below the left eyebrow. |
| Scars | A scar on left cheek due to a small accident. A scar on left arm due to an injury. |
| Burn Scars | A burn scar on thumb of left hand. A burn scar on palm of the right hand. |
| Surgical Scars | A scar on left waist due to a femur-neck surgery. A scar on lower abdomen due to a appendicitis surgery. |
| Tattoos | An infinity snake tattoo between thumb & index finger on left hand. A butterfly tattoo on left side of the neck. |
| Dimples | A dimple on the right cheek. Dimples on both cheeks. |
How NBI Uses Identifying Marks
The National Bureau of Investigation uses identifying marks for checking the applicant’s background and criminal history records. In addition, the NBI stores these marks in their database to use them in future for identifying the person correctly and avoid fraudulent incidents.
When there are two personal with same names and similar appearances in NBI database, the NBI Authority uses identifying marks to differentiate between them.
The NBI does not mention the identifying marks of the applicant in their NBI Clearance Certificate. The marks details are stored in the NBI database and it remains encrypted with the applicant’s biometrics data so that only NBI Authorities can access them for anyone’s background check and investigation purposes.
Final Words
The NBI Clearance is an important document required for job applications, business licensing, travel abroad, civil service exam and other purposes. At the time of applying for NBI Clearance Online, the applicant must provide their identifying marks as requested by the NBI.
The NBI considers identifying marks of the applicant to assess their background and crime history in NBI criminal records. In addition, the NBI uses identifying marks to differentiate between two or more people with similar personal information.
The identifying marks in NBI help the NBI to identify each applicant accurately, avoid confusion or issuance of NBI Clearance to a wrong person. By revealing identifying marks in NBI Clearance Application, the applicant save their time and get their clearance issued fast.
FAQs
Do identifying marks matter in getting NBI Clearance?
Yes, the identifying marks do matter in getting an NBI Clearance in Philippines. The applicant must reveal their identifying marks in NBI Clearance Application so that the authority can store them in NBI database and use them to check applicant’s background and criminal records.
Can a person without identifying marks get NBI Clearance?
Yes, a person without identifying marks can get an NBI Clearance. The identifying marks are either natural or human made or cause by accidents, not everyone has such marks on their body. So, absence of identifying marks don’t prevent you from getting an NBI Clearance.
Do I need to mention my tattoo in NBI Clearance Application?
Yes, you need to mention your tattoo in NBI Clearance Application if it is a permanent tattoo. Temporary tattoos may go away in a few weeks and they are not valid identifying marks for any person.
