SEnA Request for Assistance Form (DOLE RFA Sample, Online Filing and Printable Blank)

The three ways to use this format

Whichever you choose, the result is a preparation sheet, not a substitute for DOLE's form. The request that gets filed is the one in DOLE ARMS or the one the Single-Entry Assistance Desk Officer (SEADO) encodes at the counter. Having your information ready in the same order means the desk officer copies it rather than interviews you, and nothing important is left out. Read the full process in how to file a DOLE complaint.

What the SEnA request for assistance form is

SEnA, the Single Entry Approach, is DOLE's 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation step for labor and employment issues. Before almost any labor case can become a formal complaint, the parties are given a chance to settle with the help of a neutral desk officer. The Request for Assistance is the document that opens that door. It is short on purpose: it tells DOLE who is asking, against whom, about what, and for how much.

The current rules are DOLE Department Order No. 249, series of 2025 (the Revised SEnA Implementing Rules, signed February 7, 2025), which replaced the old rules under DO 151-16. The 2025 rules allow filing at any DOLE office near where you live, online filing through DOLE ARMS, and online conferences, and they expressly cover non-standard workers such as contractor and platform workers.

Who can file: a worker, a group of workers, a union, a kasambahay, an overseas Filipino worker, or an employer. If the worker is away or incapacitated, an immediate family member with a special power of attorney can file; if the worker has died, the legal heirs can. Employers use the RFA too, for example to settle a disputed final pay with documentation.

How to file a SEnA request online (DOLE ARMS) or at the DOLE desk

DOLE launched the Assistance for Requests Management System (ARMS) on January 20, 2025. It is now the central platform every SEnA desk uses, whether at DOLE regional and field offices, NCMB branches or the NLRC. That gives you two equally valid routes.

After filing you get a reference number. Write it on your printout. The desk officer then sends a notice to you and your employer for the first conference, in person or online. The 30-day conciliation period is counted from the first conference both of you attend.

How to fill it, section by section

The six sections below follow the order of DOLE's own request. For each, here is what to write, what the desk officer checks, and where requests go wrong.

Requesting party (you)

Write your full name exactly as on your ID (first name, middle name, surname), your complete home address with barangay, city and ZIP code, mobile number and email. Add your sex and date of birth if asked. If you are filing for someone else, write your own details here and state your relationship and authority (for example, “sister, by special power of attorney dated October 15, 2026”).

Your mobile number and email are not formalities. The conference notice and any reschedule will go to them, and an online conference link arrives by email or text. Use a number you will actually answer for the next month. If you are a group of workers, one person files as the representative and attaches a list of all names, positions and signatures.

Responding party (employer)

This is where most requests fail. Write the employer's registered business name, not the brand or store name: “Makati Business Solutions Inc.”, not “MBS” or “the call center in Ayala”. Find it on your payslip, contract, COE, BIR Form 2316 or the company's official receipts. Then the exact office address where notices can be received, and the name and position of a contact person, such as Jose Antonio R. Reyes, Human Resources Manager.

If you were hired through an agency or contractor, name the agency as your employer and add the client company where you were assigned as a second responding party. Under DO 174, s. 2017 the principal can share liability in some cases, and having both at the table makes settlement more likely. For a kasambahay, the employer is the household head; write the home address.

Employment details

State your position, start date, last day (or “still employed”), employment status (probationary, regular, project, contractual, agency-hired), salary rate (monthly, daily or piece rate) and how you were paid (bank, GCash, cash). Example: “Customer Service Representative, regular, June 1, 2021 to August 31, 2026, ₱25,000 monthly basic, semi-monthly payroll on the 15th and 30th.”

Also say how employment ended: resigned with 30-day notice, resigned immediately, end of contract, terminated, or simply told not to report. These words matter, because a resignation leads to a final pay claim while a dismissal opens an illegal dismissal issue with very different remedies. If you resigned, the desk officer will look for your resignation letter's receiving copy.

Nature of request

Tick every issue that applies. It is better to list an issue and drop it at the conference than to forget it and need a new request later.

Amount and narration

Put a peso figure beside each issue and a total. Desk officers and employers react to numbers: “₱33,764.37 in unpaid final pay” gets a faster answer than “my back pay”. If you cannot compute an item exactly, give your best estimate and say how you got it. For illegal dismissal, the amount can be left to be determined, but still list the money items you know, such as unpaid salary and pro-rated 13th month.

The narration should be five to eight sentences in plain language: when you started, your position and pay, what happened, the date it happened, what you already did to fix it, and what you want. Avoid insults, speculation about motives and long backstory. Write in English or Filipino, whichever you are more comfortable with; the desk officer can work in either.

Finish with the settlement you want, the “desired relief”: “Release of my final pay of ₱33,764.37 with a written breakdown, and issuance of my certificate of employment.” For a dismissal case you may ask for reinstatement with back wages, or separation pay instead of reinstatement. Being specific helps the desk officer test what the employer can offer.

Filing details

Record where and when you filed (DOLE ARMS online, or the name of the field or regional office), the date, your reference number, and the attachments you brought. Sign and date the sheet. If someone filed for you, attach the special power of attorney and a copy of both IDs; the SPA should be notarised (see how to notarize a document). A simple authorization letter can be enough for picking up documents, but ask the desk officer before relying on it for filing.

Filled example: a SEnA request for unpaid final pay

Eight mistakes that get a SEnA request delayed or closed

SEnA request vs demand letter vs formal labor complaint

What happens after you file the SEnA form

Within days, the desk officer issues a notice of conference to both parties. At the conference you explain your claim, the employer answers, and the officer helps you look for common ground, sometimes speaking with each side separately. Many final pay and COE requests settle at the first meeting once the employer sees a clear computation.

The 30-day period can be extended if both parties agree, typically while the employer arranges payment; confirm the allowed length with your desk officer verify. Some matters follow their own procedures instead of a regular RFA, such as notices of strike or lockout, and the full list of exceptions in DO 249, s. 2025 should be checked with the desk officer verify.

Deadlines that apply to your SEnA request

Example: Maria's final pay was due September 30, 2026. Her three-year deadline to file the money claim is September 30, 2029. Filing a SEnA request well before that keeps her options open. Whether the SEnA request itself pauses the prescriptive period should be confirmed with the desk officer verify.

Kasambahay and OFW requests

Other names people search for

More on the employment hub: the employment documents checklist, your rights at work, and what to do when you receive a notice to explain. For unpaid loans or rent outside employment, see demand letters and small claims.