Licensed Agency for Japan: How to Read the DMW List Yourself

Key Takeaways

• Being "on the DMW list" means nothing by itself. The directory includes agencies that are delisted, cancelled, expired, suspended, and forever banned. When we pulled the full list on 12 September 2026, it held 3,794 entries and only 1,164 of them had a valid license.
• Read the status word, not just the name. Valid License is the only one that lets an agency deploy you today.
• Three traps catch people: near-identical company names, a Manning Agency license (seafarers) mistaken for a land-based one, and a recruiter who borrows the name of a real licensed agency.
• The list does not say which agencies handle Japan, and it does not prove there is a real job. That is what the DMW-approved job order is for.
• A valid license is the first check, not the last one. It is still no placement fee, always.

What the DMW list actually is

The Department of Migrant Workers publishes a directory of recruitment agencies at dmw.gov.ph under Licensed Recruitment Agencies. People call it "the list of licensed agencies," and that name is the problem. It is a registry of every agency the DMW has on file, with the current state of each one's license. Most of those states are bad.

Here is the breakdown of the whole directory as we pulled it on 12 September 2026:

Fewer than one in three entries is a working agency. So when a recruiter says "check us, we are in the DMW list," they may be telling the truth and still not be allowed to send anyone anywhere.

How to check, in about a minute

1. Get the exact registered company name in writing. Not the branch name, not the Facebook page name, not the recruiter's name. Ask them to type it out.
2. Search that name on the DMW's own inquiry page at dmw.gov.ph, or in the DMW mobile app. This is the source of truth.
3. Read the status word next to the name. Check the license expiry date too.
4. Search the same name again on our /check page. We keep a copy of the DMW list, refreshed weekly, and color the result so it is harder to misread.

Our copy is a convenience, not an authority. If our page and the DMW page disagree, the DMW page is right and ours is stale. Tell us through /contact and we will look at it.

Trap 1: the name is almost the same

Company names in this directory repeat with tiny differences: a full stop, "INC" against "INC.", "INT'L" against "INTERNATIONAL". In the September 2026 list we found nine names that are identical once you ignore the punctuation. In at least one case the two records have opposite statuses: the older record is Expired and the newer one is Valid License - Provisional.

That is usually harmless bookkeeping. It is also exactly the gap a scammer works in. Someone registers or borrows a name one character away from a real agency, and your search "finds" them.

So match the whole line, not the name: name, address, and the representative shown in the DMW record. Then compare the address against the office you are being asked to visit. Our /agencies map shows the registered addresses if you want to see where it is.

Trap 2: the wrong kind of license

The directory mixes several classifications. In the September 2026 list: 2,243 Private Employment Agencies, 742 Manning Agencies, 429 Service Contractors, 256 Construction Contractors, and a handful of shipping entries.

A Manning Agency license is for seafarers. If you are applying for a factory, caregiving, agriculture, food service, or construction job in Japan, a manning agency's valid license is not the license for your hire. Look at the classification field, not only at the word "valid".

Trap 3: a real license, a fake person

This is the most common version now, and no database will catch it. The agency exists, the license is valid, and the person messaging you does not work there. They send you a screenshot of the DMW record as proof, take a "reservation fee," and disappear.

Two moves defeat it:

• Do not use the phone number the recruiter gave you. The DMW record has the agency's own contact number. Use that one, call the office, and ask whether this person works there and whether this job order exists.
• Meet at the registered office address. A recruiter who will only meet in a mall, a cafe, or on Messenger is telling you something.

What the list cannot tell you

• Whether they handle Japan. The directory has no Japan flag. A valid license covers overseas recruitment; it does not mean they have Japanese employers.
• Whether the job is real. That is the job order. A licensed agency with a real Japanese employer has a DMW-approved job order, and the employer has registered with the DMW through the Migrant Workers Office in Tokyo or Osaka. Ask for the job order number and verify it with the DMW. No job order, no deployment.
• Whether they follow the rules. A valid license today says nothing about last year's complaints. The list also carries its own "as of" timestamp, and a status can change between your check and your signing.

What a legitimate agency will not mind

Checking is not an insult, and a licensed agency deals with it every week. Watch how they react when you do these four things:

• Ask for the registered company name and the license number in writing.
• Call the office on the number shown in the DMW record instead of the one you were given.
• Ask for the job order number and say you will verify it with the DMW.
• Say you want to read the contract before signing, and take it home.

A real agency answers all four without drama. Pressure, hurt feelings, "the slots are closing today," or a sudden change of meeting place is the answer to your question.

If the status is not Valid

Stop the money and the documents. That is the whole answer.

• Suspended, Delisted, Expired, Inactive: they cannot deploy you now. Do not pay, do not sign, do not hand over your passport or originals.
• Cancelled, Revoked, Forever Banned, or not on the list at all: recruiting for overseas work without a valid license is illegal recruitment under Article 13(b) of the Labor Code and RA 8042 as amended by RA 10022. You can report it to the DMW, and to the PNP or NBI anti-illegal recruitment units.

If you already paid, keep every receipt, screenshot, and account number, and file the complaint anyway. Withholding your passport is a separate violation. Your passport is yours.

After the license check

A valid license gets you past the first gate. The rest of the shape of a legal hire does not change: you apply for your own tests, the employer is registered through the MWO, the employer applies for your Certificate of Eligibility, you pay the Embassy's published visa fee, PDOS and PEOS are free, you get an OEC, and you pay no placement fee. If any of that is missing, the license does not save the deal.

We do not refer anyone to any agency and we do not name good ones. Nobody should, including the people who charge for the privilege. Check the name yourself, read the status word, and ask for the job order.

Sources

• Department of Migrant Workers (DMW): Licensed Recruitment Agencies inquiry, full directory retrieved 12 September 2026 (3,794 entries; the status and classification counts above are ours, computed from that data)
• Department of Migrant Workers (DMW): job orders, employer registration through the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) Tokyo and Osaka, complaint procedures
• Philippine Labor Code Art. 13(b); RA 8042 as amended by RA 10022
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan / Ministry of Justice: SSW system, Certificate of Eligibility
• Hanapon: /check, /agencies, /scam