What does cedula mean?
A cedula is an official document issued by a government authority — broadly, a certificate, license, or permit that certifies a person's status, identity, or compliance with a legal requirement. The word comes from Spanish and Portuguese, which borrowed it from Latin, and it remains current across much of the Spanish-speaking world. Its best-known specific use is in the Philippines, where the cedula — historically the cedula personal, today formally the community tax certificate — has long served as a basic identity and tax document that adult residents must secure each year. Because the term belongs largely to administrative and historical contexts, it carries a formal, bureaucratic register: it turns up in discussions of colonial governance, taxation, notarial paperwork, and civil registration rather than in everyday casual speech. For readers of history, journalism about Latin America, or accounts of Philippine civic life, knowing 'cedula' unlocks a precise understanding of how states have documented their citizens for centuries.
nounAn official document, certificate, or license issued by a government authority; in the Philippines specifically, the community tax certificate that citizens are required to obtain.
- A government-issued official document, such as a license, certificate, or permit (used in Spanish-speaking countries and former Spanish territories).
- In the Philippines, the community tax certificate (formerly called cedula personal), an identity and tax document that adult residents were historically required to carry.
"Before he could complete the property transfer, the notary asked to see his cedula."
"The immigration officer stamped her passport after checking the cedula she presented."
"Under Spanish colonial rule, every citizen was required to carry a cedula personal at all times."
English generally uses the unaccented Spanish-style plural 'cedulas'; Spanish preserves the accent as 'cédulas'.
"All residents renewed their cedulas at the municipal hall in January."
The humble cedula traces back to ancient Rome, where officials jotted notes on strips of papyrus called 'schedae' — the same little slip of writing material that eventually gave English its word 'schedule.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cedula
The word 'cedula' entered English through Spanish and Portuguese, both of which inherited it from Latin. Its ultimate source is the Latin 'schedula', a diminutive of 'scheda', meaning a strip of papyrus used for writing — the same root that produced English 'schedule', which took a different route through French. Over time the term narrowed from any small written slip to specifically an official paper, and Spanish carried it across its empire, embedding 'cedula' in the administrative vocabulary of Latin America and, through colonization, the Philippines, where it survives today in the community tax certificate.
How cedula is actually used
In English text, 'cedula' is almost always encountered in discussions of Spanish, Latin American, or Philippine administration and history; it is typically italicized as a foreign term, though the Philippine community tax certificate sense is well naturalized in Philippine English. The plural follows the Spanish form 'cedulas' in general use, though 'cédulas' retains the accent in Spanish.
Easily confused with cedula
Although both derive ultimately from Latin 'scheda' (a strip of papyrus), a schedule is a timetable or plan of events, while a cedula is an official identity or tax document.
'Sedula' is not a standard English word; it appears only as a misspelling or as an unrelated surname, whereas cedula is a genuine term for an official document.