Short answer: a soil boring test in the Philippines costs roughly ₱25,000–₱35,000 per borehole for a typical 10-metre hole based on published Metro Manila pricing, before mobilisation and demobilisation. Because NSCP 2015 Table 303-1 calls for at least two boreholes on a footprint over 50 m² up to 500 m², a realistic minimum residential investigation lands somewhere around ₱50,000–₱80,000 all-in.
The more useful question is not the price — it's how many holes, how deep, and whether you need them at all. A single shallow borehole drilled to satisfy a permit clerk tells you almost nothing, and paying for it is worse than paying for nothing, because it buys false confidence. This guide covers what the code actually asks for and how to read a quote.
Per borehole: ₱25,000–₱35,000 (≈10 m, Metro Manila, excl. mobilisation) · Minimum holes (Table 303-1): 1 up to 50 m² footprint, 2 over 50 up to 500 m², 2 + A/1000 (rounded up) above 500 m² · Depth: ≥5 m into hard strata or to a suitable bearing layer; with a basement, basement depth + 2× least plan dimension · Two storeys or more: exhaustive geotechnical study required
"Soil boring test" is shorthand for a small geotechnical investigation. A rig drills boreholes at chosen points on the lot; at intervals down each hole a Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is performed — a standard sampler is driven into the soil by a falling hammer and the blows required to advance it are counted. That blow count, the N-value, is the backbone of the whole exercise. Disturbed and undisturbed samples come back to a laboratory for classification, moisture content, and strength testing.
What you receive at the end is not a number but a geotechnical report, signed by a geotechnical engineer, that your design engineer can actually design from.
The scoping rules come from NSCP 2015, Chapter 3 (Earthworks and Foundations), Section 303 — Foundation Investigation. Note the register: the foundation investigation at each site, the exhaustive study for two or more storeys, and the Table 303-1 borehole minimums are requirements ("shall"), while borehole location and depth are worded "should" and the consulting geotechnical engineer may vary them. Table 303-1's count is a minimum, not an upper limit.
| Situation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Every building site | Foundation investigation and professional report required (Sec. 303.1) |
| Footprint A ≤ 50 m² | Minimum 1 borehole (Table 303-1) |
| Footprint 50 m² < A ≤ 500 m² | Minimum 2 boreholes (Table 303-1) |
| Footprint A > 500 m² | Minimum 2 + A/1000 boreholes, rounded up (Table 303-1) |
| Depth — general | Should reach at least 5 m into hard strata, or until a suitable bearing layer is reached, unless the geotechnical engineer specifies otherwise |
| Depth — with basement | Should extend to twice the least footprint dimension (2B) added to the basement depth |
| Structures 2 storeys and above | Exhaustive geotechnical study required (Sec. 303.1) |
Final depth is always the geotechnical engineer's call — it is an outcome of what the drilling encounters, not a figure fixed in the contract. A quote that promises "10 metres" flat, regardless of what the rig finds, is quoting a drilling service rather than an investigation.
Size the investigation your building actually needs, then price it — so you can read a supplier quote properly.
NSCP 2015 Section 303.1 is direct: a foundation investigation shall be conducted and a professional report submitted at each building site, and for structures two storeys or higher an exhaustive geotechnical study shall be performed. How strictly that is checked at permit stage varies by city and municipality, so your local Office of the Building Official is where it gets enforced.
In practice, local building officials most often insist on actual boreholes in these situations:
When skipping it is defensible — and when it isn't
For a single-storey house on flat, stable, well-understood ground, where neighbouring houses of similar size and age have performed without settlement problems, many engineers will design on the NSCP Table 304-1 presumptive bearing values rather than commission a boring programme — Section 304.2 allows that when no exhaustive investigation is performed, provided the engineer has inspected the site and knows its soil. That is a legitimate engineering judgement, and it is made by the engineer who seals the design and carries the liability.
What is not defensible is the owner deciding to skip the test to save ₱60,000, and the designer quietly going along with it. On sloping, filled, reclaimed or waterlogged ground — or for anything above one storey — that saving is a bet against the most expensive failure mode in residential construction. Retrofitting a foundation under a finished house routinely costs more than the entire original structure.
Quotes for this work vary wildly, and the cheap ones are usually cheap because scope has been quietly removed. Before comparing prices, confirm each quote includes all of the following:
The most common way to be short-changed is receiving borehole logs and lab results with no engineering interpretation — pages of N-values and no statement of allowable bearing capacity, recommended foundation type, or settlement estimate. Raw data is not a deliverable your design engineer can design from without redoing the analysis. The recommendations are the product you are buying; the drilling is just how it gets made.
A geotechnical report is not paperwork for the permit file — it sets several numbers that flow straight into structural design:
Allowable bearing capacity → footing size
This single figure sizes every footing in the building. Designing on an assumed value that turns out to be optimistic means undersized footings across the whole structure; assuming too little means paying for concrete you never needed. See the NSCP footing size calculator to see how directly the two are linked.
Soil profile type → seismic design forces
NSCP seismic design depends on the site's soil profile type. Soft soil amplifies ground motion and raises design base shear substantially compared with rock or stiff soil. Our soil profile type guide explains the classification, and the base shear calculator shows how much the forces move.
Layer profile → foundation type
Whether you can use isolated spread footings, need a mat, or must go to piles is decided by what the boreholes find and how deep it is. That choice is usually the single largest swing in foundation cost — see building foundation types in the Philippines.
Per-borehole pricing reflects published Metro Manila market rates of roughly ₱25,000–₱35,000 for a typical 10-metre hole excluding mobilisation, from which the ₱2,500–₱3,500 per-metre default in the calculator is derived. Provincial and island sites are commonly higher because rig mobilisation dominates on small jobs — on a two-hole residential investigation far from a drilling contractor, mobilisation can rival the drilling itself. Borehole count and depth are from NSCP 2015 Chapter 3, Section 303.1 and Table 303-1 — Foundation Investigation, where the investigation, the exhaustive study for two or more storeys and the minimum borehole count are requirements, and borehole location and depth are worded as recommendations the geotechnical engineer may vary; the binding scope on any specific project is set by the geotechnical engineer and the local building official. Always get a written scope, not just a price.
How much does a soil boring test cost in the Philippines?
About ₱25,000–₱35,000 per borehole for a typical 10-metre hole in Metro Manila, excluding mobilisation — roughly ₱2,500–₱3,500 per metre. A two-hole residential investigation usually totals ₱50,000–₱80,000 including mobilisation.
How many boreholes do I need?
NSCP 2015 Table 303-1 sets the minimum: 1 for a footprint of 50 m² or less, 2 for over 50 up to 500 m², and 2 + A/1000 (rounded up) above 500 m². It is a minimum, not an upper limit. One hole cannot tell you how the soil varies across the site.
How deep should the boreholes go?
At least 5 m into hard strata or until a suitable bearing layer is reached. With a basement, to twice the least plan dimension of the footprint (2B) added to the basement depth. Depth is decided by what the drilling finds, not fixed in advance.
Is a soil boring test required by law?
NSCP 2015 Section 303.1 requires a foundation investigation and professional report at each building site, and an exhaustive geotechnical study for structures two storeys or higher. Enforcement at permit stage is through your local building official.
Can I skip it for a small house?
On flat, stable, well-understood ground, an engineer who has inspected the site may design a single-storey house on the NSCP Table 304-1 presumptive bearing values instead (Section 304.2). That is the sealing engineer's call, not a cost-saving decision for the owner — and it does not apply to sloping, filled, reclaimed or waterlogged sites.
Statutes, codes, official tools and references used or referred to in this article, linked to their source. Links open in a new tab.
Prices, cost bands and rate figures in this article are AEDO Construction's own market and practice figures for Philippine work unless a source is named beside them. Code and statute references above link to the primary text.
A soil report is only worth what the design built on it. AEDO's licensed civil engineers scope the investigation, interpret the report, and produce a sealed foundation design sized to the ground you actually have.
