Philippines services
Until now you've decided what structure to use. Here you register it with the government and get the foundational certificate that every later step, your local permits, the BIR, your bank, will ask you to produce.
Which agency you go to depends entirely on the structure you chose. This guide covers both paths: registering a business name with the DTI for sole proprietorships, and incorporating with the SEC for partnerships, corporations, and One Person Corporations.
This is part of our complete guide to business registration in the Philippines. If you haven't settled on a structure yet, start with Choosing a Business Structure.
It comes down to one question: are you registering as an individual, or creating a separate legal entity?
| Your structure | Register with | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | DTI | Certificate of Business Name Registration |
| Partnership | SEC | Certificate of Recording |
| Corporation | SEC | Certificate of Incorporation |
| One Person Corporation (OPC) | SEC | Certificate of Incorporation |
A sole proprietor is registering a trade name; the business and the owner remain one legal person. A partnership, corporation, or OPC is creating a separate juridical entity with its own legal personality. That difference is why the agency, and the depth of the process, differ.
Sole proprietors register their business name through the Business Name Registration System (BNRS) Next Gen, the DTI's online portal. The whole process, application, payment, and downloading your certificate, can be completed online, often within an hour.
In the BNRS, your business name is built from two parts:
The system checks availability automatically. Note that, as a sole proprietor, you cannot use the words "Company," "Corporation," or "Incorporated"; those are reserved for SEC-registered entities.
When you register, you choose a territorial scope: the geographic area where your name is protected and where you may locate offices or branches. Your fee depends on the scope you select.
| Territorial scope | Registration fee |
|---|---|
| Barangay | ₱ 200 |
| City / Municipality | ₱ 500 |
| Regional | ₱ 1,000 |
| National | ₱ 2,000 |
Each registration adds a ₱30 Documentary Stamp Tax, so totals run from ₱230 to ₱2,030.
Scope is about name protection, not where you're allowed to sell. A barangay-scope baker can still sell online nationwide, but the name is only protected within that barangay. If you plan to grow or franchise, choosing a wider scope upfront is cheaper than re-registering later.
Partnerships, corporations, and OPCs register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), primarily through its online portal, eSPARC (Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company). eSPARC handles name verification, document submission, and fee payment in one place, and issues a digitally signed Certificate of Incorporation that carries the same legal validity as the printed original.
OneSEC
Same day
A fully automated, pass-through stream for eligible domestic stock corporations (an OPC or a corporation with 2–15 incorporators). Most fields are pre-filled and there's no manual review.
Regular processing
~7 working days
For applications that need full SEC review, including non-stock corporations and foreign corporations.
Exact requirements vary by entity type, but the core documents are:
Corporate officers who sign or authenticate the documents must be credentialed in the SEC's eSECURE identity system and eSAP authentication portal before they can validate the application electronically.
Once approved, you get a digital Certificate of Incorporation, valid for six months, with the original released on submission of your documentary requirements and proof of payment. From that moment, your business exists as a separate legal entity.
A built-in head start on later steps
After you register in eSPARC, the SEC's link to the Philippine Business Hub lets you apply for your company TIN and obtain your employer numbers from SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, without separately queuing at each agency. It's worth doing here, because those are exactly the registrations you'll need at the BIR and employer stages.
Whether you register with the DTI or the SEC, your proposed name has to be distinguishable from existing ones. A small tweak doesn't make a name unique. Under SEC rules, differences limited to punctuation (a hyphen) or corporate suffixes ("Corp." vs. "Inc.") are not enough to distinguish "QuickFix Corp." from an existing "Quick-Fix Inc."
Two practical tips before you commit:
A few avoidable errors at this stage cause delays, or worse, problems that only surface later.
Do I need both DTI and SEC registration?
No. Sole proprietors register with the DTI, while partnerships, corporations, and OPCs register with the SEC. You don't register the same business with both agencies.
Can I register my business entirely online?
Most DTI registrations can be completed online through the BNRS, end to end. Many SEC registrations are also completed online through eSPARC, though some applications require additional documentary submissions before the original certificate is released.
Can I reserve a business name first?
Yes. Both agencies let you check and reserve your name during the registration process. The DTI BNRS checks availability automatically, and the SEC eSPARC generates a Name Verification Slip when you reserve a corporate name.
Can two businesses have the same name?
Generally no. A name that is identical or confusingly similar to an existing one within the applicable registration framework will be rejected, and minor differences in punctuation or corporate suffix don't make a name distinguishable.
Next step
With your legal identity established, the next step is securing your right to operate at your specific location.
