Philippines / Business registration / SEC incorporation

SEC incorporation

Incorporation at the Securities and Exchange Commission is priced on a formula, not a price list. Once you know the formula you can compute the government's share to the peso before you file anything.

The SEC filing fee is one fifth of one percent of the authorised capital stock, minimum ₱2,000. Add a legal research fee of 1% of the filing fee (minimum ₱10), ₱1,010 for the by-laws including its own research fee, and ₱100 for name reservation. On ₱1,000,000 of authorised capital that is ₱3,130 before the stock and transfer book.

What the government charges

Item	Amount
Filing fee, one fifth of 1% of authorised capital Minimum ₱2,000	0.2% of ACS
Legal research fee Minimum ₱10	1% of filing fee
By-laws ₱1,000 plus ₱10 research fee	₱1,010
Name verification and reservation Valid 30 days	₱100
Stock and transfer book registration Book itself around ₱470	₱150

The formula is from the SEC schedule as reproduced in the BOI 2026 Cost of Doing Business, and the by-laws and research fee treatment is from the SEC's own registration calculator.

Who needs this

Anyone incorporating a domestic corporation or a one person corporation.
Foreign investors taking more than 40% equity, subject also to the capital thresholds below.
Partnerships, at the same one fifth of one percent formula with a lower minimum.

Who does not

Sole proprietors, who register a business name with DTI instead.
Branch offices and representative offices of foreign corporations, which are priced on the inward remittance rather than on capital stock.

How it is done

Reserve the name₱100 buys 30 days. Reserve only when the documents are ready, because the clock does not pause.
Check the capital thresholdMore than 40% foreign equity in a domestic market enterprise needs US$200,000 paid-up, reduced to US$100,000 with advanced technology, a startup endorsement, or at least 15 Filipino employees. Export enterprises are at ₱5,000.
File through eSPARCArticles of incorporation, by-laws, treasurer's affidavit and the registration data sheet, with the signed documents uploaded.
Pay the assessed feesFiling fee, research fee, by-laws and the stock and transfer book.
Register with BIR and the LGUThe SEC certificate is the beginning. BIR registration costs ₱30, and the Mayor's Permit is a separate local assessment.

Deadline and what happens if you miss it

There is no statutory deadline to incorporate, but there are two clocks that matter afterwards: BIR registration within 30 days of the SEC certificate, and the General Information Sheet within 30 days of the annual stockholders' meeting.

Why files get refused at the counter

A treasurer's affidavit that does not match the deposit evidence.
Authorised capital below the threshold that applies to the foreign equity percentage.
A corporate purpose clause too vague to cover the activity, which surfaces later at the LGU or a licensing agency.

Who does what

You

Fix the capital structure and the shareholding, which drives the fee and the threshold.

LPP

Compute the government fee from your capital structure before you commit, and check the foreign equity threshold against the negative list.

Accredited partner

Prepares and files the articles and by-laws, and handles SEC comments until the certificate issues.

Have this filed without the guesswork

Send the file to us. We confirm the current fee with the agency, prepare the documents, and tell you in writing what is missing before anything is submitted.

Start this case See our fees

Sources

BOI, 2026 Cost of Doing Business (SEC and DTI fee schedules): https://boi.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-Cost-of-Doing-Business_11March2026.pdf
SEC registration calculator: https://appointment.sec.gov.ph/online-services/registration-calculator/
SEC schedules of fees: https://appointment.sec.gov.ph/forms-and-fees/schedules-of-fees/

Last verified against the issuing agency on 2026-10-24. If an agency changes a fee or a deadline after that date, this page is out of date and we correct it before quoting.