Search Philippines SEC eSEARCH / DTI BNRS

TL;DR. The Philippines has two official registries: the SEC for corporations and partnerships, and the DTI for sole proprietors. https://www.sec.gov.ph blocks automated access. eSEARCH at https://esearch.sec.gov.ph/ carries the title eSEARCH | Electronic SEC Education, Analysis, and Research Computing Hub, and it is a sign-in hub rather than a free no-account search. BNRS at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/ is titled BNRS - Business Name Registration at your fingertips!. No peso fees are published on either page; confirm at source. The Philippines was removed from the FATF grey list in February 2025.

What is the official Philippines business registry?

The Philippines operates two parallel company registries depending on entity type.

SEC Philippines governs stock corporations, non-stock corporations, partnerships, and foreign branch offices. It operates under the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 11232), which took effect in 2019. The public-facing portal is SEC eSEARCH at https://esearch.sec.gov.ph/, a sign-in hub titled eSEARCH | Electronic SEC Education, Analysis, and Research Computing Hub. https://www.sec.gov.ph blocks automated access. The SEC also maintains eFAST (Electronic Filing and Submission Tool) for registered users needing document retrieval and filing submissions.

DTI Philippines governs sole proprietorships and business name registrations. It operates the Business Name Registration System (BNRS) at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/. Its name availability checks, registration, renewal and certificate-request flows are not walked through here; confirm at source.

Foreign corporations operating in the Philippines must register both with the SEC (for the foreign branch/representative office) and may also register a business name with the DTI if operating under a trade name different from their corporate name.

All registered corporations are assigned a Company Registration Number (CRN) by the SEC at incorporation. Sole proprietorships are assigned a DTI Business Name Certificate number.

What can you search?

SEC eSEARCH at https://esearch.sec.gov.ph/ is a sign-in hub, not a results page. What sits behind it, including search by company name, Company Registration Number (CRN), registered agent or incorporator and entity type, and result fields such as company type, SEC registration date and registration status (active, revoked, expired, dissolved), could not be confirmed without an account; confirm at source.

Paid eFAST document contents (articles of incorporation, GIS, audited financial statements, certificates of good standing) sit behind the same sign-in.

DTI BNRS at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/ is publicly reachable. Its business name search, DTI Certificate Number lookup and result fields (business name, certificate number, registration date, expiry date, owner name, business address, business nature) are not walked through here; confirm at source.

Neither portal offers cross-entity director searches or beneficial ownership disclosures on its public pages. The GIS is a statutory annual SEC return, and its contents sit behind the eSEARCH sign-in.

How much does it cost?

No peso fees are published on the eSEARCH or BNRS pages, so the table above reads unknown rather than free. eSEARCH is a sign-in hub, not a free no-account lookup; confirm at source.

Do you need a local account or ID?

eSEARCH at https://esearch.sec.gov.ph/ is a sign-in hub, not a free no-account search, so an account is required. BNRS at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/ also carries a login control. To request certified documents via eFAST, a registered user account is required. Registration requires an email address and basic contact information. No Philippine national identity document is required for the account itself, but some document request workflows may ask for a purpose statement or authorization letter.

DTI BNRS document requests similarly require an account registration. Foreign buyers have successfully registered using international email addresses and non-Philippine contact details.

For compliance workflows requiring notarized or apostilled documents, additional steps involve the Professional Regulation Commission or DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), which do require identity verification.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The eSEARCH sign-in page and the BNRS landing page are in English. What the search interface, document descriptions, status labels and form fields look like after signing in is not described here. The Philippines’ government digital services follow an English-first policy, reflecting the country’s use of English as an official language.

What’s the turnaround time?

Search turnaround is not published on eSEARCH or BNRS; confirm at source.

Document request times for eFAST and DTI are not published on those pages either.

Is there an API?

No. Neither the SEC nor the DTI offers a documented public API for company search or document retrieval.

The SEC has announced plans for expanded digital services under its ongoing system modernization, but no API endpoint has been publicly released for external developers.

Screen scraping either portal likely violates the SEC’s and DTI’s terms of use and is not recommended for compliance workflows.

What you legally cannot do

Under the Revised Corporation Code and SEC regulations:

• Bulk downloading or automated scraping of the eSEARCH portal is not authorized
• Certified copies obtained from the SEC are for the stated purpose only; redistributing them commercially requires explicit SEC authorization
• Using registry data to compile marketing lists or for unsolicited commercial contact is restricted under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173)
• Misrepresenting SEC or DTI document extracts as independently verified data is prohibited

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 also governs how personal data of officers and directors found in GIS filings may be used. Compliance buyers conducting CDD or AML verification are within permitted purpose, but the purpose must be documented.

Regarding FATF status: the Philippines was removed from the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring) in February 2025, following demonstrated improvements to its AML/CFT framework. Compliance buyers should be aware that Philippine counterparty screening requirements were elevated during the grey-list period (June 2021 to February 2025), and some internal bank policies may retain elevated scrutiny for historical transactions from that period.

Practical tips for foreign users

• Two registries. A sole proprietorship under a trade name is DTI-registered; a corporation is SEC-registered. Missing one registry is the most common error in Philippines KYC. eSEARCH is a sign-in hub, not a results page. The SEC assigns a Company Registration Number (CRN) to each incorporated entity; the DTI assigns a separate DTI Certificate Number to sole proprietors. The two numbering systems do not overlap.
• GIS is the key document. The General Information Sheet (GIS) is the annual filing that discloses directors, officers, and top 20 stockholders. For compliance-grade verification, always request the most recent GIS, not just the registration extract.
• Registration status sits behind the sign-in. Status values such as “active” are not on the public eSEARCH page. An active status in the registry does not by itself confirm current good standing; a Certificate of Good Standing is the document that does.
• Foreign branch offices are registered with the SEC under a separate CRN from their parent company. Branch GIS contents sit behind the eSEARCH sign-in.
• Regional offices matter. For companies incorporated in provinces (e.g., Cebu, Davao), the original paper records may be at a regional SEC office rather than the Manila main office. Document requests can take longer.
• PHP exchange rates shift. The peso has fluctuated between PHP 55 and PHP 60 per USD over the 2023-2026 period. Build a buffer into any cost estimate.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

• OpenCorporates: indexes some Philippines company data but coverage is partial and lags official filings. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Direct engagement with SEC: for bulk data needs, the SEC Information Technology Division handles institutional data licensing. Contact via the SEC main office in Mandaluyong City.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than a raw SEC or DTI extract, the Philippines has a small set of established providers:

• CIBI Information Inc. (cibi.com.ph). Philippines’ first and longest-standing credit bureau, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II certified. Offers Business Intelligence Solutions covering company profiles, credit assessments, and background screening. CIBI draws on credit, trade, and regulatory data sources beyond the SEC registry. Use when you need payment behavior or credit risk layered on top of the official filing extract.

• TransUnion Philippines (transunion.com). TransUnion operates a credit bureau in the Philippines, covering both individual and commercial credit data. Their commercial credit reports cover incorporated businesses and can include financial statement data and payment history. Useful for supplier or counterparty credit screening alongside SEC verification.

Use the SEC eSEARCH portal for the authoritative filing record and GIS. Use a credit bureau when you need payment behavior, litigation history, or credit risk scoring layered on top of the filing extract. Both layers together constitute a compliance-grade Philippines CDD file.

FAQ

Can a foreign company search the Philippines SEC registry?

eSEARCH at https://esearch.sec.gov.ph/ is a sign-in hub, not a no-account search, so an account is required. A registered eFAST account is required for certified copies such as the Articles of Incorporation or General Information Sheet. Account registration is open to anyone with an email address and does not require a Philippine identity document.

What is the General Information Sheet (GIS) and why does it matter for due diligence?

The GIS is an annual filing that all Philippine corporations must submit to the SEC. It discloses the current list of directors, officers, corporate secretary, and top 20 stockholders including their shareholding percentages. For compliance buyers, the GIS is the primary source for officer identity and ownership structure. It is the equivalent of a UK confirmation statement or Singapore annual return.

What is the difference between SEC and DTI registration in the Philippines?

The SEC registers corporations and partnerships. The DTI registers sole proprietors and the business names they trade under. A business you are researching could appear in either registry depending on its legal form. Many Philippine SMEs operate as sole proprietorships under DTI, not as SEC-registered corporations. Always check both.

Is Philippines company data reliable for AML compliance purposes?

The Philippines was removed from the FATF grey list in February 2025. SEC registry data is primary-source data from the government registry, which carries inherent authority. Annual filings (GIS, financial statements) are not always submitted on time by smaller companies. The registry shows a filing was made; it does not guarantee the filing is current or accurate. A Certificate of Good Standing from the SEC confirms filing compliance.

How do I verify that a Philippines company is currently active?

Company name and CRN search, and registration-status values, sit behind the eSEARCH sign-in. A Certificate of Good Standing from the SEC via eFAST confirms that the entity is currently registered and has met its SEC annual reporting obligations, and it is the document most used in counterparty due diligence; confirm at source.

What identifier should I use to search a Philippines company?

The Company Registration Number (CRN) is the most reliable identifier for an SEC-registered entity. Partial name search on eSEARCH to retrieve a CRN sits behind the sign-in. For DTI-registered businesses, the DTI Certificate Number or the exact business name is the statutory identifier.

Does the Philippines have a beneficial ownership registry?

The Philippines does not maintain a centralized public beneficial ownership registry on eSEARCH or BNRS. Beneficial ownership disclosures for corporations appear in GIS filings (top 20 stockholders), but nominee structures and multi-layer ownership are not systematically disclosed. Compliance buyers requiring full ownership traces combine the SEC GIS with SEC-issued beneficial ownership declarations where applicable, and may need supplementary enhanced due diligence for high-risk counterparties.

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Sources: SEC eSEARCH (esearch.sec.gov.ph), a sign-in hub; sec.gov.ph, which blocks automated access; DTI BNRS (bnrs.dti.gov.ph). No peso fees are published on those pages. For the full global due diligence framework, see the Global Business Due Diligence Guide.