Authority to Print: BIR Form 1906, Free, 1 Day
Bureau of Internal Revenue · business
Quick answer
An Authority to Print lets an accredited printer produce your invoices. Apply with BIR Form 1906 at the RDO where your head office is registered. There is no fee and the charter gives 1 day. New registrants who opt for BIR Printed Invoices do not need one at all.
Every figure on this page is from Bureau of Internal Revenue's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Citizen's Charter 20261. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with BIR.
What it is
An Authority to Print is BIR permission for an accredited printer to produce your invoices. All persons engaged in business, private or government, must secure one for their principal and supplementary invoices.
The obligation it supports is the invoicing rule: at the point of each sale and transfer of merchandise, or for services rendered, valued at ₱100.00 or more, a duly registered receipt or sales or commercial invoice must be issued.
Cost and time
| Single application | Bulk, six applications | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | BIR Form No. 1906 | BIR Form No. 1906 |
| Total processing fee | None | None |
| Total processing time | 1 Day | 3 Days |
The fee is genuinely nil. The printing itself is a commercial cost paid to the accredited printer, and the BIR takes nothing for the authority.
The step timings add up exactly
The charter publishes each step, and for once the arithmetic is worth checking:
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Call queuing number and receive the application | 2 hours |
| Verify taxpayer’s existence in eREG TIN QUERY, ITS or IRIS | 15 minutes |
| Validate accuracy and completeness of the documents | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Assign a Document Locator Number | 10 minutes |
| Encode and generate the ATP correspondence | 2 hours |
| Review and initial or sign the ATP | 2 hours |
| Release the approved ATP and BIR Form 1906 | 5 minutes |
| Total | 8 hours |
Eight working hours is one working day, so the published total of 1 Day is the sum of the published steps rather than a rounded estimate. That is not always true of charter entries, and it is a reasonable sign this one is maintained.
Note what dominates it. The queue is 2 hours of the 8, and the two review steps are another 4. The actual data entry is minutes.
What to bring
For manual bound invoices, new or subsequent:
| Document | Copies |
|---|---|
| BIR Form No. 1906 | 2 originals |
| Final clear sample of your own invoices or supplementary invoices | 1 original |
| For a subsequent application: last issued ATP, or Printer Certificate of Delivery, or any booklet from the last issued ATP | 1 photocopy, or the booklet presented |
For manual loose leaf invoices, add the Permit to Use Loose Leaf Invoices, 1 photocopy, secured from the BIR Client Support Section.
Choose from the accredited list
The charter is specific: the applicant should choose an Accredited Printer of Invoices, and the List of Accredited Printers is posted on the BIR website and at the RDO Client Support Section Area.
Picking a printer that is not on that list is the most common way an otherwise complete application fails.
You may not need one at all
This is the part worth reading before queueing.
The charter states that an Authority to Print is neither required nor shall be printed in the application of new business registrants if the taxpayer requested or opted to use the BIR Printed Receipt or Invoice during registration.
| Route | ATP needed | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Accredited printer | Yes, BIR Form 1906 | The printer’s commercial rate |
| BIR Printed Invoice at registration | No | Procured printing cost, which varies by RDO |
On the BPI route the charter adds that the price may vary per Revenue District Office but should not exceed the procurement printing cost of the respective Revenue Region. So there is a ceiling, set regionally, and no single national figure.
For a new business that will not issue many invoices, the BPI route removes a whole application from the setup sequence.
Filing through a representative
| You are | You send |
|---|---|
| An individual | Special Power of Attorney naming the specific transactions, 1 original for a first submission, plus any government-issued ID of both the taxpayer and the representative, 1 photocopy each with a wet specimen signature |
| A corporation or non-individual | Board Resolution, Written Resolution for an OPC, or Secretary’s Certificate naming the purpose and the representative, 1 original for a first submission, plus an ID of one signatory and of the representative |
Where the representative is authorised for more than one transaction, a certified true copy is submitted together with the original for presentation and validation.
Where this sits in setting up
The ATP is one step in registration, not the whole of it. The Certificate of Registration comes first and is what the ATP is issued against, BIR Form 1905 handles later changes to your registration details, and the invoices you print are what documentary stamp tax and the rest of the compliance calendar are eventually measured from.
Where this goes wrong
Paying a “fee” for the ATP. The charter says None. Money changes hands with the printer, not the BIR.
Using a printer that is not accredited. The list is published on the BIR website and at the RDO.
Applying for an ATP you do not need. A new registrant who opted for BIR Printed Invoices is expressly outside the requirement.
Bringing one copy of Form 1906. It is 2 originals.
Forgetting the previous ATP on a repeat application. A subsequent application needs the last issued ATP, the Printer Certificate of Delivery, or a booklet to present.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does an Authority to Print cost?
- Nothing. The 2026 Citizen's Charter records the total processing fee for the ATP as None. What you pay for is the printing itself, which goes to the accredited printer, not to the BIR.
- How long does it take?
- The charter gives a total processing time of 1 day for a single application. A bulk transaction of six applications is 3 days. Both are stated as totals, and the step timings for a single application add up to exactly 8 working hours.
- Which form do I file?
- BIR Form No. 1906, in 2 originals. You also bring a final clear sample of your own invoices or supplementary invoices, 1 original. For a subsequent application you add the last issued ATP, a Printer Certificate of Delivery, or any booklet from the last issued ATP for presentation.
- Can I use any printer?
- No. The charter states the taxpayer-applicant should choose an Accredited Printer of Invoices, and that the List of Accredited Printers is posted on the BIR website and at the RDO Client Support Section Area.
- Do I need an ATP at all?
- Not always. The charter notes that an Authority to Print is neither required nor shall be printed in the application of new business registrants if the taxpayer requested or opted to use the BIR Printed Receipt or Invoice during registration. That route trades the ATP for a per-booklet printing cost.
- Where do I file it?
- At the RDO where the head office is registered, through the Client Support Section. Large taxpayers file with the LT Assistance Division Registration Section, the Excise LT Regulatory Division Registration Section, or LT Division Cebu or Davao. Operating hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
- When am I required to issue an invoice?
- At the point of each sale and transfer of merchandise, or for services rendered, valued at ₱100.00 or more. That is the threshold the charter states for the duly registered receipt or sales or commercial invoice.
- Can someone else file for me?
- Yes, with paperwork. An individual sends a Special Power of Attorney naming the specific transactions plus a government-issued ID of both parties. A corporation sends a Board Resolution, a Written Resolution for an OPC, or a Secretary's Certificate, plus an ID of a signatory and the representative.