Registering Books of Accounts: Form 1905
Bureau of Internal Revenue · business
Quick answer
Books of accounts are registered with BIR Form 1905 at the RDO where your head office or branch is registered. There is no fee and the charter gives 1 day. Manual, loose leaf and computerized books each carry a different set of attachments.
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.
Who has to do this
The charter states the obligation plainly: all corporations, companies, partnerships or persons required by law to pay internal revenue taxes shall keep and use relevant and appropriate sets of bookkeeping records.
That covers sole proprietors and professionals, not only companies.
Cost and time
| Single application | Bulk, six applications | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | BIR Form No. 1905 | BIR Form No. 1905 |
| Total processing fee | None | None |
| Total processing time | 1 Day | 3 Days |
The registration is free. The books themselves are a bookstore purchase.
The three types, and what each needs
The form is the same for all three. What changes is the attachments, and two of the three require a permit you have to obtain before you turn up.
A. Manual books
| Document | Copies |
|---|---|
| BIR Form No. 1905 | 2 originals |
| New sets of permanently bound books of accounts, from a bookstore | The books |
Two items. This is the simple route and the one most small businesses take.
B. Manual loose leaf books
| Document | Copies |
|---|---|
| BIR Form No. 1905 | 2 originals |
| Permit to Use Loose Leaf Books of Accounts | 1 photocopy |
| Permanently bound loose leaf books of accounts | The books |
| Affidavit attesting to completeness, accuracy and correctness of entries, and the number of loose leaf used for the period covered | 1 original |
C. Computerized books
| Document | Copies |
|---|---|
| BIR Form No. 1905 | 2 originals |
| Acknowledgement Certificate or Permit to Use for a Computerized Accounting System or Computerized Books of Accounts and its components, if applicable | 1 photocopy |
| Transmittal letter showing the detailed content of the USB drive label, with a DVD, USB drive or other electronic storage holding the books in Standard Audit File format, labelled with the taxpayer name and taxable year | 1 copy |
| Affidavit attesting to completeness, accuracy and appropriateness of the computerized accounting books and records | 1 original |
The permit is the gate. For loose leaf, the Permit to Use comes from the RDO Client Support Section or the LTD. For computerized, the Acknowledgement Certificate or Permit to Use comes from Client Support Service for regular taxpayers and the Large Taxpayer Service for large taxpayers. Arriving to register loose leaf or computerized books without it means the application cannot proceed.
What the day is spent on
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Verify the taxpayer’s existence | 15 minutes |
| Validate accuracy and completeness of documents | 1 hour |
| Assign a Document Locator Number | 10 minutes |
| Encode details of books | 2 hours |
| Forward filled out books | 30 minutes |
| Sign manual or loose-leaf books | 1 hour |
| Release signed books | 5 minutes |
Note the last two. The books are physically signed by the Client Support Section and then released back to you, which is why the manual route means carrying the bound volumes to the RDO and home again.
Bulk registration
Six applications at once is a defined service in its own right, and the charter prices the extra volume in time rather than money: 3 days instead of 1, still at no fee.
Six applications take three times as long as one, not six times, so an accountant filing for several clients is better off bundling.
Where this sits in the sequence
Books of accounts registration comes after the Certificate of Registration and alongside the Authority to Print, and it uses the same BIR Form 1905 that handles later registration changes.
Where this goes wrong
Paying for it. The total processing fee is None.
Turning up for loose leaf or computerized books without the permit. The Permit to Use or Acknowledgement Certificate is a prerequisite, not something issued on the day.
Bringing unbound books. The charter specifies permanently bound volumes, including for the loose leaf route.
Forgetting the affidavit. Both the loose leaf and computerized routes require one, and the loose leaf version must state the number of loose leaf pages used for the period covered.
Filing one copy of Form 1905. It is 2 originals.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to register books of accounts?
- Nothing. The 2026 Citizen's Charter gives the total processing fee as None. The only money involved is buying the permanently bound books themselves, which the charter says come from a bookstore.
- How long does it take?
- The charter gives a total processing time of 1 day for a single application, and 3 days for a bulk transaction of six applications.
- Which form do I use?
- BIR Form No. 1905, in 2 originals, for all three types of books. It is the same form used for other changes to your registration details, so the type of books is what distinguishes the application, not the form.
- What are the three types of books?
- Manual, manual loose leaf, and computerized. Manual books are permanently bound volumes bought from a bookstore. Loose leaf and computerized books both require a Permit to Use or an Acknowledgement Certificate obtained beforehand, which is the step people miss.
- What do loose leaf books need?
- BIR Form 1905 in 2 originals, the Permit to Use Loose Leaf Books of Accounts in 1 photocopy, the permanently bound loose leaf books themselves, and an affidavit attesting to the completeness, accuracy and correctness of the entries and the number of loose leaf pages used for the period covered.
- What do computerized books need?
- BIR Form 1905, the Acknowledgement Certificate or Permit to Use for the Computerized Accounting System or Computerized Books of Accounts, a transmittal letter detailing the USB drive contents with the storage device holding the books in Standard Audit File format labelled with your name and taxable year, and an affidavit on the completeness and accuracy of the records.
- Where do I register them?
- At the RDO where the head office or branch is registered. Large taxpayers use 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.
- Who has to keep books at all?
- The charter states that all corporations, companies, partnerships or persons required by law to pay internal revenue taxes shall keep and use relevant and appropriate sets of bookkeeping records. It is not limited to large or incorporated businesses.