DTI Business Name: ₱200 to ₱2,000 by Scope
Department of Trade and Industry · registration
Quick answer
A DTI business name costs ₱200.00 for barangay scope, ₱500.00 city or municipality, ₱1,000.00 regional and ₱2,000.00 national, plus ₱30.00 documentary stamp tax. Registration lasts 5 years. Renewing late adds a surcharge of 50% of the registration fee.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from DTI's official published sources: DTI | Business Name Registration System, Frequently Asked Questions (https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/faq, retrieved 2026-09-01); DTI | Business Name Registration System (https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/, retrieved 2026-09-01). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with DTI before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-09-01.
What the fee actually depends on
DTI does not charge one price. The fee is set by the territorial scope you pick, which is the geographical area within which the business may locate offices, stores, branches or plants, or where the name may be used.
DTI is careful about what scope is not: it states the scope is not a geographical limit on where you may transact business. It governs where the name is protected and used, not where you may sell.
| Territorial scope | Registration fee | Documentary stamp tax | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barangay | ₱200.00 | ₱30.00 | ₱230.00 |
| City or Municipality | ₱500.00 | ₱30.00 | ₱530.00 |
| Regional | ₱1,000.00 | ₱30.00 | ₱1,030.00 |
| National | ₱2,000.00 | ₱30.00 | ₱2,030.00 |
The ₱30.00 documentary stamp tax is the same ₱30.00 that turns up across government registration, including BIR’s Certificate of Registration.
Five years, then three windows
A DTI business name registration is valid for 5 years from the date of registration. Renewal is not a single deadline but three windows, and the third one costs money.
| Window | When | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Early filing | 180 calendar days before the expiration date | None |
| Regular filing | Within 90 calendar days following expiration | None |
| Late filing, the grace period | Within 90 calendar days after the regular filing period | 50% of the registration fee |
Miss all three and DTI is blunt about the consequence: registrations not renewed within the grace period shall be immediately cancelled and made available for registration by other parties. The name you built a business on becomes available to whoever wants it.
The 50% surcharge on each scope:
| Scope | Normal renewal | Late renewal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barangay | ₱200.00 | ₱300.00 | ₱100.00 |
| City or Municipality | ₱500.00 | ₱750.00 | ₱250.00 |
| Regional | ₱1,000.00 | ₱1,500.00 | ₱500.00 |
| National | ₱2,000.00 | ₱3,000.00 | ₱1,000.00 |
Each still carries the ₱30.00 documentary stamp tax on top.
Registration is not permission to trade
This catches people every year. DTI states plainly that a Business Name Registration merely provides the business a legal identity, and that to actually operate the business you need a Business or Mayor’s Permit.
The name is step one of several. The usual sequence is DTI for the name, then the barangay and city hall for permits, then BIR for the Certificate of Registration and your invoices, which is covered in BIR Form 2303 and TIN registration.
Who may register
Any Filipino at least 18 years of age can register a business name.
Foreign nationals authorised to do business in the Philippines under existing statutes may also register, and must be at least 18. A non-Philippine national additionally needs a Certificate of Registration of Sole Proprietorship or a Certificate of Authority to Engage in Business in the Philippines, under RA 7042, the Foreign Investment Act.
A refugee or stateless person needs written recognition from the Refugee and Stateless Person Protection Unit of the Department of Justice, and that recognition must not be subject to cancellation, revocation or cessation.
A representative may file for you, provided they bring a valid ID and an authorisation letter signed by the business owner.
Names DTI will reject
DTI publishes 11 grounds on which a name will not be accepted. Names that:
- Connote activities or norms that are unlawful, immoral, scandalous or contrary to propriety.
- Are used to designate or distinguish, or suggest the quality of, any class of goods, articles, merchandise, products or services.
- Are already registered as trade names, trademarks or business names by any government agency authorised to register them.
- Are inimical to the security of the State.
- Are composed purely of generic words.
- Are restricted or cannot be appropriated by law or regulation.
- Are officially used by the government in its non-proprietary functions.
- Are names or abbreviations of any nation or intergovernmental or international organisation, without authority from that body.
- Have been ordered or declared unregistrable by an administrative body or a regular court.
- Are the names of other persons.
- Are deceptive, misleading, or misrepresent the nature of the business.
Two words are separately restricted. Company, corporation and incorporated belong to partnerships and corporations registered with the SEC. Cooperative belongs to cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority.
Paying and collecting
BNRS accepts GCash, PayMaya e-wallet and credit or debit card online. Over the counter you can pay at 7/11 or Bayad Center, or by bank deposit through Landbank Link.Biz.
After the registration fee, DTI confirms there are no other payments to be made with BNRS.
To collect the certificate, enter your Reference Code in Transaction Inquiry. A verification code goes to the email you registered, and that opens the Transaction Summary where the certificate sits under Downloadable Contents. If the code does not arrive, DTI’s first suggestion is to check spam, and its second is that the email address may not be active.
The 7-day rule that voids an application
DTI’s registration guide attaches a deadline to payment that is easy to miss, because it applies after you have already done all the work.
Pay the registration fee within seven (7) calendar days from the date of application. Otherwise, the BN application will be deemed abandoned and subsequently nullified.
The same 7 calendar days applies in three places:
| Transaction | Deadline to pay | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| New registration | 7 calendar days from the date of application | Deemed abandoned and nullified |
| Renewal | 7 calendar days from the date of application | Deemed abandoned and nullified |
| Request for certification | 7 calendar days from the date of request | Deemed abandoned and nullified |
Reserving a name is not holding it. If payment does not land inside those 7 days, the application dies and the name goes back on the shelf.
Renewing, and changing scope while you do
Renewal runs through the same system and offers two paths at the confirmation stage: Renew and Update Info, or Update Scope and Renew.
During renewal you may update your email address and residential address freely. You may update your business address provided it stays within the previously registered territorial scope. Moving outside that scope means changing the scope itself, which puts the name back through validation and re-prices it at the new scope’s fee, from ₱200.00 up to ₱2,000.00.
Certifications and negative certifications
If you need DTI to certify something about a registration, that is its own transaction. You search by business name, owner’s name or both, and the useful detail is what happens when nothing is found: DTI states that if there is no record of your search, you may request a negative certification. That is the document that proves a name is not registered, which is often what a bank or a counterparty actually wants.
Where this goes wrong
Buying more scope than you need. National is ₱2,000.00 against ₱200.00 for barangay, and scope is not a limit on where you can trade.
Treating the certificate as a licence to operate. It is a legal identity, not a permit. The Mayor’s Permit is separate.
Letting the 5 years lapse. After the grace period the name is cancelled and released to anyone else who wants it.
Planning to sell the name with the business. Transfer of ownership is not allowed. The old registration is cancelled and the buyer registers afresh.
Assuming a typo can be fixed later. DTI corrects typographical errors only on a new registration, by email with a government ID attached. Changes to residence address, business address, name or civil status require a visit to a DTI office or Negosyo Center.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a DTI business name cost?
- It depends on the territorial scope you choose. DTI publishes ₱200.00 for barangay, ₱500.00 for city or municipality, ₱1,000.00 for regional and ₱2,000.00 for national. Every one of those is subject to an additional ₱30.00 documentary stamp tax, so the real totals are ₱230.00, ₱530.00, ₱1,030.00 and ₱2,030.00.
- How long does the registration last?
- Five years from the date of registration. That is longer than most people expect, and it is why the renewal date is easy to forget.
- What happens if I renew late?
- DTI charges a surcharge of fifty percent (50%) of the registration fee for late filing. On a national scope that turns ₱2,000.00 into ₱3,000.00 before the documentary stamp tax. Registrations not renewed within the grace period are immediately cancelled and made available to other parties.
- When exactly can I renew?
- DTI publishes three windows. Early filing is 180 calendar days before the expiration date. Regular filing is within 90 calendar days following expiration. Late filing, the grace period, is within 90 calendar days after the regular filing period and carries the 50% surcharge.
- Is a business name the same as a permit to operate?
- No, and DTI says so directly: a Business Name Registration merely provides the business a legal identity. To actually operate you still need a Business or Mayor's Permit from your local government.
- Can I call my business a corporation?
- No. DTI states that only a partnership or corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission may use the words company, corporation or incorporated in a business name. Only cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority may use the word cooperative.
- Can I sell my business name to someone else?
- No. DTI does not allow transfer of ownership. You cancel the old registration and the new owner applies for a fresh one.
- How do I pay?
- BNRS accepts GCash, PayMaya e-wallet and credit or debit card online. You can also pay over the counter at 7/11 or Bayad Center, or by bank deposit through Landbank Link.Biz. DTI confirms that after the registration fee there are no other payments to be made with BNRS.