SIM Card Registration: The Law and the Penalties
Cross-agency · identification
Quick answer
RA 11934 makes registration a condition of activation, so every SIM is sold deactivated and only works once registered. Registration is free and done on your telco's own platform. Giving false information carries 6 months to 2 years imprisonment or a fine of ₱100,000 to ₱300,000.
Every figure on this page is from LawPhil Project's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Republic Act No. 11934, the SIM Registration Act1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
Republic Act No. 11934, the SIM Registration Act, approved 10 October 2022, is usually remembered as a deadline that passed in 2023. That is the smaller half of it.
The part still operating is Section 4: every SIM sold in the Philippines is in a deactivated state, and registration is a prerequisite to activation. A SIM bought today does not work until it is registered. The deadline was for SIMs that already existed; the requirement itself is permanent.
What the law actually requires
| Rule | Section |
|---|---|
| All SIMs sold are deactivated until the end-user registers | 4 |
| Registration is a prerequisite to activation | 4 |
| Registration is at no cost to the end-user | 6 |
| A registered SIM cannot be sold or transferred without re-registering | 7 |
| Registration data is absolutely confidential | 9 |
| Data is kept 10 years after you deactivate the number | 10 |
Existing subscribers were given 180 days from effectivity, which DICT could extend by up to a further 120 days. Missing that meant automatic deactivation, and a deactivated SIM can only be reactivated by registering.
What you submit
Section 5 sets two things. A control-numbered registration form, completed electronically on the telco’s own platform, carrying your full name, date of birth, sex and address, plus a declaration that your ID documents are true and that you completed the form yourself.
Then a valid government-issued ID with a photo. The Act names these, and closes with a catch-all.
| Accepted identification |
|---|
| Passport, Philippine Identification (PhilID) |
| SSS ID, GSIS e-Card, UMID card |
| Driver’s licence |
| NBI clearance, Police clearance |
| Firearms licence to own and possess ID |
| PRC ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID |
| OWWA ID, BIR ID, Voter’s ID |
| Senior Citizen’s card, PWD card |
| Any other valid government-issued ID with photo |
A juridical entity submits its certificate of registration and a board resolution designating the authorised representative.
The valid IDs guide covers how each of these is obtained.
Telling your telco when things change
Section 6 puts an ongoing duty on the end-user. You must immediately inform the telco of a change in your information, the loss of the SIM, a request for deactivation, or the death of the end-user, which the immediate family, relatives or guardian report.
The telco keeps its own SIM Register, which may be used only to process, activate or deactivate a SIM. DICT sets minimum information security standards and performs an annual audit of compliance.
Your data, and who can get it
The confidentiality clause takes effect at the point of activation. After that, your details may only be released:
- in compliance with a law obliging disclosure under RA 10173, the Data Privacy Act of 2012;
- under a court order or legal process on a finding of probable cause;
- under Section 10; or
- with your written consent, which the Act says cannot be made a condition of approving your subscription.
Section 10 is the narrow route. A telco must hand over registration data only on a subpoena from a competent authority, pursuant to an investigation based on a sworn complaint that a specific mobile number was used in a crime or to commit a malicious, fraudulent or unlawful act, and where the complainant cannot identify the perpetrator.
The penalties
Most fall on the telcos, not on you. Two do not.
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| PTE fails or refuses to register a SIM, 1st offence | ₱100,000.00 to ₱300,000.00 |
| The same, 2nd offence | ₱300,000.00 to ₱500,000.00 |
| The same, 3rd and subsequent | ₱500,000.00 to ₱1,000,000.00 |
| Breach of confidentiality by a PTE, agent or employee | ₱500,000.00 to ₱4,000,000.00 |
| Breach of confidentiality through negligence | ₱500,000.00 to ₱4,000,000.00 |
| False or fictitious information, fictitious identity, or fraudulent ID | 6 months to 2 years, or ₱100,000.00 to ₱300,000.00, or both |
| Spoofing a registered SIM | No less than 6 years, or ₱200,000.00, or both |
| Sale of a stolen SIM | 6 months to 2 years, or ₱100,000.00 to ₱300,000.00, or both |
The spoofing provision is the one worth knowing about. It covers anyone who transmits misleading or inaccurate information about the source of a call or text with intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. It carries the longest minimum imprisonment in the Act, and it is exempted only for authorised law enforcement activity or a court order specifically permitting caller ID manipulation.
Who administers it
NTC sets the guidelines and, with DICT, DTI, the National Privacy Commission, the telcos and major consumer groups, issued the implementing rules within 60 days of effectivity. Section 14 directs that any doubt in interpretation be construed with the highest respect for privacy and read in a manner mindful of subscribers’ rights.
What this page does not cover
Registration itself happens on each telco’s own platform, and this page carries no telco’s URL, form layout, or SMS shortcode, because those are set by private companies and change without notice. It also does not cover the NTC implementing rules, which add operational detail to the statute summarised here, nor the process for reactivating a long-deactivated number, which each telco handles differently.
Related
The valid IDs guide covers the identification the Act accepts, the national ID guide covers the PhilID named first on that list, and the NBI clearance guide covers another document the Act accepts.
Frequently asked questions
- Is SIM registration still required?
- Yes, permanently. Section 4 makes registration a prerequisite to activation and requires every SIM sold to be in a deactivated state until the buyer completes registration. The 2023 deadline applied only to SIMs that already existed; a SIM bought today still cannot be used until it is registered.
- How much does it cost?
- Nothing. Section 6 states the registration required under the Act shall be implemented at no cost to the end-users. Anyone charging you a fee to register a SIM is not doing something the law provides for.
- What ID do I need?
- Any valid government-issued ID with a photo. The Act names 16 by way of example, including the passport, PhilID, SSS ID, GSIS e-Card, driver's licence, NBI clearance, police clearance, PRC ID, OWWA ID, voter's ID, senior citizen card, UMID and PWD card, then adds any other valid government-issued ID with photo.
- What happens if I never registered?
- Automatic deactivation. Section 4 provides that failure to register within the prescribed period results in automatic deactivation, and that a deactivated SIM may only be reactivated after registration.
- What is the penalty for using someone else's identity?
- Imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years, or a fine of ₱100,000 to ₱300,000, or both, for providing false or fictitious information or using a fictitious identity or fraudulent identification documents to register a SIM.
- Can my telco give my details to anyone who asks?
- No. Section 9 makes the data absolutely confidential. Disclosure needs a court order or legal process on a finding of probable cause, a subpoena under Section 10, an obligation under the Data Privacy Act, or your written consent, and that consent cannot be made a condition of your subscription.
- How long is my data kept?
- 10 years from the time you deactivate the mobile number, under Section 10.
- What if I sell or give away a registered SIM?
- Section 7 says a registered SIM shall not be sold or transferred without complying with the registration requirements, so the new holder must register it. The number stays attached to you until they do.