How to register your business through SEC’s online platform

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Under the Securities and Exchange Commission's Memorandum Circular No. 3, business owners must register using the Zuper Easy Registration Online or ZERO system

MANILA, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) switched to a fully online business registration system to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

The SEC issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 3 on Friday, April 4, requiring business owners to register their companies using the SEC Zuper Easy Registration Online (ZERO) system. The online submission process eliminates the need for physical signatures and notarization, as well as the submission of hard copies of one’s registration documents.

The ZERO system is tied to the Electronic SEC User Registration Environment (eSECURE) and the Electronic Submission Authentication Portal (eSAP), which uses one-time passwords to digitally authenticate submitted documents.

Lending firms, financing companies, and foreign corporations will continue using regular processing under the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) for three months after MC No. 3 goes into effect. After this period has lapsed, all corporations will be required to use SEC ZERO.

To register a company, applicants must create an eSECURE account through https://esecure.sec.gov.ph/.

Once an applicant has created their eSECURE account, they can begin the process of registering their business by visiting https://esparc.sec.gov.ph/application.

Scroll down and click the “Proceed” button under Regular Processing.

When prompted to select a processing type, click “Proceed Regular with ZERO Processing Application.” Follow the steps and input the requested information.

The SEC also published a step-by-step guide here. Once the applicant pays the amount due, they can download their digital certificate of incorporation and other system-generated documents.

The SEC will no longer issue a hard copy of the certificate since the digital version holds the same validity as its traditional counterpart.

Digitalization efforts

SEC ZERO was first launched in July 2024 as part of the corporate watchdog’s third wave of digital initiatives. So far, around 1,874 firms have been registered through the platform.

For SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, the digitalization of the registration process helps Filipinos register their corporations anytime and anywhere.

“The credentialing process through eSECURE, plus authentication through eSAP, further enables us to filter out scheming individuals wanting to use the corporate vehicle to defraud the public. With this, those registering corporations are identified and can be held accountable, if need be,” he said. – Rappler.com