These Businesses Need Official Clearance for SEC Registration
Certain types of businesses will need to get either clearances from other SEC departments or endorsements from other government agencies.
When starting a business here in the Philippines, there are processes that need to be completed and permits that need to be secured first. Partnerships and corporations, in particular, need to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC registration can now be done online via the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC). Here, partnerships and corporations can choose between Regular Processing or OneSEC Processing. It is important to note that the latter is for domestic stock corporations.
As with any application process, documentary requirements are needed to be submitted to the SEC. The necessary documentary requirements differ for partnerships, stock corporations, and non-stock corporations. A full list of requirements can be found here.
In addition, certain types of businesses need either clearance from specific SEC departments or endorsement from other government agencies in order to successfully complete the SEC registration.
Businesses That Require Clearance from SEC Departments
The following types of business require clearance from specific departments of the SEC:
- Corporate Governance and Finance Department
- Investment companies
- Financing and lending companies
- Issuers of proprietary and non-proprietary memberships
- Listed and public companies and foundation
- Markets and Securities Regulation Department
- Capital Market Institutions
Businesses That Require Endorsement from Other Government Agencies
The following types of business, on the other hand, need to receive the endorsement of other government agencies:
| Type of Business | Government Agency That Should Endorse |
| Air transport | Civil Aeronautics Board |
| Bank, pawnshop, and other financial intermediaries with quasi-banking functions | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas |
| Educational institution (stock and non-stock) | Elementary: Department of Education |
| College, Tertiary Course: Commission on Higher Education | |
| Technical Vocational Course: Technical Education Skills and Development Authority | |
| Electrical power plant / Trading of petroleum products | Department of Energy |
| Hospital, dental, and medical clinics | Department of Health |
| Insurance / Mutual benefit association / Health maintenance organization | Insurance Commission |
| Money changer and remittance services | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas |
| Non-chartered government owned and controlled corporation | Government Commission for Government-owned and Controlled Corporation |
| Professional association | Professional Regulation Commission |
| Radio, TV, telephone, internet service providers, and value-added service providers | National Telecommunications Commission |
| Recruitment for overseas employment | Philippine Overseas Employment Administration |
| Security agency / Anti-crime task force | Philippine National Police |
| Tobacco-related business | National Tobacco Administration |
| Volunteer fire brigade | Bureau of Fire Protection |
| Vessel or ship operation, ship management, ship building, ship repair, shipping agency, ship husbanding, ship chandling, and other marine-related activities | Maritime Industry Authority |
| Water service providers and waterworks | Local Waterworks Utilities Administration / Manila Waterworks and Sewerage Systems |
