DTI Online Business Name Registration 2020 (with Screenshots)

The DTI Business Name Registration is the starting point on your way to legalize the business enterprise you are about to put up. After several days or months and some sleepless nights of carefully making the plan and strategy for your business, you have probably decided to start getting the business requirements. The very first step is to register your business in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

There are two ways to register your business name in DTI. The first one is the traditional way which is by visiting the DTI Office where the business is located and the second one is the DTI online registration and payment which is called as the “Business Name Registration System” or BNRS.

You may also combine these registration process by registering online and paying at the DTI Office. Either way, both yields to the registration of your desired business name in the registry of businesses in the Philippines and the issuance of Certificate of Business Name Registration from DTI.

However, before jumping into the actual registration process, the very essential requirement that should not be missed is your business name. What is your business name? Have you already decided a name that fits to your business? It is very essential that you have a unique and a business name that can be easily remembered by your future customers.

Business Name Recommended Format

There is a recommended format in providing a name for your business that should include these three difference parts: Dominant Name, Infix (for specialization line of business) and Business Descriptor (defines the nature of business).

For instance, you want to put up a small business which offers cellphone repair services. An ideal name based on the recommended format would be: Lester’s Cellphone Repair Shop.

• Lester’s – this denotes the Dominant Name.
• Cellphone – this is for the Infix. Not all business name should contain an infix, it is just recommended if you need to specify the nature of business. So if I just put here Lester’s Repair Shop, customers would wonder what am I repairing? So it is important to specify it.
• Repair Shop – this is the Business Descriptor.

Moreover, there are business names that are NOT acceptable in DTI for registration which includes the following:

• Natures of business are illegal, offensive, scandalous, or contrary to propriety.
• The same, nearly the same as or confusingly the same with an existing registered business name.
• Composed purely of generic or geographic words.
• By law or regulation cannot be appropriated.
• Used to designate or distinguish, or suggestive of quality of any class of goods, articles, merchandise or service.
• Used by the government in its governmental functions.
• Deceptive, misleading or which misrepresent the nature of the business.

List down 3 ideal business names of the business your are about to put up. Then, ask opinions from your family members, relatives or friends about the best one.

Business Name Verification

So if you already have your business name, it is time to check out if there are no similar names out there. Well, you may go to the DTI Office to inquire about this by submitting your 3 ideal names to a DTI representative. However, this takes time when you can check it yourself in the Philippine Business Registry Website which hosts the Business Name Registration System (BNRS).

What you are going to do is to visit their official website – www.business.gov.ph. In the top menu, hover your mouse in the Business Name Services and click on the Business Name Search button.

In the empty text box with the name “Enter Keyword(s)“, enter your ideal business name. You may choose to show results that “Begins With” or “Contain All Words“.

So if you search in “Lester’s Cellphone Repair Shop“, there are no matches if you filter the results in “Contains All Words“. However, if you just type in “Lester’s” and select “Begins With” filter, there are about 27 records of business names that starts with “Lester’s” along with its business location, status of registration and business scope.

Base on the result, you may wonder, what is a business scope? From the name itself, it defines the scope of your business operation. There are 4 business scopes which are the following:

• Barangay
• City/Municipality
• Regional
• National

So if you just want to set-up a local store, then the scope of your business might just be limited to a barangay. If you are franchising a burger stall in the city, perhaps the scope is the entire city or municipality. If you the business operates the entire Davao del Sur or a certain region, then the scope is regional. And if it’s a nationwide business, the scope is national.

DTI Business Name Registration Requirements

• Two (2) copies of Application Form (only the business owner is authorized to sign the application form)
• Presentation of original copy of at least one government-issued ID

DTI Business Name Registration (Through DTI Office)

If you choose to register your business name in the DTI Office, here’s a general guide:

1. Bring at least two (2) valid IDs and go to the DTI Office where your business is under its jurisdiction.
2. Request an application form and fill-it up.
3. Submit the application form along with your valid ID and the ideal business name.
4. Pay for the corresponding fees. The registration fee depends on the business scope plus ₱30 the documentary tax stamp:
   • Barangay – ₱200
   • City – ₱500
   • Regional – ₱1,000
   • National – ₱2,000
5. Wait for the issuance of your DTI Certificate of Business Name Registration.

DTI Business Name Online Registration (Through BNRS)

To reduce the hassle in going to the DTI Office to register your business, why not do the Business Name Online Registration instead? Through the Business Name Registration System (BNRS) of the Philippine Business Registry, it is now possible to register your business name online.

As an overview, what you are going to do is to fill-up the form online. After that, you’ll be given an option to pay it online using GCash or pay at the DTI Office Teller. Then, you will also be given an option either to claim your Certificate of Registration in the DTI Office or download and print it on your own. To walk you through the actual process, below is the step by step guide.

Step 1. Access the Business Name Registration System

To begin, go to the official website of the Philippine Business Registry – www.business.gov.ph. Then, hover your mouse pointer to the Business Name Services menu and choose Registration.

Step 2. Start a New Application

On the right side menu, click on the New Application link to start the actual DTI Online Business Name Registration. The BNRS Terms and Conditions should load on your screen similar to the image below.

Read carefully the content of the Terms and Conditions (Important Notice, About Your Application, Disclaimer, Copyright and Security Notice). After reading and understanding these, click the I Agree button to continue with the online registration.

Step 3. Propose a Business Name

In this step, you need to propose your desired business name. The first thing you have to do is to determine the scope of your business (Barangay, City/Municipality, Regional or National). After that, select the Region, City/Municipality or Barangay (if applicable). Then, enter your business name in the Proposed Business Name text box. Click the Check Name Availability in order to verify that this business name is still available.

Step 4. Check Business Name Proposal

If the business name is still available, you should see a summary of it in the upper part which includes the business name, scope and registration fee. At the same time, the empty Registration Form should load under the Proposed Business Name Form. In case you want to change the name, just click on the Try a Different Name button below and you’ll go back to the previous step.

Step 5. Fill-up the Basic Information Form

This time, you need to fill up the Basic Information Form. Make sure to enter exact details in the fields marked with asterisks (*) since these are required data. Leaving them empty would possibly create an error in your application.

Step 6. Select Method of Payment

After filling up the Basic Information Form, proceed to the Payment Form. Let us take this one by one. In the Method of Payment, this gives you two options from where you can pay for the registration fee. It is either through DTI Teller or GCash.

If you choose DTI Teller, you’ll go to the DTI Office wherein your business is under its scope. On the other hand, if you choose to pay using GCash (an online payment method), you may use your GCash wallet to pay for the registration fee in just few seconds.

Step 7. Select Method of Receiving the DTI Certificate of Business Name Registration

Still in the Payment Form, aside from the Method of Payment, you’ll choose the Method of Receiving Business Name Document from DTI. There are two options, either to Pickup at DTI Office or Download. This is self-explanatory but to elaborate the Download option, after a successful payment, you can download and print on your own the Official Receipt and your DTI Certificate of Registration.

Step 8. Submit Application

Let us assume that you want to pay online and download the documents on your computer so you can print it on your own. In the Method of Payment, choose GCash and in the Method of Receiving Business Name Document from DTI, choose Download.

The next step would be to submit your application which includes the Propose Business Name Form, Basic Information Form and Payment Form. Click the Submit button to proceed.

Step 9. Download/Print the TRN Acknowledgement and Continue Online Payment

If the submission is successful, the TRN Acknowledgement shall load on your screen. TRN means Transaction Reference Number which is a unique computer-generated code that identifies your transaction in the system. Through this, your business name is reserved for at least 5 days until you make the registration payment.

Let’s continue on the payment. Click the Continue to Online Payment button.

To download or print, hover your mouse in the upper right corner of the page. You should see the download icon as well as the print icon, click either of them perform the desired action.

Step 10. Pay Using GCash

After clicking the button, the GCash Online Payment Form should load. Take note that in the previous steps (step 6 and 7), the chosen options are to pay using GCash and to download the certificate. This is the step when you have to pay for the corresponding fees using GCash. A summary of payment should be displayed such as TRN, your name, application fee, documentary stamp and total amount.

In the field Enter your Cell Phone Number, this is where you enter your cellphone number with GCash. Make sure you have enough fund in your GCash Wallet to cover the payment. Otherwise, this will not be successful. Enter your phone number (Globe) and click the Continue button.

A message box should be displayed on your screen:

Thank you for choosing the ePayment Facility.

Your transaction details has been sent.

Please ensure that you have enough funds in your chosen mode of payment to avoid any inconvenience.

Please click yes should you wish to proceed.

Thank you again for choosing the ePayment facility.

Just click on the YES button. Then, the Payment Status will pop-up on your screen with the GCash Payment instructions similar to this one:

GCash Transaction initiated.

Please follow the steps below:

1. A message will be sent from GCash to your mobile number.
2. Reply with your MPIN.
3. You will be receiving a confirmation message from GCash. Please save this message it can act as a receipt that you have paid using GCash.
4. Close this message and click continue to verify if transaction is already paid.

Thank you for using GCash for your Business Registration.

Follow the instructions in paying using GCash. You should receive a notification in your phone number for the payment. Make sure to reply within 5 minutes. If five minutes have passed and you have not yet replied, the session will expire. You’ll have to do it again by clicking the Continue button to send you a notification for the payment. Otherwise, call or email Philippine Business Registry.

After replying with your MPIN, make sure to wait for the confirmation text message from DTI confirming your successful payment.

Step 11. Download and Print Certificate of Business Name Registration

If the online payment went through, click the Continue button to validate your payment. If the payment validation is successful, a pop-up message box should appear containing your Payment Receipt. It contains the link to your Official Receipt and option to download your DTI Certificate of Business Name Registration.

To download your Official Receipt, just click on the Download Receipt link beside the PDF icon. Your Official Receipt will open in a new tab, download it by clicking the download button on the upper right corner of the page.

Moreover, to download your Business Name Certificate, click on the Download Certificate button. Then, the Terms and Conditions will load. The same procedure in step 1, click on the I Agree button.

After doing this, the Transaction Information shall load containing your TRN, Proposed Business Name, Owner’s First Name and Last Name. Click on the Next button to proceed.

Then, a web page shall load displaying your Proposed Business Name and TRN. Click the Generate PDF button to create a PDF File for your Business Name Certificate. After clicking the button, it will be replaced with Download Business Name Certificate link. Click on that link then download/print your DTI Business Name Certificate.

That was the general guide on DTI Online Business Name Registration for 2018 where screenshots were provided to help you out. Should you have any questions or additions useful tips, do let us know in the comment section. Otherwise, contact Philippine Business Registry or the Department of Trade and Industry Office.