The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making it faster and easier for businesses to get registered by expanding its one-day registration service.
Through the One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC) Zuper Easy Registration Online facility, the number of industries eligible for one-day registration has increased from 33 to 81. This expansion is part of the SEC’s ongoing efforts to improve the ease of doing business and encourage more entrepreneurs to formalize their operations.
Significant Growth in Registrations
The expansion has already led to a nearly 300% surge in one-day registrations. In July, the SEC registered 2,938 companies through OneSEC, a significant jump from the 1,014 registered in May.
“Company registration is the first step in legitimizing a business, which is why we want to make the process as easy and accessible as possible,” said SEC Chairperson Francis Lim. “By streamlining the process, we hope to encourage more entrepreneurs to use the corporate vehicle to facilitate their business and eventually, raise funds for expansion by tapping the capital market.”
Streamlined Process and Eligibility
Launched in 2021 as a subsystem of the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC), OneSEC uses pre-filled forms to make registration more efficient. The system allows companies to complete the process in as little as one minute and 14 seconds, from application to receiving a digital certificate of incorporation.
Corporations eligible to register through OneSEC include:
One-person corporations
Regular corporations with two to 15 incorporators, board of directors, and stockholders.
Supporting Small Businesses and Enhancing Efficiency
The SEC has implemented several other initiatives to support businesses and improve its services. It recently granted a 20% discount on registration fees for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and up to a 50% discount on filing fees for those seeking to raise capital.
In addition, the Commission has:
Reduced corporate data request rates by half with Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 6, Series of 2025.
Imposed strict processing timelines for applications and adopted a “deemed approved” policy if deadlines are not met, as per MC No. 7, Series of 2025.
“This is just the beginning,” Lim stated. “We will continue to assess our internal policies to identify the bottlenecks that we need to remove to further improve the ease of doing business, thereby reinforcing the trust and confidence of our stakeholders in our systems.”
