SEC expands one-day registration to 81 industries

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded the list of industries eligible for its one-day company registration process, making it easier for more entrepreneurs to start and formalize their businesses.

Through the One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC) Zuper Easy Registration Online facility, the SEC increased industry coverage to 81 from the previous 33.

This expansion drove nearly a 300% jump in registrations, with 2,938 companies completing the process in July compared to 1,014 in May.

“Company registration marks the first step in legitimizing a business, which is why we want to make the process as easy and accessible as possible to our stakeholders,” SEC Chairperson Francis Lim said.

“As we move to streamline the registration process, we hope to encourage more entrepreneurs to use the corporate vehicle in facilitating their business and eventually, raise funds for expansion by tapping the capital market,” he added.

Launched in 2021, OneSEC is a subsystem of the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) that uses pre-filled application forms to cut processing times.

The system has allowed companies to complete registration in as fast as one minute and 14 seconds, from application to issuance of a digital certificate of incorporation.

Eligible registrants include one-person corporations and regular corporations with two to 15 incorporators, board of directors, and stockholders.

To encourage more micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to register as corporations, the SEC issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 8, Series of 2025, granting a 20% discount in registration fees and up to a 50% discount in filing fees for those seeking to raise funds through the capital market.

In June, the SEC issued MC No. 6, Series of 2025, cutting corporate data request rates by half.

It also released MC No. 7, Series of 2025, which set strict timelines for processing permits, licenses, registrations, certificates, and other authorizations, with a “deemed approved” rule if the agency misses its own deadlines.

“This is just the beginning. 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,” Lim said.

The full list of 81 industries eligible for OneSEC includes holding companies, agriculture, construction, mining, real estate, business process outsourcing, logistics, retail trading, restaurants, schools, hospitals, travel agencies, and telecommunications, among others.