Applicants for company registration will no longer have to submit hard copies of physically signed or notarized registration documents, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved to a fully online and paperless company registration process.
The Commission recently issued SEC Memorandum Circular 3-2025, which provides for the mandatory use of the SEC Zuper Easy Registration Online (ZERO) in the registration of corporations using the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) and One Day Submission and E-registration of Companies (OneSEC) as portals.
SEC ZERO is an application under eSPARC that eliminates the need for physical signatures and notarization, as well as the submission of hard copies of registration documents.
The system is integrated with the Electronic SEC User Registration Environment (eSECURE), which credentials users before they can access online services of the SEC, and the Electronic Submission Authentication Portal (eSAP), which makes use of one-time passwords (OTPs) to electronically authenticate SEC-required documents, in lieu of conventional paper-based signatures.
Launched in July 2024 as part of the Commission’s third wave of digital initiatives, SEC ZERO has since facilitated the registration of a total of 1,874 companies.
“SEC ZERO exemplifies our commitment to digitalization and sustainability, making setting up a business easier and faster than ever. By allowing companies to authenticate their registration documents online, company registration can now be done anytime and anywhere,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said in a statement.
“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 added.
Under the guidelines, all domestic stock corporations, excluding lending and financing companies, shall be processed through SEC ZERO starting April 7, 2025. This includes corporations fully owned by Filipinos or those with foreign equity. ||
