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At the counter

Register as self-employed

The one trip that turns you into a registered taxpayer. Two ways to do it, and the online way never asks you to leave the house.

Say this at the counter

Checklist to ask for
CDR F1101
QF11-04.2025.00 · Revised July 2025
Classification
Simple
Legal maximum: 3 working days, extendable once

The classification is the Bureau's own, published in its Citizen's Charter. It is what sets the deadline the Ease of Doing Business Act holds them to. How to use that.

What they may ask you for

Copied from the official checklist. Anything beyond this list is a fair question, not an obligation.

  • BIR Form 1901, two originals

    Walk-in only. ORUS generates the equivalent from your online answers.

  • One government-issued ID showing name, address and birthdate

    PhilID, passport, driver's license, UMID, postal ID and OWWA ID are all named. If the ID carries no address, add any proof of residence or business address in your name. Online applicants upload a scan plus a selfie holding the same ID.

  • PRC ID, if your profession is PRC-regulated

    Presented alongside a government ID that shows your address.

  • A final clear sample of your own invoice, or buy a BIR Printed Invoice

    The BPI is sold at the New Business Registrant Counter and can be used immediately. Printing your own means choosing an accredited printer from the list posted at the RDO.

  • DTI Certificate, only if you registered a business name

    Optional for professionals and freelancers who trade under their own name. It is listed under additional documents, not standard ones.

Pick your route

Online, through ORUS

3 days total, per the Citizen's Charter · PHP 30.00

Best for Anyone with a readable ID and no urgent need for paper invoices this week. Nomadic and online-only earners, who have no physical business address to show anyway.

  1. 01

    Create an ORUS account at orus.bir.gov.ph.

    Use an email you will keep. Every status notice for this application arrives there.

  2. 02

    Fill in the online registration form and upload your documents.

    Scanned ID, a selfie holding that same ID, and either your invoice sample or your intent to buy BIR Printed Invoices.

  3. 03

    Wait for the RDO to evaluate.

    The Charter budgets 2 days, 7 hours and 45 minutes for evaluation, plus 10 minutes to check for duplicate TINs and 5 minutes to approve or deny. A denial has to state its reason.

  4. 04

    Pay the 30-peso loose documentary stamp tax online.

    Payment is what unlocks the TIN and the downloads.

  5. 05

    Download your electronic Certificate of Registration and ATP from your ORUS profile.

The catch. The Charter states plainly that the 3-day clock covers a normal process and excludes system slowness or outages. ORUS goes down. Keep screenshots of every submission.

Walk-in, at your RDO

1 day total, per the Citizen's Charter · PHP 30.00, plus the printing cost of BIR Printed Invoices

Best for Anyone who wants invoices in hand the same day, or whose documents are unusual enough to need a human. Register at the RDO covering your business address, or your residence if you have no fixed business address.

  1. 01

    Book an eAppointment if your RDO offers one, then get a queuing number at the entrance.

    Confirmed appointments are served at their scheduled time. Bring the confirmation email.

  2. 02

    Submit your complete documents at the New Business Registrant Counter.

    The officer has 2 hours budgeted for this step. If the set is complete, they stamp RECEIVED and sign the CDR. If something is missing, they must return the documents and sign the CDR showing exactly what is lacking. That signed CDR is your proof of what was asked for.

  3. 03

    Sit through the tax type interview.

    One hour is budgeted. The officer determines your tax types, industry code and any late-registration penalty. This is where you say whether you are electing the 8% rate.

  4. 04

    Buy the loose DST and your BIR Printed Invoices at the counter.

    Pay at the New Business Registrant Counter, not at an authorized agent bank. The Charter is explicit about that.

  5. 05

    Receive your 2303, the Notice to Issue Invoice, and your invoices or ATP.

    Sign the log sheet and note the date you received the COR.

The catch. Invoice printing cost varies by RDO but the Charter caps it at the region's procurement cost. If a figure sounds invented, ask which issuance sets it.

Do not leave without

  • Certificate of Registration, Form 2303, listing your tax types
  • Notice to Issue Receipt or Invoice
  • BIR Printed Invoices, or an Authority to Print if you opted for your own
  • Your stamped copy of the 1901 and the signed CDR cover sheet

Every receiving copy, stamp and acknowledgment is what makes a later complaint or a deemed-approved claim provable. Photograph them before you leave the building.

What bites beginners

  • Never apply for a second TIN. If you were ever employed you already have one, and holding two is a criminal offense. Move the existing one instead.
  • The old 500-peso annual registration fee was abolished in 2024. The only fee at this counter is 30 pesos of documentary stamp tax.
  • Authority to Print is neither required nor issued if you opt for BIR Printed Invoices at registration. Being told otherwise is a good moment to ask for the legal basis.
  • If your TIN still sits at a former employer's RDO, file the transfer first. The registration stalls otherwise.

Before you decide

The forms behind this

Sources

Checked against BIR rules on

Know what the law owes you before you queue. Five minutes of reading saves the second trip.

Your rights at the BIR

Practical guidance, not legal or tax advice. Requirements and clocks quoted from BIR issuances current as of July 2026. RDOs vary in practice; the published checklist is what you can hold them to.