How long is a DTI business name registration valid?

A DTI business name registration is valid for five years from the date of registration, according to the DTI Business Name Registration System (BNRS).

When can I renew my DTI business name?

DTI allows early filing up to 180 calendar days before the expiration date. Regular filing runs for 90 calendar days after expiration, with no surcharge. A further 90-day late filing or grace period follows, with a 50% surcharge on the registration fee.

What happens if I do not renew within the grace period?

According to DTI, business name registrations not renewed within the grace period are immediately cancelled, and the name becomes available for registration by other parties, subject to the usual rules on registrability.

How much is the DTI business name renewal fee?

The fee depends on territorial scope: PHP 200 for barangay, PHP 500 for city or municipality, PHP 1,000 for regional, and PHP 2,000 for national. Each is subject to an additional PHP 30 documentary stamp tax, and late filing adds a 50% surcharge on the registration fee.

Can I renew my DTI business name online?

Yes. Renewal is done through the DTI BNRS website using your reference code or transaction reference number. You can pay online through the payment channels BNRS offers, and you must pay within seven calendar days or the application is treated as abandoned.

DTI Business Name Renewal: Periods, Fees, Online Steps

A DTI business name registration lasts five years. You can renew it online through the DTI Business Name Registration System (BNRS) as early as 180 days before it expires, and you still have 90 days after the expiry date to renew without paying extra. Miss that, and a second 90-day window opens with a 50% surcharge. After that, DTI cancels the registration.

It’s easy to forget something you only deal with every five years, but plenty of people rely on that certificate: your LGU, the BIR, your bank, and the platforms you sell on. An expired one can stall your January business permit renewal.

Who this applies to

DTI business names are for sole proprietorships. Corporations, One Person Corporations, and partnerships register with the SEC, and their names don’t expire every five years.

Not sure which one you have? Look at the certificate you used when you registered with the BIR.

When you can renew

These windows come straight from the DTI BNRS FAQ:

Filing period	Timing	Surcharge
Early filing	Up to 180 calendar days before the expiration date	None
Regular filing	Within 90 calendar days after expiration	None
Late filing (grace period)	The 90 calendar days after regular filing ends	50% of the registration fee
After the grace period	The registration is cancelled right away	Anyone can register the name

Take a look at your certificate now. If it expires between now and early 2027, renew before January so you’re not handing your LGU an expired certificate at permit renewal.

How much it costs

Territorial scope	Registration fee	Documentary stamp tax
Barangay	PHP 200	PHP 30
City or municipality	PHP 500	PHP 30
Regional	PHP 1,000	PHP 30
National	PHP 2,000	PHP 30

Renew late and you pay 50% more on the registration fee. For a city or municipal scope, that’s an extra PHP 250.

Keep in mind that scope only decides where your name is protected. A national scope doesn’t let you operate anywhere without local permits. Those are still tied to your actual business address.

How to renew online

These steps follow DTI’s own BNRS registration guide:

Open the renewal page. Go to Renewal on BNRS and agree to the terms.
Find your registration. Enter your reference code or transaction reference number (TRN), then click your business name.
Pick how you want to renew. “Renew and Update Info” keeps your current scope. “Update Scope and Renew” lets you change it, but the name has to pass validation again.
Check your details. You can update your email, home address, or business address. A new business address has to fall within your current scope.
Save the new reference code. BNRS gives you a fresh one for this renewal, and you’ll need it next time.
Accept the undertaking. Download a copy for your files.
Pay within seven days. BNRS accepts GCash, Maya, Landbank Link.Biz, and credit or debit cards, among others. If you don’t pay within seven calendar days, the application is treated as abandoned.
Download the certificate. File it with the rest of your registration documents.

Who else needs the new certificate

DTI doesn’t pass your renewal on to anyone, so send it yourself:

Your LGU. Bring it to your business permit renewal. Our business permit renewal guide covers what else the LGU asks for in January.
The BIR. If your business name, address, or line of business changed, file Form 1905 to update your registration. If nothing changed, ask your Revenue District Office whether it wants a copy.
Banks and platforms. Payment processors, marketplaces, and your bank often keep your business documents on file.

If you’re not planning to renew

You can cancel a business name instead, for example if you’ve stopped operating or moved outside the registered scope. Just remember that closing a business takes more than cancelling the DTI name. Your LGU permit and BIR registration have to be closed too.

Where renewals go wrong

Waiting for a reminder. Don’t rely on getting one. Put the expiry date on your own calendar.

Letting the grace period run out. Once it does, the name is cancelled and someone else can take it.

Losing the reference code. You need it to start a renewal, so keep it with the certificate.

Not paying within seven days. The application lapses and you have to start over.

Before your expiry date

Check the expiration date on your certificate.
Find your reference code or TRN.
Decide whether to keep your current scope.
Renew during early or regular filing to skip the 50% surcharge.
Send the new certificate to your LGU, bank, and platforms.

Tamoogi keeps each business’s registrations in one place, so the five-year expiry sits on the same calendar as your permits and filings, and the renewed certificate is filed with everything else. The renewal itself is still done on BNRS.

Create a Tamoogi account

This article is general information, not legal advice. Fees, filing periods, and online steps can change. Confirm current rules on the DTI Business Name Registration System or with a DTI office.

DTI Business Name Renewal: Filing Periods, Fees, and Online Steps