Incorporation
Processing options
Standard vs. rush processing — what each means, who qualifies, and how the paperless process works.
The SEC offers two ways to process an incorporation. Which one your company uses affects how long the SEC's own review takes — everything else about your experience stays the same.
Standard processing#
This is the default for all incorporations. The SEC reviews your application manually, which takes longer, but it accommodates every kind of company — foreign ownership, customized business purposes, regulated activities, special share structures, companies in economic zones, or companies that need clearances from other agencies.
Standard processing is still fully paperless for most companies: electronic signing, no notarization, no hard copies.
Rush processing#
If you purchased rush processing, and your company qualifies, your application goes through the SEC's automated fast lane — SEC review and approval are nearly instant, targeting registration in as little as one day after filing.
Rush processing is available when your company is:
- A domestic stock corporation (or one-person corporation) that is fully Filipino-owned
- Formed by 2–15 incorporators with a standard structure
- Using standard Articles of Incorporation and By-laws (no customized purpose clause)
- Paying for shares in cash
- Not requiring clearances from other government agencies
We confirm eligibility during our review. If it turns out your company doesn't qualify — for example, the SEC's system rejects the data during encoding — we switch your application to standard processing and let you know. Your incorporation continues without restarting; only the SEC review timeline changes.
Paperless by default#
For domestic stock corporations, the SEC's registration process is now fully electronic: your documents are signed and authenticated online, and your Certificate of Incorporation is issued digitally with the same legal validity as a paper original. There are no wet signatures, no notary visits, and no hard-copy submissions.
The exceptions are lending companies, financing companies, and foreign corporations, which the SEC still processes on its older paper-based track. If your company is one of these, physical signing and hard-copy submission steps apply — we'll guide you through them.
Which option do I have?#
Your dashboard reflects the processing option applied to your request. If you're unsure, or you'd like to upgrade to rush processing, contact our team and we'll confirm your eligibility.