BIR’s blue check: The badge for online sellers

Selling online just got a digital upgrade — one that will keep personal data much safer.

Historically, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) required businesses to prominently display their Certificate of Registration or Electronic Certificate of Registration (eCOR), but for online sellers, posting a photo of their COR/eCOR meant broadcasting sensitive information like addresses and Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) to the entire internet.

To address this privacy risk, the BIR recently introduced the BIR Registration Seal Badge, issued via Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 38-2026 on April 29, 2026. Think of it as a verified “blue check” for legitimate digital businesses. It replaces the need to post the full COR/eCOR on the website, e-commerce or e-marketplace page and other platforms in lieu of the COR/eCOR.

How the badge works

The BIR Registration Seal Badge is a digital image featuring a Quick Response Code that allows customers to verify the authenticity and validity of the online seller’s registration with the BIR. When the QR code is scanned, customers should be redirected to the official BIR verification domain with the following BIR link in the web address or URL: https://verify.bir.gov.ph/correspondence/. It serves as proof of registration for businesses engaged in online selling of goods or services, or through e-commerce platforms. It is issued together with the COR/eCOR and is intended to be posted conspicuously on the platform of the online seller.

Both the COR/eCOR and the BIR Registration Seal Badge should have the QR Code.

How to get the digital badge

Securing the badge is simple. It can be generated online through the BIR’s Online Registration and Update System (ORUS), which requires the taxpayer to first update its registration information. To provide supplemental guidelines on the generation of the BIR Registration Seal Badge via ORUS, the BIR issued RMC 64-206, dated June 18, 2026.

Alternatively, the BIR Registration Seal Badge can be requested manually by securing it from the proper Revenue District Office by updating the registration information.

The BIR Registration Seal Badge is free of charge, but a payment of P30 for Loose Documentary Stamp Tax will still be charged.

For sellers that do not conduct their business online or through e-commerce platforms, the BIR does not require that they replace their current COR/eCOR. However, should they decide to conduct their business online or through e-commerce platforms, they will need to update their COR/eCOR in order to secure the BIR Registration Seal Badge.

For taxpayers engaged in online selling, online services and/or e-commerce activities, the following Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) or Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) code should be registered and available in their BIR COR/eCOR:

Rules for displaying the badge

To ensure proper display, online sellers are only required to post the BIR Registration Seal Badge on their website, social media or e-commerce platform, which may be done through cropping, scanning or extracting only the BIR Registration Seal Badge image. There is no need to upload the entire COR/eCOR. However, the extracted badge must remain clear, readable and completely unaltered, preserving all of its original design elements. Finally, the posting of the BIR Registration Seal Badge should comply with the display requirements of the BIR, ensuring that it is visible and easily accessible to the online seller’s customers.

With the issuance of RMC 38-2026 requiring online sellers to secure a BIR Registration Seal Badge, the BIR is modernizing tax compliance and protecting legitimate sellers from data breaches. This also provides customers with more confidence when transacting with online sellers, as it serves as proof that the business is properly registered with the BIR and reinforces the legitimacy of the seller’s business operations.

Given the growing reliance of businesses on online platforms to sell goods and services, we might see a significant increase in the utility of the BIR Registration Seal Badge, and with an increase in utilization, it might lead to further innovation by the BIR and apply the seal badge for other permits and registrations that the BIR requires to be displayed. It may even be expanded to be applicable to an individual person’s TIN. Maybe eventually, other government agencies that require online businesses to be registered might adopt the seal badge of the BIR.

Jezreel Joseph Sy is a supervisor from the Tax Group of KPMG in the Philippines (R.G. Manabat & Co.), a Philippine partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. The firm has been recognized as a Tier 1 in Transfer Pricing Practice and in General Corporate Tax Practice by the International Tax Review. For more information, you may reach Jezreel Joseph Sy or Maria Carmela Peralta through [email protected], social media or visit www.home.kpmg/ph.