The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Supreme Court of the Philippines have adopted joint rules requiring the SEC to recognize and accept electronically notarized documents for applications, petitions, filings and other transactions. Acceptance must comply with the Supreme Court’s Rules on Electronic Notarization, which provide for both in-person and remote electronic notarization. Traditionally notarized documents will remain acceptable. The framework follows the SEC’s July introduction of optional paperless filing for selected corporate amendments, which allowed scanned copies of signed and notarized documents subject to verification. Submissions must follow the process prescribed by the SEC department or office handling the transaction. For the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) and Electronic Application for Modification of Entity Data (eAMEND) portals, applicants must download, complete and sign system-generated forms requiring notarization, have them electronically notarized through a Supreme Court-accredited Electronic Notarization Facility, and upload them to finalize the application. Electronically notarized documents will be subject to applicable post-audit and review of embedded security features to verify authenticity, integrity and compliance. The SEC must also issue internal procedures and protocols as necessary to integrate electronic notarization into its systems.
Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission and Supreme Court of the Philippines adopt rules accepting electronically notarized documents in SEC transactions
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Supreme Court of the Philippines have adopted a framework for accepting electronically notarized documents across SEC transactions, while retaining traditional notarization. Applicants using the registration and corporate amendment portals must obtain electronic notarization through a Supreme Court-accredited facility before uploading the documents. Submissions remain subject to applicable post-audit and checks of embedded security features.