You check a business name inside DTI's Business Name Registration System (BNRS). During a new registration you pick a territorial scope, type a dominant name and a descriptor, then click "Check Name Availability". The system tells you right away if the name can be used. If it cannot, you change the name and check again. Registered names can also be looked up through the BNRS search facility.[1,2]
How the availability check works
The check sits in step 3 of the online registration. You select the territorial scope (barangay, city or municipality, regional or national), then enter two parts. The dominant name is the main identifying words or numerals of your business name. The descriptor describes the nature of your business, based on the Philippine Standard Industrial Classification. BNRS joins them into a proposed business name and verifies it when you click "Check Name Availability". If the name is taken or not allowed, you repeat the step with a new name.[2]
Because the scope is chosen before the name, the result is tied to that scope. A name may pass at barangay scope and fail at national scope if someone already holds it more widely. Decide on your scope first, then search. Our territorial scope guide explains the choice.
When a name passes, BNRS gives you a Reference Code. Keep it: DTI uses it for all your later transactions on BNRS, including payment and downloading the certificate.[2]
Why DTI rejects a business name
The BNRS FAQ lists 11 kinds of names that will not be accepted. The ones small business owners run into most are below. The full list also covers names that suggest unlawful or immoral activity, names inimical to the security of the State, names restricted by law, names officially used by government, names of nations or international bodies without authority, and names a court or agency has ordered not to be registered.[1]
- Names made purely of generic words, such as a plain product word with nothing distinctive
- Words that describe or suggest the quality of a class of goods or services
- Names already registered as trade names, trademarks or business names by any government agency that registers names or marks
- Names of other persons
- Names that are deceptive, misleading or misrepresent the nature of the business
Words you cannot use as a sole proprietor
Only a partnership or corporation registered with the SEC may use "company", "corporation" or "incorporated" in its name. Only a cooperative registered with the Cooperative Development Authority may use "cooperative". A DTI-registered sole proprietorship cannot add these words, so leave them out of your search.[1]
If you want one of those words, you are choosing a different type of business. Compare the options in sole proprietorship vs OPC vs corporation.
Checking a name someone else already registered
Registered business names can be verified through the search facility of BNRS. If you need a formal document, BNRS has a Request Certification service: you search by business name, owner's name or both, pay the fee within seven calendar days, and the certification is emailed to you. If there is no record of your search, you may request a negative certification instead.[1,2]
A name is not locked forever. Business names that are not renewed within the grace period are cancelled and become available for registration by other parties, subject to the rules on registrability.[1]
Common search problems
If the search shows your own name as "Unpaid" even though you paid, send your proof of transaction and a government-issued ID to the BNRS help desk at bnrshelpdesk@dtiphmail.dti.gov.ph. They will reply with your payment status and next steps. If you reserved a name and changed your mind, open Transaction Inquiry, enter the Reference Code, click the business name and choose Cancel Transaction. This cancels the reserved name and its reference code.[1]
You can stop partway and come back. Go to Transaction Inquiry, enter your reference code, click the business name, scroll down and click Resume.[1]
Before you search
- Decide your territorial scope first
- Write three to five dominant names, each with a short descriptor of what you sell
- Drop words like Company, Corporation, Incorporated and Cooperative
- Avoid plain generic words and other people's names
- Search the name online for big brands that use something close to it
- Save the Reference Code once a name passes
Questions people ask
- Is the DTI business name search free?
- Checking availability is part of the online registration form, and you only pay when you continue to the payment step. A formal certification about a registered name has its own fee, paid within seven days.
- Does passing the check mean the name is registered?
- No. It means the name is available. You still need to finish the form, accept the Undertaking and pay within seven calendar days, or the application is treated as abandoned. See DTI business name registration for the full steps.
- Can I use my own name as the business name?
- A business name is any name other than your true name that you use for your business. If you trade only under your own true name, DTI says business name registration is required only when you use a name other than that.
- Can I correct a typo in a name I already registered?
- Only typographical errors in a new registration can be corrected. Email the BNRS help desk with your name, business name, the correction and a government ID for validation.
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026. We link the agency's own page for every requirement. Rules change; confirm with the office before you pay.