Securing a Mayor’s Permit (also known as a Business Permit) is one of the requirements

for every business or company to operate in the Philippines. Local Government Units
(LGUs) can be cities or municipalities. Each municipality has different procedures
depending on the ordinance of the city or municipality.
A Business Permit is referred to as a Mayor’s Permit, because it is processed at the City
Hall – the office of the mayor. Securing a business permit from the Mayor’s Office can
only be done after accomplishing two other registrations first:
1. The registration of your business with the Department of Trade and Industry or DTI
(for single proprietorship) or with the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC (for
partnership or corporation); and,
2. Securing a Business Barangay Clearance.

Requirements for Mayor’s Permit

1. Certification – either one of the following:
• DTI Business Name Certificate; or,
• SEC Articles of Partnership; or,
• SEC Certificate of Incorporation
2. Barangay Clearance / Permit
3. Authorization letter of owner with ID
4. Contract of Lease or Land Title / Tax Declaration
5. Sketch of Location
6. Occupancy Permit
7. Locational Clearance
8. Public Liability Insurance
9. Community Tax Certificate (Cedula)
10. Fire Permit
11. Sanitary Permit
The most crucial among this list are items 3 – 6, which are obtained “outside” the
registration process. They are almost always provided by the building admin / owner of
the property.

7 Steps For Securing

Business / Mayor’s
Permit
(New Business in Makati City)
As of the date of this writing, you will be dealing with the new building of the Makati
City Hall except for the first step, which is still located at the old building.

1) Application for Locational Clearance

Before filing your application at the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), you
must first have a Locational Clearance. Ask for the application form at the Zoning
Division, 5th Floor, Old Building of Makati City Hall (MCH) and have it
notarized. You will need requirements 1 – 6 for this.
• File your application together with the requirements.
• Go to the receiving section.
• Get a queue number and wait for your turn to be called.
Someone will assess if your application is for processing or for inspection.
• If your application is assessed for processing, the locational clearance will be release
after 3 working days.
• If your application is assessed for inspection, the locational clearance will be release
after 5 working days.

2) Assessment of Fees
• Go to the BPLO ground floor of the new building of Makati City Hall.
• Ask for the business registration form at one of the windows.
• Fill it out and have it notarized.
You will need requirements 1-2 and 7-9 in this step. The insurance can be bought at the
accredited insurance company, while the Cedula can be bought at the City Treasurer’s
Office. Submit your application to the BPLO assessor. He will then assess how much
your fees will be. After the assessment, go to the BPLO officer, to have the assessment
validated.

3) Submission
Submit your application and assessment to the receiving section of the BPLO.
The BPLO staff will give you a receiving copy. You can process the payment the day
after the BPLO turned over your application to the cashier’s office. That means you
cannot finish this in one day.

4) Payment of Mayor’s Permit Fee

Go to the Cashier’s Office located at the Ground Floor of the new building of Makati
City Hall. The available modes of payment are through the following:
• Cash
• Manager’s Check – payable to Makati City Treasurer

5) Fire Permit
After the payment, go to the assigned Fire Department personnel located at the lobby of
new building of the MCH. Present your paid application for the issuance of fire permit.

6) Sanitary Permit
Go to the Sanitary Division, 7th floor, of the new building of MCH. Submit your paid
application. Wait for 15 to 30 minutes for the release of the temporary sanitary permit.
Issuance of Sanitary Permit will take place after completing these:
• Microbiological water analysis (company office)
• Pest control from accredited pest control operators (sanitary office have the list of
their accredited pest control operators)
• Health certificate for all employees

7) Release of Business / Mayor’s Permit

Go back to Ground Floor of new building of MCH in the Releasing of Permits. Submit
the paid applications together with the fire and temporary sanitary permit. Wait for 15
to 30 minutes for the issuance of Mayor’s / Business Permit.

Make sure you comply with all the requirements in order to have a painless application
process. After securing business permit you can now proceed to the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) to get your company’s Certificate of Registration (COR).