Two numbers decide whether a Philippine company makes sense for you: what it costs and how long it takes. Both are knowable up front. This page sets out the end-to-end cost components and a realistic timeline for incorporating with Chamberlain. For a deeper line-by-line breakdown of every fee, see our 2026 cost-to-set-up guide.
The three cost buckets
Foreign founders often hear one figure and assume it is the total. It rarely is. Your real outlay splits into three distinct buckets, and only one of them is a fee to us:
- Government and registration fees — paid to the SEC, BIR, your LGU and barangay.
- Paid-in capital — your own money, inwardly remitted to fund the company.
- Professional fees — the Chamberlain fixed package to handle the whole process.
Keeping these separate is the single most useful thing you can do when budgeting, because they behave very differently.
Government and registration fees
These are the statutory fees charged by the agencies that register your company: SEC incorporation fees, BIR registration and documentary stamp tax, the LGU / mayor’s permit, and the barangay clearance. Individually they are modest and denominated in pesos — small relative to the rest of your setup. They scale a little with your authorised capital and the LGU you register in, but they are not the number that drives your budget. We disclose the current schedule before you commit, so there is never a surprise invoice.
The capital you must fund
This is the large number, and it is the one most often misunderstood. Paid-in capital is not a fee — it is your own money, wired into the company’s Philippine bank account as working capital. Nobody keeps it; it funds the business you are building.
For a foreign-owned domestic corporation, the default minimum is US$200,000 in inwardly remitted capital. That drops to a reduced US$100,000 where the company uses advanced technology, is endorsed as a startup, or keeps a majority-Filipino workforce with at least 15 direct Filipino workers — and export-oriented companies (selling 60%+ abroad) are largely exempt from the threshold. Which band you fall into materially changes how much cash you need on day one, so it is worth getting right before you incorporate. Our guide to the minimum paid-in capital for 2026 walks through each exemption.
The Chamberlain fixed professional fee
The third bucket is our work — the fixed package that takes you from name reservation to a fully registered, BIR-ready company. We publish our fees so you can plan:
- Incorporation: ₱80,000–₱250,000 one-off, by entity type and complexity
- Visa / work permit: ₱40,000–₱120,000 per applicant
- Monthly compliance retainer: ₱15,000–₱60,000
These are professional fees only. The government fees above and your paid-in capital are separate and disclosed before you commit. See our transparent pricing for exactly what each package includes.
A realistic timeline, stage by stage
A straightforward case commonly takes 4–8 weeks end to end. The work happens in overlapping stages rather than a single queue, which is why the total is shorter than adding each stage in isolation would suggest:
| Stage | What happens | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| SEC incorporation | Name reservation, articles, treasurer’s affidavit, certificate of incorporation | Days–~2 weeks |
| Post-SEC (BIR) | Tax registration, registration of books, invoicing / official receipts | ~1–2 weeks |
| LGU permits | Barangay clearance and the mayor’s / business permit | ~1–2 weeks |
| Employer registrations | SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG enrolment | Overlapping |
The big lever is SEC incorporation — once your certificate is issued, the BIR and LGU permit stages can move in parallel, and employer registrations slot in alongside them.
What speeds it up — and what slows it down
The same setup can take four weeks or twelve, depending on how ready you are. It moves faster when you have a clean Philippine-resident treasurer, a confirmed office address, your foreign documents already apostilled, and a standard, unregulated business activity.
It moves slower when foreign documents still need apostille and consular legalisation, when your activity requires a secondary licence or endorsement (banking, lending, recruitment, education and similar regulated fields), when name reservations are rejected and re-filed, or when director and shareholder IDs arrive incomplete. Getting the paperwork right before filing is almost always cheaper than fixing it mid-process.
Want an exact fixed quote and a realistic date range for your specific case? Book a consultation and we will scope it with you.
Frequently asked questions
How long does incorporation take?
A straightforward case commonly runs 4–8 weeks end to end: SEC incorporation in days to ~2 weeks, post-SEC BIR registration roughly 1–2 weeks, and LGU permits another 1–2 weeks, with employer registrations overlapping. Apostilled foreign documents or activities needing a secondary licence push it longer.
What does it actually cost to register a company?
Three separate buckets: modest government/registration fees (SEC, BIR, LGU, barangay — in pesos); your paid-in capital, which you must inwardly remit (commonly US$200,000, or US$100,000 reduced, or export-exempt — this is your money, not a fee); and the Chamberlain fixed professional fee, all disclosed up front.
Is the paid-in capital a fee I pay to Chamberlain or the government?
Neither. Paid-in capital is your own money that you wire into the company's Philippine bank account as its working capital. Nobody keeps it — it funds the business. The default foreign-equity threshold is US$200,000, reduced to US$100,000 with advanced technology or a majority-Filipino workforce of at least 15 direct employees, and waived for export-oriented companies. See our minimum paid-in capital guide for the exemptions.
What makes registration faster or slower?
Faster: a clean Philippine-resident treasurer, a ready office address, documents already apostilled, and a standard business activity. Slower: foreign documents still needing apostille and consular steps, a regulated activity needing a secondary licence or endorsement, name-reservation rejections, and incomplete director or shareholder IDs.
Related guides
Minimum Paid-In Capital for Foreign-Owned Companies (2026)
The 2026 minimum paid-in capital rules for foreigners in the Philippines — the US$200,000 default, the US$100,000 reduction (advanced tech, startup, or a majority-Filipino workforce of at least 15), and the export-enterprise exemption.
Read next ->Registering Your Company with the SEC in the Philippines
How foreigners register a company with the Philippine SEC — eSPARC/OneSEC, requirements, timeline and how Chamberlain handles it at a fixed fee.
Read next ->BIR Registration for Companies in the Philippines
How foreign-owned companies register with the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue — TIN, books of accounts, e-invoicing, COR, and what Chamberlain handles at a fixed fee.
Read next ->LGU & Barangay Business Permits in the Philippines
How foreigners obtain LGU and barangay business permits in the Philippines — the two-step local licensing process, documents, fees, and annual renewal deadline.
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