Is an Electronic Signature Allowed on BIR Form 2307?

Yes, an electronic signature is allowed on BIR Form 2307. Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 29-2021, issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on February 26, 2021, permits withholding agents and their authorized representatives to sign the Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source electronically, without needing prior BIR approval — provided the certificate meets a short list of conditions.

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It walks through what RMC No. 29-2021 actually requires, the law it rests on, and how to place a signature correctly when preparing a certificate in BIR Online Tools’ BIR Form 2307 generator.

Is an electronic signature legally valid on BIR Form 2307? #

An e-signature on BIR Form 2307 is legally valid because RMC No. 29-2021 treats it as the functional equivalent of a manual signature on the certificate — no separate BIR authorization is needed to use it. The circular applies to four related BIR certificates, not just BIR Form 2307.

Forms covered by RMC No. 29-2021:

• BIR Form 2304 — Certificate of Income Payment Not Subject to Withholding Tax
• BIR Form 2306 — Certificate of Final Tax Withheld at Source
• BIR Form 2307 — Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source
• BIR Form 2316 — Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld

The underlying legal basis predates the circular itself. Republic Act No. 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, already gave electronic signatures the same legal standing as handwritten ones under Philippine law. Section 8 of RA 8792 treats an electronic signature as legally equivalent to a written signature when the method used to sign is reliable, appropriate for the purpose it serves, necessary to complete the transaction, and verifiable by the person relying on it. RMC No. 29-2021 applies that existing legal foundation specifically to withholding tax certificates.

What are the conditions for using an e-signature on BIR Form 2307? #

Using an e-signature on BIR Form 2307 is straightforward, but RMC No. 29-2021 attaches conditions that keep the certificate valid — the signature alone doesn’t carry the form; the surrounding paperwork has to match too.

Two conditions are easy to overlook. First, an e-signed BIR Form 2307 is not valid on the withholding agent’s signature alone — the payee’s signature, manual or electronic, still has to be present. Second, whatever software or template generates the certificate must reproduce the current official BIR layout; a signature stamped onto an outdated or altered form doesn’t inherit the circular’s validity.

How does an e-signed BIR Form 2307 get submitted? #

Submission rules run on a separate track from the signature itself: Revenue Regulations No. 16-2021 governs how the resulting certificate — e-signed or not — is scanned, stored, and submitted alongside a taxpayer’s return.

Under RR No. 16-2021, as clarified by RMC No. 117-2021 (November 24, 2021):

1. Scan the original BIR Form 2307 through a scanning machine or device
2. Store the soft copy using the file format and naming convention the BIR prescribes for the chosen submission facility
3. Submit through one approved mode per filing period — options include e-mail, USB, or DVD-R, but mixing multiple modes within a single submission period is not allowed

How does BIR Online Tools handle signatures on BIR Form 2307? #

Placing a signature correctly matters more than it sounds, since an e-signature that prints too large, too small, or off-register still needs to look right on an exact replica of the official form. BIR Online Tools builds signature placement into the same single BIR Form 2307 generator used to create the certificate, rather than treating it as a separate manual step.

What you can configure:

• Signatory name, TIN, and position/designation
• An “enable signature image” toggle, with a PNG upload for the signature itself
• A signature size control (25%–200%) to scale the image to fit the form
• Horizontal and vertical offset fields to nudge the signature into place on the certificate

As you adjust size and position, the live preview updates automatically — the certificate regenerates each time you change a value, so you can see exactly where the signature lands before it’s final, rather than downloading a draft to check. Once placement looks right, the same certificate is ready to download or email directly to the payee, satisfying the payee-signature condition on your side of the exchange without a separate print-sign-scan cycle.

Frequently asked questions #

Is an electronic signature valid on BIR Form 2307? #

Yes. Under Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 29-2021 (February 26, 2021), withholding agents and their authorized representatives may use an e-signature on BIR Form 2307, in addition to or instead of a manual signature, without needing prior BIR approval.

What is the legal basis for e-signatures on BIR forms? #

Republic Act No. 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, gives electronic signatures the same legal weight as handwritten signatures when the method used is reliable, appropriate to the purpose, necessary to complete the transaction, and verifiable by the receiving party — the basis RMC No. 29-2021 relies on for BIR Form 2307.

Does the payee also need to sign an e-signed BIR Form 2307? #

Yes. RMC No. 29-2021 requires the certificate to also carry the payee’s manual or electronic signature for it to be considered valid and binding — an e-signature from the withholding agent alone is not sufficient.

Do you need BIR approval before using e-signatures on BIR Form 2307? #

No. RMC No. 29-2021 explicitly states that no prior BIR approval is required to use e-signatures on BIR Form 2307, provided the certificate remains an exact replica of the latest officially printed version and meets the circular’s other conditions.

What happens if a payee needs a BIR Form 2307 re-issued? #

Under RMC No. 29-2021, a re-issued BIR Form 2307 must carry a “RE-PRINT” watermark in Cambria font at size 144, and only one original issuance is permitted per certificate.

Summary #

Electronic signatures on BIR Form 2307 are valid under RMC No. 29-2021, backed by the Electronic Commerce Act’s existing recognition of e-signatures — no prior BIR approval is needed, but the certificate must match the latest official form, carry the payee’s signature as well, and follow the re-print watermark rule when reissued. Getting the signature itself placed correctly is a smaller, practical problem: BIR Online Tools’ single BIR Form 2307 generator lets you size and position a signature image with simple controls and check the result in a live preview before you download or email the finished certificate.