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How to Get a BIR Permit to Issue Electronic Invoice: The PTI and EIS Certification Steps

·5 mins
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A taxpayer covered by the BIR’s December 31, 2026 electronic invoicing mandate cannot simply switch on a software feature — Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 98-2026 requires securing a Permit to Issue (PTI) Electronic Invoice first, then completing a separate EIS Certification within six months. Alongside that procedure, the BIR has issued its own public advisory warning that it has not accredited any vendor as an official electronic invoicing provider — a claim worth checking before signing a software contract built around it.

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What is the Permit to Issue (PTI) Electronic Invoice, and how do you apply? #

The PTI Electronic Invoice is a distinct authorization a covered taxpayer must obtain before it can lawfully issue electronic invoices under RMC No. 98-2026 — it is not the same as a Permit to Use (PTU) or Acknowledgement Certificate that already covers a computerized accounting system. A taxpayer that already holds a PTU for its computerized books of accounts still needs to separately apply for the PTI before treating its system’s output as a compliant electronic invoice.

  • Where to file: the taxpayer’s registered Revenue District Office (RDO), or the Large Taxpayer (LT) Office for taxpayers under that classification.
  • What the BIR reviews: whether the taxpayer’s proposed system meets the technical requirements for a valid electronic invoice — generated through a registered, approved, or accredited system, transmitted electronically to the buyer, and structured so its data can be electronically extracted and processed.
  • Turnaround: reporting on the circular’s implementing procedure describes a target evaluation window of 20 working days for a complete application, though actual processing time should be confirmed with the taxpayer’s RDO or LT Office.

This is the procedural companion to what RMC No. 98-2026: Which Businesses Must Switch to Electronic Invoices, and What Actually Counts as One already covers on who is in scope and what a compliant invoice looks like — this post picks up from there, on how a covered taxpayer actually gets authorized.

EIS Certification: the six-month step after the PTI #

Receiving the PTI Electronic Invoice is not the end of the process — the taxpayer must then secure Electronic Invoicing and Sales Reporting (EIS) Certification within six months, and failing to do so puts the PTI itself at risk. EIS Certification validates that the taxpayer’s system can actually extract, process, and transmit sales data in the structured format the BIR’s Electronic Invoicing/Sales Reporting System requires — it is the technical proof-of-functionality step that follows the administrative permit.

StepWhat happens
1. Apply for PTI Electronic InvoiceFiled with the RDO or LT Office; BIR evaluates the application (reported target: 20 working days)
2. PTI Electronic Invoice grantedTaxpayer is authorized to begin issuing electronic invoices
3. EIS Certification window opensTaxpayer has approximately six months from the PTI’s issuance to complete certification
4. EIS Certification obtainedSystem is validated as capable of extracting, processing, and transmitting sales data to BIR standards
Certification not completed in timeReported risk of PTI revocation

A taxpayer planning its implementation timeline against the December 31, 2026 deadline needs to budget for both steps — the permit application and evaluation period, then the certification testing window — not just the time to select and install a system.

The BIR’s warning: no vendor is officially “BIR-accredited” #

Separately from the PTI/EIS Certification procedure, the BIR has issued a public advisory stating it has not accredited, authorized, certified, recognized, or endorsed any company as an official electronic invoicing service provider, partner, representative, or solution provider. As reported in connection with RMC No. 98-2026’s rollout, the advisory states:

“As of September 14, 2026, the BIR has not accredited, authorized, certified, recognized, or endorsed any entity as an official BIR e-Invoicing Service Provider (ESP), partner, representative, or solution provider of electronic invoicing and sales reporting system.”

— BIR Public Advisory on EIS Accredited Providers

For a taxpayer choosing an implementation path — in-house development, a commercial e-invoicing package, or an Electronic Invoicing Service Provider — this means a marketing claim of “BIR accreditation” is not, by itself, evidence that a vendor’s system will pass PTI application review or EIS Certification testing. The taxpayer’s own application still goes through the RDO/LT Office evaluation and the certification process described above regardless of what a vendor claims about its own status.

Where this fits with the rest of the e-invoicing rollout #

The PTI and EIS Certification steps sit alongside the coverage rules and downtime procedures already covered elsewhere in this circular. For which businesses are covered by the December 31, 2026 deadline and what technically counts as a compliant electronic invoice, see RMC No. 98-2026: Which Businesses Must Switch to Electronic Invoices; for what happens if a taxpayer’s e-invoicing system goes down or an invoice needs correction after issuance, see RMC No. 98-2026: E-Invoicing System Downtime and How to Correct an Electronic Invoice; and for the penalties of missing the deadline entirely, see BIR E-Invoicing EIS Penalties.

Summary #

Under RMC No. 98-2026, a covered taxpayer must first obtain a Permit to Issue (PTI) Electronic Invoice from its RDO or LT Office — distinct from an existing computerized accounting system’s PTU — with a reported 20-working-day evaluation target, then complete EIS Certification within roughly six months to validate the system’s ability to extract and transmit sales data, or risk the PTI being revoked. Separately, the BIR’s own public advisory makes clear that no software vendor holds official “BIR accreditation” as an e-invoicing provider, so a taxpayer should verify a system’s actual technical compliance rather than rely on that marketing claim when planning its path to the December 31, 2026 deadline.

Sources #

Primary source

  • Bureau of Internal Revenue — 2026 Revenue Memorandum Circulars index (citation of record for RMC No. 98-2026, issued September 22, 2026, and the BIR’s Public Advisory on EIS Accredited Providers). Neither document was independently retrievable from the BIR’s own CDN in this research session; the facts above are corroborated across the secondary sources below.

Secondary sources