BIR Registration Seal Badge: What Online Sellers and Freelancers Must Display Under RMC No. 38-2026

The BIR Registration Seal Badge is a QR-coded digital image the Bureau of Internal Revenue issues as proof of registration, which online sellers, freelancers, and other digital-economy taxpayers now post on their storefronts and profiles instead of a full Certificate of Registration (COR). Introduced under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 38-2026, issued April 29, 2026, and later supplemented by RMC No. 64-2026, the badge is generated through a taxpayer’s BIR ORUS account and lets a buyer verify registration by scanning a QR code — without the taxpayer exposing their TIN and registered address to the public internet.

What is the BIR Registration Seal Badge? #

The Registration Seal Badge is a standardized digital image, embedded with a QR code, that functions as the BIR’s answer to the “verified” or “blue check” badges used on social media platforms. When a customer or platform scans the code, it links to the BIR’s official verification channel, confirming the seller is a currently registered taxpayer. This is a deliberate substitute for the older practice of photographing and posting a full COR (BIR Form 2303) or its electronic version (eCOR), which displays sensitive registration details in plain view of anyone browsing the seller’s page (PNA; Grant Thornton Philippines).

Who must display the badge under RMC No. 38-2026? #

RMC No. 38-2026 covers taxpayers who earn income through digital or electronic channels, not just registered online shops in the traditional sense. Coverage spans three broad groups reported consistently across secondary summaries of the circular (Grant Thornton Philippines; Philippine News Agency):

• Online sellers transacting through e-commerce and e-marketplace platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop
• Service providers and freelancers, including virtual assistants and other independent professionals who take on clients online
• Digital content creators, such as vloggers, streamers, and influencers earning through livestreams, sponsorships, or affiliate links

This is the same population the BIR earlier classified as taxable self-employed individuals under RMC No. 60-2020 and RMC No. 97-2021 — see BIR Tax Obligations for Online Sellers and Content Creators for the underlying registration and filing duties this group already carries. The Registration Seal Badge sits on top of that existing registration; it does not replace the requirement to register, file, and pay tax in the first place.

Where does the badge need to be posted? #

The BIR expects the badge to appear wherever a buyer or client would otherwise look for proof that a seller is a legitimate, registered business. Secondary reporting on the circular describes conspicuous placement on the seller’s digital storefront rather than burying it in fine print:

• The taxpayer’s own website or mobile application
• An online shop page on a marketplace (for example, a Shopee or Lazada shop’s “About” or store-info section)
• A social media business page, such as a Facebook Page’s business/profile details
• An e-commerce or e-marketplace seller profile, in sections such as “Business Info” or a profile header

For a concrete example: a home-based online seller running a Shopee store would generate the badge through ORUS and upload the badge image to the shop’s “About Shop” section, the same place many sellers already post business permits or a DTI certificate — replacing what would otherwise be a scanned COR photo.

How is the badge generated through ORUS? #

Taxpayers obtain the Registration Seal Badge manually at their Revenue District Office (RDO) or electronically through ORUS, and the badge itself is issued free of charge. The ORUS path differs slightly depending on whether the taxpayer’s registration record already needs an update:

1. Log in to the ORUS account at the platform used for the taxpayer’s existing registration (or complete initial TIN/business registration first if not yet registered — see What Is BIR ORUS for that process).
2. New registrants: after selecting the appropriate registration type and submitting the application, it routes to the taxpayer’s RDO for approval, which secondary reporting describes as typically completing within a few working days.
3. Existing registered taxpayers whose COR/eCOR has no QR code: file a Correction/Change/Update of Registration transaction through ORUS, confirm the registration details (including the line-of-business classification) reflect the online activity, and pay the standard ₱30 loose documentary stamp tax (DST) tied to that update.
4. Existing taxpayers with no pending COR updates: RMC No. 64-2026 supplements this group specifically — after logging in, the taxpayer selects the Registration Seal Badge option on the ORUS dashboard, reviews the registration details already on file, and confirms there are no updates needed before the system generates the badge.
5. Download the badge once generated, and save it in the image or PDF format needed for the platform where it will be posted (shop settings, page details, or a website’s footer/about page).

Because the ₱30 DST is tied to a registration-update transaction rather than the badge itself, a taxpayer whose COR already carries a QR code, or who qualifies under the RMC No. 64-2026 no-update path, should not need to pay it just to generate the badge (per businessmindedpinoy.com’s RMC No. 64-2026 walkthrough and secondary summaries of the ₱30 DST condition). Confirm the current fee treatment on your own ORUS transaction, since implementation details can be refined after initial rollout.

What does RMC No. 64-2026 add? #

RMC No. 64-2026 is a supplemental circular, not a replacement for RMC No. 38-2026 — it narrows in on one specific group: taxpayers whose Certificate of Registration needs no changes at all. Before this supplement, the ORUS badge-generation flow was built around taxpayers filing a registration update; RMC No. 64-2026 gives taxpayers with an already-current COR a more direct path, letting them confirm their existing registration information is accurate and proceed straight to badge generation instead of filing an unnecessary update transaction (batasnatin.com; businessmindedpinoy.com).

Does the badge replace the requirement to register or file taxes? #

No — the badge is a display requirement layered on top of existing registration and filing obligations, not a substitute for them. An online seller or content creator still needs an active BIR registration, a Certificate of Registration on file, and up-to-date income tax and percentage tax/VAT filings regardless of whether the badge is posted. What the badge changes is how that registration is proven to the public: a scannable QR image in place of a document that exposes a TIN and home address. Available reporting on RMC No. 38-2026 frames this as a registration-transparency and privacy-protection measure rather than a new penalty regime; if the BIR publishes a specific fine or sanction tied specifically to non-display of the badge, that detail was not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this guide, so treat display as a compliance expectation tied to your existing registration standing rather than assume a specific peso penalty.

Frequently Asked Questions #

What is the BIR Registration Seal Badge? #

The BIR Registration Seal Badge is a standardized digital image bearing a QR code that the Bureau of Internal Revenue issues as proof of a taxpayer’s registration, introduced under Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 38-2026. Scanning the QR code links to the BIR’s verification system, confirming the seller is a registered taxpayer without publicly exposing their Certificate of Registration details.

Who is required to display the Registration Seal Badge? #

RMC No. 38-2026 covers digital-economy participants: online sellers on platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, freelancers and virtual assistants offering services online, and digital content creators such as vloggers, streamers, and influencers who earn through digital or electronic channels.

Why did the BIR replace the Certificate of Registration with a badge for online sellers? #

Posting a photo of the Certificate of Registration or eCOR online exposes sensitive personal details, including the taxpayer’s TIN and registered address, to anyone who views the storefront or profile. The Registration Seal Badge lets a taxpayer prove registration through a scannable QR code instead of displaying that underlying document.

How much does it cost to get a BIR Registration Seal Badge? #

The badge itself is issued free of charge. A taxpayer whose existing Certificate of Registration or eCOR does not already carry a QR code pays the standard ₱30 loose documentary stamp tax when updating their registration through ORUS to generate the badge.

What does RMC No. 64-2026 change about the Registration Seal Badge? #

RMC No. 64-2026 supplements RMC No. 38-2026 with guidance specifically for taxpayers who have no pending updates to their Certificate of Registration, clarifying the ORUS steps that group follows — confirming their existing registration details are current — to generate the badge without filing a separate registration-update transaction.

Summary #

The BIR Registration Seal Badge, introduced under RMC No. 38-2026 and supplemented by RMC No. 64-2026, gives online sellers, freelancers, and digital content creators a way to prove BIR registration on their storefronts and pages without exposing their TIN and address the way a posted COR photo does. Generate it through ORUS — either as part of a registration update (with the ₱30 DST where applicable) or, for taxpayers with no pending COR changes, through the more direct RMC No. 64-2026 path — and post it where buyers already look for trust signals: shop “About” pages, social media business profiles, and seller websites. For the broader ORUS toolkit this badge sits inside, see What Is BIR ORUS; for the registration and filing obligations that come with online selling and content creation in the first place, see BIR Tax Obligations for Online Sellers and Content Creators.