Lost or Damaged BIR Certificate of Registration (2303): How to Get a Replacement

A lost, stolen, or damaged BIR Form 2303 Certificate of Registration (COR) is replaced by filing BIR Form 1905 at the Revenue District Office (RDO) where the business is registered, checking the “Replacement/Reprint of COR” transaction box. Lost or stolen CORs require a notarized Affidavit of Loss; a damaged COR requires surrendering the damaged original instead. Both pay a small documentary stamp tax on issuance.

This guide walks through the replacement procedure for both scenarios, the documents each path needs, and why the COR is not just paperwork — it is a document the law requires you to display. For the broader form that also handles RDO transfers and other updates, see BIR Form 1905: How to Update Your Registration Information or Transfer RDO. If you’re registering a business for the first time rather than replacing an existing COR, see How to Register a New Business with the BIR.

Why replacing a lost or damaged COR matters #

The Certificate of Registration is not optional paperwork filed away in a drawer — Section 236 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as implemented by BIR regulations, requires every registered taxpayer to post BIR Form 2303 conspicuously at the place of business, visible to customers, employees, and BIR tax-mapping teams. An empty frame on the wall is a compliance gap the moment an examiner walks in, even if the underlying registration itself was never in question.

Failure to display the COR is typically assessed as a compromise penalty of up to ₱1,000 or imprisonment of not more than six months under the NIRC’s general penalty provision for violations without a specific penalty prescribed elsewhere — separate from, and smaller than, the ₱5,000–₱20,000 range that applies to failing to register a business at all. Either way, a missing or unreadable COR is something a BIR officer can flag on sight, which is why replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged one promptly — rather than leaving the wall blank — is worth treating as a priority task, not a someday errand.

Lost or stolen COR: the affidavit-of-loss path #

When a COR is lost or stolen, the BIR requires a notarized Affidavit of Loss before it will issue a replacement, because the form itself becomes a legal declaration of the circumstances of the loss. The affidavit should state how and when the COR went missing (theft, fire, flood, misplacement), the steps taken to try to recover it, and an undertaking to surrender the original if it later turns up.

1. Execute a notarized Affidavit of Loss describing the circumstances of the loss and confirming the original cannot be located.
2. Accomplish BIR Form 1905, checking the box for “Replacement/Reprint of Certificate of Registration” under registration updates.
3. File the form and affidavit at the RDO where the business (or the individual taxpayer) is registered, together with a valid government-issued ID (and a notarized Special Power of Attorney or Board Resolution if a representative is filing).
4. Pay the applicable documentary stamp tax for the replacement COR at the RDO’s collection counter or an authorized payment channel.
5. Claim the reprinted COR once released — some RDOs release same-day, others ask the taxpayer to return once printing is complete.

Damaged or mutilated COR: the surrender-the-original path #

A damaged, torn, faded, or otherwise mutilated COR does not need an Affidavit of Loss, because the original document still exists and can be physically surrendered as proof of what happened to it. This is the simpler of the two paths since there is no need to notarize a sworn statement about how the document was lost.

1. Accomplish BIR Form 1905, checking the same “Replacement/Reprint of Certificate of Registration” box used for lost CORs.
2. Submit the damaged original COR itself to the RDO in place of an affidavit — this is what documents the reason for replacement.
3. Present a valid government-issued ID (and SPA/Board Resolution for a representative).
4. Pay the same documentary stamp tax due on the reissued COR.
5. Claim the reprinted COR once released.

Is there really a fee? #

Yes — replacing a COR carries a documentary stamp tax, currently ₱30, payable when the replacement is issued; there is no separate “replacement fee” beyond that stamp tax, and this should not be confused with the old ₱500 Annual Registration Fee. The Ease of Paying Taxes Act (RA No. 11976), effective January 22, 2024, abolished that ₱500 annual fee entirely — it no longer applies to new registrations, existing businesses, or COR reissuance. The ₱30 you pay for a reprinted COR is strictly the documentary stamp tax on the certificate itself, confirmed at the RDO cashier or an authorized electronic payment channel before the form is filed.

Some RDOs may also process reissuance through the Online Registration and Update System (ORUS) at orus.ph, which — per recent BIR circulars on the registration seal badge and QR-enabled COR — lets eligible taxpayers with no other pending updates synchronize their registration record and download a COR that carries a scannable QR code verifiable at verify.bir.gov.ph. Confirm with your RDO or ORUS account whether this online path is available for your specific registration before assuming the in-person affidavit route is your only option.

Worked example: a sari-sari store owner after a flood #

A sari-sari store owner registered under an RDO in Marikina City finds her framed COR soaked and illegible after a flash flood damages her store’s front counter in August 2026. Because the document still physically exists — just unreadable — she does not need an Affidavit of Loss. She:

1. Retrieves the water-damaged COR from the ruined frame and keeps it intact rather than discarding it.
2. Accomplishes BIR Form 1905, checking “Replacement/Reprint of Certificate of Registration” and noting the reason as damage from flooding.
3. Brings the damaged original, a valid ID, and the form to her RDO’s Taxpayer Service counter.
4. Pays the ₱30 documentary stamp tax at the cashier.
5. Receives her reprinted COR and re-displays it in a plastic sleeve, out of reach of future flooding, at the store’s front counter.

Contrast this with a neighboring store owner whose COR was stolen along with a cash box during a break-in the same week — he has nothing to surrender, so he first executes a notarized Affidavit of Loss detailing the break-in before filing the same BIR Form 1905 at his own RDO.

Summary #

Replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged BIR Form 2303 runs through the same form — BIR Form 1905, filed at your RDO with the “Replacement/Reprint of COR” box checked — but the supporting document differs: a notarized Affidavit of Loss for lost or stolen CORs, or the damaged original itself for a mutilated one. Either way expect a modest documentary stamp tax (currently ₱30), not the retired ₱500 Annual Registration Fee. Because NIRC Section 236 requires the COR to be conspicuously displayed, treat replacement as time-sensitive rather than routine paperwork. For other post-registration changes handled by the same form, see BIR Form 1905: How to Update Your Registration Information or Transfer RDO, and for a related certificate BIR issues on request, see BIR Tax Clearance Certificate.