The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported an 11.67 percent decline in business name registrations to 66,124 in May 2025 from 74,859 in May 2024.
Compared with the month earlier, however, this year’s May data showed a 12 percent spike. The number of business name registrations in April stood at 59,068.
As of May 31, the data showed total registrations from January to May reached 557,451, a 2.4 percent decline from 571,200 in the first five-month period last year.
The data came from the DTI’s Business Name Registration System portal.
From the total of registered business names, 474,784 were new registrations and 82,667 were renewals.
Retail trade (excluding trade of vehicles) continued to be the top industry for business names, with more than half of the total at 282,116 businesses, registered as of May 31.
Food and beverage services came next, with 62,896; real estate, 31,560; other personal service activities, 18,423; and wholesale and retail trade, as well as repair of vehicles, 16,947.
The largest number of registered businesses was recorded in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) at 101,707, followed by Region 3 (Central Luzon) at 71,759, and the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) at 69,375.
The DTI website shows that business names are registered for single proprietorship ventures as a legal identity. It said a business name registration is not a license to operate a business.
