DTI business listings up 11% in March

Business name registrations and renewals filed with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) rose 11.79 percent in March. Wholesale and retail trade enterprises continued to drive the agency’s business pipeline.

Data from the DTI’s Business Name Registration System (BNRS) showed 96,601 registrations and renewals last month, up from 86,414 in March 2025.

Of the total, 84,379 were new registrations while 12,222 were renewals.

The Calabarzon region accounted for the largest share of filings in March at 18,081.

It was followed by Metro Manila with 14,995; Central Luzon with 13,658; Ilocos Region with 5,553 and Central Visayas with 5,346.

For the first quarter, total registrations reached 464,365, up 7.43 percent from 432,259 in the same period last year.

New registrations made up the bulk at 384,307 while renewals totaled 80,058.

Wholesale and retail trade remained the dominant segment, accounting for 268,605 registrations or 57.84 percent of the total.

This excludes businesses engaged in motorcycle and vehicle repair as well as personal and household goods.

Accommodation and food service activities ranked second with 61,131 registrations. This was followed by real estate activities with 26,974, manufacturing with 22,963, other service activities with 19,174, and administrative and support services with 14,764.

At the provincial level, Cavite posted the highest number of registrations at 25,507 during the quarter.

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Laguna followed with 17,098, Rizal with 16,703, Batangas with 13,757 and Quezon with 7,565.

When including listings through the first five days of April, total registrations for the year had reached 467,777, according to the DTI.

Smaller businesses continued to make up the bulk of registrations, with barangay-level applications reaching 301,566.

City and provincial registrations followed with 102,012, while national registrations totaled 34,605 and regional registrations stood at 29,594.

The BNRS, launched in 2019, has been tracking business registrations since 2022 ahead of its full implementation in 2023.