SIM Card Registration in the Philippines Tips and Reminders

SIM Card Registration in the Philippines officially started on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, and it will run for 180 days.

This process, which is being implemented by the nations' leading telecommunications networks, is in line with Republic Act No. 11934 or the Subscribe Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act (SRA) that was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on October 10, 2022.

The law requires the registration of SIM for electronic devices by all users with the aim of promoting the responsible use of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) and provide law enforcers more resources to resolve crimes involving platforms enabled by this technological product.

First Day Issues

As pointed out many Filipino mobile subsribers online, telcos' websites dedicated to SIM card registration were plagued by issues including error messages on the first day that the sites opened. They speculate that these problems were caused by the sheer number of users trying to register their numbers.

I asked some of my friends and followers on Facebook if they were able to complete their SIM registration on the first day and here's what some of them said.

Gerald Bon Reguis said, "I cannot access my Camera or my File to Upload my ID. Been trying the whole day."

Moctar Sangga Sandalo noted, "Nope! Its error in my case. Ewan if may factor ba yung overseas."

Emerson Pascual shared, "Not yet. The telco still [has] server traffic [problems] for SIM registration until now."

Joseph Darwin Co said, "Stuck sa 'we're checking your details'."

Some of my friends were able to complete the process but most of the comments I got were riddled with complaints.

Keneth James Vitto Bade told me, "Yes! [I was able to successfully register.] Both my postpaid and prepaid numbers. Very smooth!"

Pam Diaz Manalo commented, "No problem for Smart Postpaid."

No Rush

Like many of you, I also encountered problems when I tried registering my SIM cards on the first day so I decided to just hold out in the meantime and not join the crowd. I agree with the opinion of one friend regarding this.

"I am not going to register my SIM Card on the first day because there might be bugs or issues in the networks' system which could threaten my privacy," he said.

He added, "Also, since everyone's trying to register, the system could encouter many errors because of the load. I will wait when the system is flowing more smoothly and all problems have been fixed. I wouldn't want my personal details to be compromised in case there will be major issues on the first few days of registration."

Fair enough. No rush. There's no point in rushing anyway since the SIM registration will run for 180 days.

Recommended Device for SIM Card Registration

For all telcos, SIM Card registration can be done both using the mobile browser on your smartphone and your desktop web browser, including Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. Just make sure that you are visiting the right websites and you have your requirements ready.

If you have loved ones or family members who are not so used to going through online registration processes, feel free to help them register their SIM cards.

According to those who've gone through the SIM Card registration, the process can be done more smoothly on the mobile browser of the smartphone in which the SIM card is installed.

SIM Card Registration Requirements

To successfully register, you need the following:

1. The personal details of the owner of the SIM Card

2. Photo of the owner's government-issued ID

Here's a list of accepted IDs:

Passport

National ID

Social Security Service ID

Government Service Insurance System e-Card

Bureau of Internal Revenue ID

Voter’s ID

Senior Citizen’s Card

Driver’s License

National Bureau of Investigation clearance

Police Clearance

Firearms’ License to Own and Possess ID 

Professional Regulation Commission ID

Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration ID

Unified Multi-Purpose Identification Card

Person with Disabilities Card

Other government-issued ID with photo

3. Finally, a selfie of the SIM Card owner holding the government-issued ID.

Before proceeding, make sure that the SIM Card to be registered is already installed on a handset since the network will be sending a One Time Password  (OTP) to the number as part of the process.

Globe SIM Registration

If you're a Globe or TM Prepaid subscriber, visit the official SIM Card Registration website of Globe Telecom at new.globe.com.ph/simreg

Smart SIM Registration

For Smart and TNT Prepaid subscribers, the official SIM Card registration website of Smart Communications is smart.com.ph/simreg.

DITO SIM Registration

Finally, for DITO Prepaid subscribers, the SIM Card Registration website is dito.ph/RegisterDito.

*According to DITO, SIM Card Registration for New Subscribers will be done via an SMS Link sent after initial SIM card insertion. For existing subscribers, SIM Card Registration will be done via DITO app, which is available via digital.dito.ph/pto/download/app.

Make sure you fill up the boxes completely and correctly. Promptly submit all the required photos in the provided sections of the SIM Card registration process.

To wrap up, let me remind that ALL end-users or mobile subscribers shall be required to register their SIMs with their networks as a pre-requisite to the activation. Moving forward, all SIM cards to be sold by the networks, its agents, resellers, or any entity shall remain in a deactivated state and will only be activated after the subscriber completes the registration process. All existing SIM subscribers shall register the same with their respective networks within one hundred eighty (180) days from the effectivity of this Act. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) may eventually extend registration for a period not exceeding one hundred twenty  (120) days.