Somebody handed you a name.
Maybe a card, a Viber number, a Facebook page full of listings.
You’re about to trust them with something that costs millions.
You’d like to know they’re real first.
The check is free.
It runs on a government website.
It takes about two minutes.
The short answer
Four steps. You need a full name, and it helps to have a license number too.
Ask for the full name and PRC license number. A licensed broker has to display that certificate where clients can see it, so the number was always meant to be looked at.
Go to verification.prc.gov.ph and search by name, or by license number and birthdate if you have both. The second way gives fewer false misses.
Match three things: the name, the profession, since Real Estate Broker is its own category, and that the license is current rather than expired.
Ask early, before you’ve told them anything about your budget. It’s a small question on day one and a large one after four site visits.
Running the check
Here’s what a real result looks like, using mine:
| Name | Mark Lemuel Badayos |
|---|---|
| Profession | Real Estate Broker |
| PRC License No. | 0037619 |
| DHSUD Registration No. | R7-B-07/26-8756 |
The PRC number covers real estate service in general. The DHSUD number is a separate registration for anyone selling preselling units, more on that below if that’s what you’re buying.
Search that one first, so you know what a real result looks like before you run it on somebody who isn’t expecting to be checked.
It isn’t your fault if nobody’s shown you this before. Checking a license was never explained to you as something you’re allowed to do before you pay anyone anything.
When the search comes back empty
This is the part that actually gets people. An empty screen is a question, not an answer.
Ordinary reasons a real license doesn’t show up:
- A middle name or suffix you didn’t type, or the record has one you don’t know about
- A married name on the license and a different name on the card they gave you
- A spelling variant. Filipino names carry a lot of them
- The wrong profession selected. Broker, appraiser and consultant are separate lists
- A posting delay. The government’s own portal says its records can lag
So go back and ask how the name reads on the license itself, and whether there’s a middle name or a suffix on it.
Somebody licensed answers that in one message. It’s the answer you don’t get that tells you something.
You might be checking the wrong name
“You have to distinguish between ‘licensed real estate brokers’ vs your neighborhood ‘ahente.’”
Comment on a Philippine property video
Plenty of the people showing you units aren’t brokers, and they’re not pretending to be. They’re accredited salespersons, which is a real, legitimate role.
A salesperson works under one named broker and can’t act on their own. So searching their name tells you far less than you’d think, and sometimes finds nothing at all, because they sit on a different list entirely.
Ask who their broker is, and check that name instead. That’s the name with a licensing board above it, and the one that answers if something goes wrong later. If you want the difference between broker, agent and salesperson in full, I’ve written a separate piece on that.
If it’s preselling
Preselling means buying a unit before the building is finished. If that’s new to you, start with what a preselling property is and how it differs from RFO.
If it’s what you’re buying, ask for one more number: their DHSUD registration, for selling preselling units specifically, and note the year printed on it.
What I think
Almost everybody you check will pass. Worth saying plainly, because a page like this can read as if the industry is full of fakes, and it isn’t. Most people selling property here are licensed, accredited, or working properly under somebody who is.
Run the check anyway, and run it early.
Not because you expect to catch somebody. The check answers a different question than most people think it does. It doesn’t tell you whether this person is good at the job, or honest, or worth your time. It tells you who is accountable, and that’s a fact worth having before you need it, not after.
Don’t hand money to anyone who is neither the developer nor a licensed broker. A salesperson doesn’t take your payment directly; it goes through their supervising broker. So if the person asking you to pay isn’t the developer and isn’t a licensed broker, stop and ask who their broker is. Payments to a developer go to the developer’s own account, under the developer’s name, with a receipt that says so. Anything else is worth a pause, however good the explanation sounds.
The same check applies to a project, not just a person. Before one appears among the preselling projects I represent, I’ve confirmed its license to sell.
Questions
Do I have to tell them I’m checking?
You can, and most licensed people will hand you the number without being asked twice. Asking early keeps it a small question.
What if the license shows as expired?
Ask. Renewal lapses happen for ordinary reasons, and somebody dealing with one will usually tell you where they stand with it. What matters is whether they’re current on the day they act for you, so get that answer before you sign anything.
Can I check a company instead of a person?
Check the person. Real estate service is practiced by licensed individuals, so a company name on a tarpaulin doesn’t verify whoever is standing in front of you. Get their name, and the name of the broker they answer to.
What if I only have a first name or a nickname?
Ask for the rest before you go any further. A first name isn’t something you can run through a government registry, and someone with nothing to hide will give you the rest without hesitating.
The one thing to take with you
Two minutes, a full name, and a government website.
Do it on the broker’s name, not on whoever happens to be showing you the unit. And when the screen comes back empty, ask how the name reads on the license before you decide what it means.
Run the check before the first payment moves, not after.
Start with mine: PRC License No. 0037619, DHSUD Registration No. R7-B-07/26-8756. If either one doesn’t check out, don’t work with me.
If you’d like help reading a result you’re not sure about, send me a message on Messenger. You don’t have to be my client for that.
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