For architects & designers abroad

Your design, our seals.
A Philippine permit needs both.

If you're designing a building in the Philippines from overseas, the permit set has to carry Philippine seals. AEDO supplies the licensed architect who acts as your Filipino counterpart, the civil engineer who seals the structure, and the professional electrical engineer. You keep the design and the client.

What the law requires

RA·9266

Architectural seal, Sec 20(5)

RA·544

Structural seal, Sec 23

RA·7920

Electrical seal, Sec 34

GMT+8

Philippine time zone

Why you need a local counterpart

The seal on a Philippine permit set has to be Philippine

This isn't a preference of the building official. It's written into three professional regulation laws, and the official is barred from accepting plans that don't comply.

Architectural documents

RA 9266 Sec 20(5): architectural plans for a building bear the seal and signature only of an architect registered and licensed under that Act. Sec 20(2) bars government officers from accepting plans that don't comply.

Foreign architects

RA 9266 Sec 38: a foreign national or firm named as architect, consultant or designer on permit plans is practising architecture in the Philippines, wherever the contract was signed. They need a special or temporary permit and must work with a Filipino counterpart.

Structural design

RA 544 Sec 23: building designs, plans and specifications are signed and sealed by a registered civil engineer.

Electrical plans

RA 7920 Sec 34: no electrical installation proceeds unless the plans are signed and sealed by a professional electrical engineer.

A Filipino civil engineer can't stand in for the architect either. In 2023 the Supreme Court held that the Architecture Act impliedly repealed the Civil Engineering Law insofar as it let civil engineers prepare, sign and seal architectural documents.

Who this is for

Anyone designing a Philippine building from outside it

Overseas architects & designers

You won a resort, villa, clinic or commercial job in the Philippines and need the local half of the permit set.

Foreign owners & developers

You hired a designer at home and found out the plans can't be filed as they are.

Engineering firms abroad

Your structural or electrical design is done, but it needs a Philippine-licensed engineer to design to NSCP 2015 and seal it.

Who does what

What stays with you, what we take on

Stays with you

The design concept and design intent. Your relationship with the client. Your own special or temporary permit if you're named on the plans, and the local professional liability cover RA 9266 Sec 39 asks of foreign practitioners.

AEDO takes on

A licensed architect acting as your Filipino counterpart and sealing the architectural set. NSCP 2015 structural design sealed by a civil engineer. Electrical plans sealed by a professional electrical engineer. Code review against the National Building Code, accessibility law and fire code, with every forced change flagged to you first.

Process

How it runs

01 · Drawings in

Send the design set, the site location and what the building is for. We tell you which Philippine codes apply to it.

02 · Code review

Every conflict with Philippine code comes back to you as a list, with the clause behind each item, before anything changes.

03 · Local design

Structural analysis and design to NSCP 2015, electrical design, and the architectural permit set drawn to your intent.

04 · Sealed set

Each discipline signed and sealed by its licensed professional, ready for the building official. Questions from the official come to us.

Where the line is

What we don't promise

A seal carries professional responsibility, so we don't put one on drawings we haven't checked. If the design can't meet Philippine code as drawn, we say so and show you why rather than seal around it. The special or temporary permit for a foreign architect is issued by the Board of Architecture, subject to PRC approval, and its conditions are set by RA 9266 Sec 38. Construction is offered only in Negros Oriental. Everywhere else in the Philippines we provide the sealed documents and remote oversight of the contractor your client hires.

Engagement

Two ways to start

Every project is quoted as a fixed fee once we've seen the drawings, because scope depends on the building and how complete your set is.

Most projects

Full Local CounterpartFixed quote

Licensed architect as your Filipino counterpart, plus structural and electrical design, each discipline sealed. For overseas architects and designers.

Inquire about this →

Engineering Seal OnlyFixed quote

You already have a Filipino architect. We design the structure to NSCP 2015 and the electrical system, and seal both.

Inquire about this →

Mechanical, plumbing, fire protection and sanitary design are available through our MEPFS service.

Questions

Frequently asked

Not on their own. Section 20(5) of the Architecture Act (RA 9266) says architectural documents for a building shall bear the seal and signature only of an architect registered and licensed under that Act. A foreign architect needs a special or temporary permit from the Board of Architecture, subject to PRC approval, and Section 38(c) requires them to work with a Filipino counterpart.

No. Section 38 of RA 9266 says a foreign national or firm whose name appears as architect, design consultant, consultant or designer on plans used to secure a Philippine building permit is deemed to be practising architecture in the Philippines, whether the contract for services was made in the Philippines or in a foreign country.

Section 23 of the Civil Engineering Law (RA 544) requires building designs, plans and specifications to be signed and sealed by a registered civil engineer. Section 34 of the Electrical Engineering Law (RA 7920) requires electrical plans to be signed and sealed by a professional electrical engineer. AEDO supplies both.

No. The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the Architecture Act impliedly repealed the Civil Engineering Law insofar as it let civil engineers prepare, sign and seal architectural documents. On AEDO projects the architectural set is sealed by a licensed architect, never by the engineer.

Only where Philippine code forces it, and never quietly. Anything the National Building Code, accessibility law, fire code or NSCP 2015 requires us to change is flagged to you with the clause behind it before it goes into the permit set. The design intent stays yours.

Construction is offered only in Negros Oriental. Anywhere else in the Philippines AEDO provides the sealed design documents and remote oversight of the contractor your client hires.

Sources

The law, in the original

Republic Act No. 9266, Architecture Act of 2004, Sections 20, 38 and 39
Republic Act No. 544, Civil Engineering Law, Sections 14 and 23
Republic Act No. 7920, New Electrical Engineering Law, Sections 31 and 34
Republic Act No. 8981, PRC Modernization Act of 2000, Section 7(j)
Supreme Court of the Philippines, "Only Registered and Licensed Architects May Sign Architectural Documents"

Send us the design set

We'll tell you which Philippine codes apply and reply with a fixed quote for the local seals.