June 10, 2026
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued an administrative order directing the transfer and consolidation of the processing of Alien Employment Permit (AEP) applications to the DOLE Central Office, effective June 9, 2026.
Following the release of Department Order No. 248-B Series of 2026 "Centralizing the Filing, Processing, Evaluation, Approval, Issuance, Release, Adjudication, And Enforcement Functions Relating to Alien Employment Permits and Amending Relevant Provisions of Department Order Nos. 248 and 248-A, Series of 2025," all functions relating to the receipt, filing, processing, evaluation, review, approval, issuance, release, adjudication, enforcement, cancellation, revocation, renewal, and administration of Alien Employment Permits (AEPs)—including applications for Certificates of Exemption and Certificates of Exclusion and submission of Understudy Training Program (UTP) and Skills Development Program (SDP)—are hereby centralized under the DOLE Central Office through the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE).
Thus, the DOLE Regional Office will no longer process and/or issue an Establishment Registration Number (ERN) for AEP applications.
Key takeaways:
AEP application processing is now fully centralized. All DOLE Regional Offices have been directed to transfer any new and pending AEP applications to the Central Office. Regional Offices will no longer accept, process, evaluate or issue AEP applications, effective immediately.
Transition protocols should prevent processing backlogs. Pending applications are expedited for digital routing to the Central Office, which will immediately assume evaluation and processing to prevent any delays.
The order supports DOLE’s broader initiatives to optimize systems and streamline service delivery. Centralizing AEP processing is intended to strengthen administrative oversight, enhance regulatory compliance and ensure greater consistency in policies on employing foreign nationals.