Short answer. Yes. Article 29 makes prior approval of the Department of Labor a condition for any transfer of business address, for appointing any agent or representative, and for establishing additional offices anywhere. A licence covers the person it was issued to, at the place stated in it — nothing further.
What the law says
Any transfer of business address, appointment or designation of any agent or representative including the establishment of additional offices anywhere shall be subject to the prior approval of the Department of Labor.
Labor Code, Article 29 — Licence Cannot Be Transferred. Read the full provision →
A licence is tied to one name and one address
The provision says a licence may not be used directly or indirectly by any person other than the one in whose favor it was issued, nor at any place other than that stated in the license or authority. So the certificate on an office wall answers two separate questions: whose licence is it, and which address is it good for. If the outfit recruiting you carries a different corporate name, or sits at an address the licence does not name, the document you were shown is not covering the transaction in front of you.
Branches, agents and the man who says he is connected
The second sentence closes the obvious workaround. Approval is needed not only to move the head office but for the appointment or designation of any agent or representative and for the establishment of additional offices anywhere. That reaches the satellite desk in a provincial town, the freelance recruiter paid per head, and the fixer who says he works with a licensed agency in Manila. None of them carry the licence with them. A licensed agency cannot lend its authority outward, and an undesignated person is recruiting on his own account whatever he tells you.
Why the paperwork is your problem too
This is not a private matter between the agency and the government. The approval requirement is what keeps the recruiter you actually dealt with inside the regulated system, traceable to a licence, an address and a bond. Where recruitment happens at an office that was never approved, or through an agent who was never designated, the licensed entity commonly disclaims the whole thing afterwards, and the person who took the money is the one hardest to find. That risk falls on the applicant, which is precisely what the article is written against.
What to check before money changes hands
Ask to see the licence itself, not a photocopy, and read two things on it: the name it was issued to, and the address it names. Compare both against where you are standing and who is asking you to pay. If either does not match, ask what approval covers this office and ask for it in writing. Keep receipts, screenshots and messages under the recruiter's own name — where the recruitment physically took place, and who conducted it, are usually the facts a later claim turns on.