Short answer. The Secretary of Labor sets the registration fees. Article 30 of the Labor Code provides that the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of fees for the registration of all applicants for a licence or authority. The specific amounts are determined by the Secretary through that schedule, not fixed directly by the Code.
What the law says
The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of fees for the registration of all applicants for license or authority.
Labor Code, Article 30 — Fees For Registration. Read the full provision →
Who has the authority to set the fees
Article 30 of the Labor Code provides a clear, one-sentence rule: The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of fees for the registration of all applicants for license or authority. The authority to set these fees is expressly delegated to the Secretary of Labor. The Labor Code itself does not list the specific amounts — it creates the obligation to establish a schedule and places that responsibility with the Secretary. The word shall makes this a mandatory duty, not a discretionary one. The Secretary is required to produce a schedule, and all applicants are required to pay in accordance with it.
What the schedule covers
The schedule applies to all applicants for license or authority. In the context of the Labor Code, a license and an authority are the two forms of regulatory approval that allow an entity to engage in recruitment and placement activity. A license is typically issued to private entities engaging in recruitment for overseas employment; an authority is typically issued to entities whose primary business is not recruitment but who wish to undertake limited placement for their own needs. Both require registration, and Article 30 provides that the fee schedule covers both categories of applicants without distinction.
Renumbering note
The articles of the Labor Code have been administratively renumbered over the years, so the same provision may be cited under more than one number in different sources. Supreme Court decisions often write both numbers, placing the new number first followed by the original in brackets. Article 30 of the Labor Code is published under its original numbering. When checking any official guidance or administrative issuances on recruitment fees, be aware that your source may use a different article number to refer to the same provision.
Practical significance
The delegation of fee-setting authority to the Secretary of Labor allows the schedule to be updated as needed without requiring an amendment to the Labor Code itself. The Secretary can issue or revise the fee schedule through administrative issuances — rules, orders, or regulations promulgated under the Secretary's regulatory authority. This means the actual fees in effect at any given time will be found in the Secretary's current schedule, not in the Code. Applicants for a recruitment licence or authority need to consult the current administrative schedule to determine the fees they must pay, as those amounts may have been adjusted over time since the Labor Code was originally enacted.