ABOUT PHILLY FAVORITES
Philly Faves invites, engages, and allows you, our audience, to recognize the best businesses, organizations, and people in our area. Our focus is on businesses and professionals who support, serve, and do business in the following counties:
Bucks
Chester
Delaware
Montgomery
Philadelphia
Burlington
Camden
Gloucester
Nominations and voting will take place online at VotePhillyFaves.com
Monday, January 5, 2026 | Nominations Open, 12PM |
Friday, January 16, 2026 | Nominations Close, 5PM |
Monday, February 9, 2026 | Voting Opens, 12PM |
Friday, February 27, 2026 | Voting Closes, 5PM |
Sunday, May 17, 2026 | Winner's Magazine and Results Release |
To ensure accuracy, we ask for basic registration during the nomination process. You can also provide your name and email to receive program updates. You can submit nominees in any category and return anytime before the deadline to submit more nominees!
For fair voting, registration may be required, including your name and email.
The Philadelphia Inquirer does not review or consider factors such as business licenses, trade affiliations, Better Business Bureau ratings, or online ratings when determining nominees or winners. Philly Favorites nominations and winners are solely chosen by the public through online nominations and voting.
No. All nominations and voting are done online at VotePhillyFaves.com.
The nomination period runs from Noon on Monday, January 5, to 5 PM on Friday, January 16. You're invited to nominate people, businesses, and establishments in over 270 categories. Nominate without limits and vote once every 24 hours during the voting phase.
Nominations are sorted into 12 main areas (Eat & Drink, Education, Health & Beauty, etc.), and nominees must serve one of the following counties:
Bucks
Chester
Delaware
Montgomery
Philadelphia
Burlington
Camden
Gloucester
Simply enter a name and city to nominate, with optional details for verification. You can return to add nominations before 5 PM January 16. Businesses with multiple locations are counted as one unless otherwise specified.
Users don’t need to fill all categories but must hit "submit" to finalize nominations. A single business can be nominated in multiple categories.
For a category to qualify for the ballot, there must be a minimum of 5 separate businesses that are competing for votes. If someone is nominated in a category that they do not qualify for, we make reasonable accommodations to move the nominee to a similar category. Nominees are moved to the voting ballot.
The Philadelphia Inquirer does not review or consider factors such as business licenses, trade affiliations, Better Business Bureau ratings, or online ratings when determining nominees or winners. Nominations and winners are solely chosen by the public through online nominations and voting.
Nominated businesses, organizations, or individuals are placed on the ballot after verification. If your business is voted as a Gold winner, you will be asked to complete a basic online questionnaire with details like business description, name, location, and contact info. There’s no cost to participate.
Be sure to download your free promotional assets to use on your website, social media, or business to promote your nomination during the voting period.
The regular voting period begins at 12 pm, Monday, February 9 and ends at 5 pm, Friday, February 27 at VotePhillyFaves.com.
Nominations and votes are handled by a third party, and results are unknown until tabulation is complete. Audience members can vote for their favorite nominee once per day in each category. Businesses and individuals are encouraged to promote their nominations. Competitive advertising is allowed, but The Philadelphia Inquirer reserves the right to disqualify any entity engaging in unfair practices.
Automated voting methods, including bots or scripts, are prohibited. Suspected violations may lead to vote disqualification or removal from the competition.
Contestants risk disqualification if they use promotions involving quid pro quo strategies, such as, but not limited to "vote for us, and we’ll enter you into a drawing" or "vote for us, and we’ll give you a discount." These approaches create an unfair advantage by incentivizing votes, which goes against the contest guidelines and can result in disqualification to ensure a level playing field for all participants.
All nominations have to be verified before being placed on the final ballot. During the nomination process, we welcome all submissions.
Our ballot is a closed ballot. However, we will consider late entries into an established category by request. All late entries must be emailed to support@phillyfavorites.com for consideration.
The names of the winners will be announced on Sunday, May 17, 2026, online at PhillyFavorites.com and honored in our Philly Favorites special winners magazine. In the event of a tie in any category, more than one winner or runner-up may be awarded.
Philly Favorites and the unique logos are the property of the Philadelphia Inquirer and may only be used with express, written permission. Logos are licensed to winners at a marketing spend or direct payment of $1,995 or more. Philly Favorites merchandise does not count toward the logo license spend. Contact us at support@phillyfavorites.com to request your logo.
If you have already signed your logo agreement and have received your winner's logo, please review the Usage Guidelines here.

Questions about Philly Favorites can be directed to our support desk support@phillyfavorites.com. These are the complete Official Rules. Philly Favorites is produced by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Digital experience is powered by BestOfPrograms.com, part of NERUS Strategies LLC.