How to register a company in Singapore (2024 Guide)

Singapore is an extremely business friendly environment, which makes it a very attractive place to launch a new business. If you’re planning on running a Singapore business, you’ll need to know about the ACRA business registration process, costs and requirements. The good news is that registering a Singapore business is a fairly straightforward task, and can bring some great benefits.

Ready to start your entrepreneurial journey in Singapore? This guide walks through how to register a company in Singapore with ACRA.

We'll cover:

Table of contents
Why you should register your business in Singapore ACRA Bizfile+ registration steps Post-incorporation good-to-knows FAQs

Why should you register your business in Singapore?

Business registration in Singapore is managed by ACRA - the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority¹. You’ll need to get familiar with the registration rules and requirements, and then set up your new business entity on Bizfile+², ACRA’s self service portal to allow you to manage the administration side of things.

All in all, this makes the process of how to register a company in Singapore pretty simple - but what’s the benefit of registering at all?

Different business owners choose to register their company in Singapore for different reasons - but some common factors include:

• Business friendly environment with low tax and low bureaucracy
• Registered businesses are easy for the public to find and transact with
• Registered businesses are able to register a patent or IP
• You could get access to tax benefits and corporate tax rebates such as those offered by Enterprise Singapore

There are several important corporate tax rebates available for businesses in Singapore, including the CIT Rebate and the CIT Rebate Cash Grant. This can mean getting a rebate of 50% of corporate tax payable, and is open to all taxpaying companies, including those which are not tax residents.

What you need to register a business in Singapore

As we'll see in a moment, there are several different business entity types which do have slightly different requirements in terms of the process to register, the number of people involved, the cost and so on. Different entity types also have their own reporting rules which you’ll need to be aware of.

The basic requirements if you want to register a local company (rather than as a sole proprietor for example) include having the following:

• At least one director and one company secretary - at least one of the directors, authorised representatives, general partners, or managers must be a local resident in Singapore
• Initial share capital which can be paid up in full or part - companies issue a number of shares to shareholders, which can be paid up or unpaid. The minimum issued share capital is just 1 SGD
• Local registered address - you’ll need to give your place of business, and your residential address, although you can provide an alternate address for the public record if you do not want your home address to be searchable

In addition to these requirements, one of the most important aspects of setting up your business in Singapore is establishing a corporate bank account. This is crucial for managing your company’s finances efficiently. It separates personal and business expenses, simplifies tax preparation, and helps build a financial profile for your company. Moreover, as your business grows and you start to engage with international clients and vendors, an account that facilitates easy cross-border transactions will be invaluable.

Wise Business offers a seamless solution to manage your funds globally while keeping costs low.

Get a Wise Business account today!

Let's now take a look at the step by step requirements to set up your business, including how much it costs to register a company in Singapore and how long it takes to register a company in Singapore.

1. Choose business structure

Your first step will be to choose the business entity type that best suits your requirements. The most commonly used entity types in Singapore are³:

• Private Limited Company (Pte Ltd)
• Sole Proprietorship
• Limited Partnership (LP)
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Each of these entity types have their own pros and cons, including differences in liability and annual reporting requirements.

You can change the entity type you select if you need to do so in future - but it’s still worth investing some time to consider which structure will work best for your needs before you start the registration process.

2. Choose and reserve company name

You’ll now need to choose and reserve your company name. There are some important rules to respect here, including⁴:

• Your business name must not be too similar to an existing business name
• Your business name must not have banned or restricted words in it

Once you have a few ideas on choosing the name you can use the ACRA Free Company Name Check Tool to make sure nobody else has used or reserved the name already.

You can reserve your business name on Bizfile+ which will then mean that nobody else can use this name⁵. You have 120 days to register your business using this name before the reservation lapses. Once you’ve got everything sorted you can register the business on Bizfile+⁶ - we’ll look at how that works in just a moment.

3. Get the required documents ready

Registering your business with ACRA is a simple process, but it’ll all go much more smoothly if you have all the required paperwork and information to hand. While the requirements can vary depending on the entity type you pick, you’ll normally need:

• Your approved company name application with transaction number
• A brief description of your business activities and your SSIC Code⁷
• Valid government IDs and registered addresses for individual shareholders, partners and directors
• Your company Constitution
• Consent to Act as Company Director, signed by all directors

✍️ In some cases, one or more of the partners or shareholders may actually be a registered company rather than an individual. In this case you’ll also need the company’s registration documents and shareholder information. This is also a good time to nominate your company secretary, which is a mandatory requirement once your company is organised.

4. ACRA Bizfile+ registration steps

You’re ready to register your business. Here’s what to do:

1. Go to Bizfile.gov.sg and select eServices
2. Tap Business (Sole proprietor/Partnership), then Start a new Business
3. You’ll see the option Application to Register Person(s) and Business Name - click this
4. Review the checklist and enter the transaction number you got when your name was approved
5. Follow the prompts to enter your entity information, business activity, and place of business
6. Enter the names and roles of key business staff, including directors, shareholders and officers - you’ll be prompted to confirm the nationality and other information about listed individuals, depending on their roles, and may need to upload ID documents
7. Read through the declaration and confirm
8. Select the number of years you want to register for
9. Click on Make payment, and pay for the business registration
10. You’ll see an acknowledgement page confirming the next steps

The ACRA process is designed to be self service - that is, to be easy enough that you can work through it on your own following the on-screen prompts. There are helpful tools like autosave features and a checker which confirms how far through the page you are, so you can easily see your progress.

5. Post-incorporation good-to-knows

Once you’ve registered your business you'll get a Certificate of Incorporation by email from ACRA, and ACRA will also send your Business Profile (or "Bizfile").

Depending on what your business does, you might need to apply for certain licences. Make sure you’re clear on any permits needed based on the niche you’re working in - you can’t trade without having all your paperwork lined up. Another important thing to consider is GST⁸. If you expect your annual turnover to exceed S$1 million, you must register for Goods & Services Tax (GST). If you're expecting less than that, you can skip this step or you can register voluntarily. GST registration can be done with IRAS through BizFile+.

💡Now you have a business in Singapore, you need a business bank account. Not sure which business account will best suit your needs? Check out our handy review of the 6 best business bank accounts in Singapore.

FAQs

Can I register a company without relocating to Singapore?

You can register a company as a foreigner, with or without being resident in Singapore. If you’re not planning on moving to Singapore yourself, you’ll need to make sure that at least one of the directors, authorised representatives, general partners, or managers is a local resident, to fulfill the ACRA residency rules⁹.

Learn more about how to start a business in Singapore as a foreigner.

Can I set up a business without registering?

Yes - you can conduct business without registering with ACRA as long as you’re using your full name as reflected in your NRIC, with no other words or descriptions used¹⁰. So, working under your name only is usually OK, but if you add a word - for example ‘Flowers by Jenny Lim’ - you would need to register.

How long does the company registration process typically take in Singapore?

You’ll register your business on Bizfile+, which is likely to take you 10 or 20 minutes assuming you’ve chosen your name and simply need to enter the details onto the Bizfile system.

Once the registration documents are completed, ACRA will usually approve them in about 3 working days - although it can take a few weeks if there are any issues to be reviewed or any other agencies need to be involved in the process.

Can I register a company in Singapore with a virtual office address?

You’ll need to provide ACRA with your business address and a residential address when you register your business. If you don’t want your residential address to be made publicly available you can also use an alternative address such as a corporate service provider’s office¹¹.

Many companies in Singapore offer virtual office services which fulfil ACRA’s requirements - compare your options and make sure you’re meeting all the rules based on your entity type.

What is the minimum capital requirement for registering a company in Singapore?

A minimum capital requirement of 1 SGD is needed to start a private limited company¹².

This is known as share capital. Share capital is the amount of money shareholders have committed to the business - this can either be paid upfront, or or issued without full payment being made immediately.

How much does it cost to register a company in Singapore?

The cost of registering a company can vary according to company type and the registration period.

To give you an idea, registering a company costs 315 SGD, while a sole proprietorship will set you back 115 SGD for a 1 year registration, or 175 SGD for 3 years.

Register locally, thrive globally with Wise Business

Singapore has one of the most business-friendly ecosystems in the world which makes it attractive to any business looking to set up shop here. The registration process in Singapore via ACRA Bizfile is relatively straightforward, but does require you to plan ahead a bit —you don't want to get caught out by unforeseen delays or missing documents that could postpone the launch of your business.

While you’re investing the time in planning your new enterprise, take a moment to think about managing your business finances too.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, the chances are that you're eyeing expansion beyond the borders of Singapore - perhaps with customers, suppliers or staff based overseas. In that case, using a business bank account can come with some unexpected - and costly - fees, which eat into your profits.

Don’t spend more than you have to on currency conversion and overseas payments - check out Wise Business instead, as a simple, low cost way to manage your money across currencies, including ways to pay and get paid in foreign currencies with the mid-market exchange rate.

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Sources:

1. ACRA
2. Bizfile+
3. Business entity table - ACRA
4. ACRA - choose company name
5. Bizfile - reserve business name
6. Bizfile - register business name
7. SSIC search
8. IRAS - GST registration
9. ACRA - residency rules
10. ACRA - who needs to register
11. ACRA - address requirements
12. ACRA - share capital