Requirements of Company Registration in Singapore – Guides You Should Know

Business Potential

Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the top countries in the world on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. It is a tax haven which has the 7^th highest GDP per capita in the world. Business opportunities are thus plentiful due to its well-maintained economy. This article provides information about Requirements of Company Registration in Singapore.

Requirements of Singapore Company Registration

Singapore company registration for private limited companies only takes less than 2 days and involves 2 procedures. However, foreigners and new entrepreneurs looking to register and incorporate a company are advised to engage with corporate service consultants in order to ensure full compliance with Singapore’s legal requirements.

The requirements for company registration in Singapore are as follows:

Shareholders: A company must have at least one shareholder and a maximum of 50 shareholders who may be local or foreign. Shareholders may be individuals or corporate entities.
Share Capital: To set up a company, the minimum paid-up capital is S$1. Through adding additional capital, a corporation may increase its share capital at any time.
Directors: Singaporean citizens and foreign residents may be directors of a business in Singapore, however, there must be at least one director residing in the country.
Company Secretary: Within 6 months of incorporation, a company must have a qualified company secretary who is a Singapore resident.
Registered Address: Each company must have a local registered address where all its statutory documents are kept, this address cannot be a PO box.
Company Name: Before proceeding with the Singapore company registration, a company name has to be proposed and approved upon availability.

Singapore Company Registration Procedures

Singapore company registration for private limited companies only take up to 2 days and involves 2 procedures.

Verify the availability of the company name and get approval
Applicants can do this on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) online portal. There will be a S$15 name approval fee and the name will typically be approved under an hour. The company name should not:
- Resemble or is identical to another existing business in Singapore.
- Infringe on any trademarks.
- Contain offensive and/or vulgar language.
- Already be reserved by another company.
A company can reserve the name for up to 120 days once it has been approved, If the name is not used within that time, it will be released so another company may reserve it.
Register the company by submitting required documents
All documents must be in English or have an official English translation. A company must get the following documents ready for submitting to the ACRA:
- Company Constitution: Also known as Articles of Association, ACRA provides a template for the standard Singapore company constitution which is appropriate and fair for most companies and all parties involved.
- Signed Consent from Directors to Act as a Director: This is required from each director in the company.
- Signed Consent from Company Secretary to Act as Company Secretary: This is required from the appointed company secretary.
- Identification and residential address: These details are required for each and every shareholder and officer of the company.
Any corporate service provider engaged with will also need to conduct a Know Your Customer (KYC) due-diligence to comply with the international AML regulations. They will typically require:
- Verification of identification and proof-of-address.
- Professional background details of stakeholders and officers in the company.
(Please note that additional required documents may be required.)

Company registration in Singapore is completed when the documents are submitted online on the ACRA portal and will take under an hour to complete. However, the registration process may take longer if it requires further vetting from other government agencies. There will be a company registration fee of S$300.

Documents Issued After Singapore Company Registration

Once the company registration procedure is done, the following documents will be issued by ACRA :

E-Certificate of Incorporation
This is in the form of an electronic document issued by an official email and contains a Unique Entity Number (UEN) and the official date of incorporation. The certificate can be used to open a bank account and in conducting transactions with other parties.
Company Business Profile
Known as the BizProfile or Company Extract, it is issued as a PDF document and contains key details about the company such as the UEN, principal activities, share capital, directors details, shareholders details, and compliance status.

Post-Registration Procedures

Once Singapore company registration is complete, you may then proceed to complete the following:

Open a corporate bank account for your company
Singapore has a wide variety of bank options that can fit your company’s specific needs.
Register for insurance
Under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) of Singapore, every employer is required to insure and maintain insurance under one or more approved policies with an insurer against liabilities which the company may incur under the provisions of the Act. This requirement is waived if a Minister, by notification in the Gazette, waives the requirement of such insurance.

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