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Choosing Your Preferred UEN Identification

All businesses and local companies legally operating in Singapore have one thing in common (because it is a requirement) – they all have a Unique Identity Number (UEN Number). A UEN Identification Number in Singapore is a mandatory requirement because businesses will need to rely on it when transacting and dealing with government agencies.

Once a company has been incorporated and registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore, a UEN number will be generated and this is the number which will be used to identify the registered business entity moving forward. This number is generated free of charge for all businesses.

Since the 9^th of February 2018, business entity owners have been able to choose their preferred UEN number. For a small fee, business owners can select from a reserved list of UENs during the incorporation and registration process or during conversion. The preferred UEN number is known as a Special UEN or SUN for short. SUNs are optional and if you feel there isn’t a need for your business to choose its own preferred number, you can go ahead and stick with the free system-generated UENs.

What is the Purpose of a SUN?

SUNSs are used by business owners to easily identify with their number and more importantly, remember the number whenever they are required to perform any transactions with government agencies. Remember a number you choose is easier than remember a series of randomly generated digits which possibly hold no significant meaning for you.

 

How Would I Apply for a SUN If I Wanted One?

A SUN can be applied by business owners during the incorporation and registration process or during the conversion to another type of business entity.

The option to select your own SUN will be available during the payment stage for transaction in BizFile.

There are two tiers of SUNs which business entity owners can choose from:

• Tier 1: For a fee of $3,000 per SUN, your SUN would be a number with either the same consecutive numbers or any combination of numbers which involves the number 8.
• Tier 2: For a fee of $1,000 per SUN, your SUN number would consist of a repetitive pattern which excludes the number 8. The number would end with the same three identical numbers, for example, 222, 555 or 777.

 

Examples of SUN under each tier:

Category	Criteria	Company	Business	Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)	Limited Partnership (LP)	Public Accounting Firm (PAF)
Tier 1	Consecutive same number	201888888A	53499999V	T18LL7777F	T18LP2222J	T18PF1111P
	Any number combination involving ‘8’	201800800K	53480008L	T18LL8000O	T18LP0008H	T18PF8800X
Tier 2	Repetitive Pattern  (excluding ‘8’)	201812121R	53410101G	T18LL7070F	T18LP3535J	T18PF1010R
	Ending with triple identical number	201801777W	53415666P	T18LL1222N	T18LP5222S	T18PF1666M

 

Note: The underlined parts are prefix and suffix of UEN which are system-generated and cannot be changed.

UEN is a standard identification number for entities to interact with government agencies. The Accounting and corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Registration Number, received at the time of company/ business registration is retained as the UEN for local Companies and Businesses. Your UEN is your one number for convenient interaction with government agencies. Whether it is filing your corporate tax returns or applying for import and export permit, you will no longer need to use different numbers to interact with different government agencies. Your UEN will be all that you need. Other type of entities can obtain their UEN from the relevant Issuance Agency. The Customs Account is valid for as long as the entity remains registered with the Issuance Agency. There is no need to renew registration. When company closes or ceases its operation the registration must be duly cancelled.

 

How does UEN affect you?

– UEN shall be your entity’s single identification number for interaction with government agencies.

– UEN replaces all other identification numbers issued to them by different government agencies.

– For example, you can use it for filing your corporate tax returns, applying for import and export permits or submitting the employee’s CPF contribution.

– Businesses and local companies currently registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) will retain their ACRA Registration Number as their UEN. The reason for this is to minimise impact of UEN as these two entity-types constitute 85% of all registered entities in Singapore.

UEN is an iGov2010 initiative to delight customers and connect citizens through infocomm. It is a multi-agency initiative, co-led by the Ministry of Finance and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, and managed by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, in partnership with other government agencies. The proposal of having a UEN was mooted in 2005. A public consultation exercise was carried out from December 2005 to January 2006. Currently, government agencies do not have a common identification number for entities. Entities have to use different identification numbers to interact with different government agencies. This is inconvenient for the entities, and inefficient for the government. The UEN, being a single identification number for interactions with the government will bring convenience, simplify and reduce possible errors caused by the use of multiple numbers, thus speeding up transactions with government agencies.