How to register a company in Singapore like an expert (2025)

You should check your Singapore company name first to avoid duplication, checking time, and prohibited words.  Some names may be referred to relevant Authorities for approval. For example, if your company name have the word “School”, it will be checked by the Ministry of Education

You should have at least 3 names at your disposal. Once your company name is approved, you have 120 days to complete your incorporation from the date of name approval.

You can check it yourslef via this tool: Singapore business name checker  

When you submit a name application, you must specify your business activities by selecting the most relevant Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) code. 

Your description will make the choice of SSIC code more exact and relevant. For example, if your company does online e-commerce but mainly does trading, you should choose the SSIC code:  46900 for the whole trade of a variety of goods without a dominant product.

To check your company SSIC code, you can do it yourself via the complete list of Singapore Standard Industrial Classification  and the Bizfile ACRA SSIC search.

Or you can seek our support if you need: we offer a complete SSIC search service for free if you use our company incorporation package.

Information about shareholders is important. They can be a person or a company.  The maximum number of shareholders for a Singapore private limited company is 50 and Singapore allows 100% foreign shareholding.

The directors need to be natural persons over 18 years old. Directors can not be a corporation. They must not have a history of crimes, offenses or disqualification. 

A company secretary must be a natural person who resides in Singapore. This person is responsible for helping your company comply with all of its regulatory obligations and filings (e.g Annual report filing to ACRA)

Within 6 months after the incorporation date, you must appoint a Singaporean resident to be the company secretary en/article/incorporation-service/incorporation-in-singapore/singapore-company-secretary.

You can use a company secretary service for ease of operation.

All incorporated companies must have a registered address in Singapore, which acts as a point of contact with the government agencies and all your important corporate documents. 

All statutory documents will be kept at this location. That is why, your company address must be a real address (Approved by the Urban Management Agency in Singapore) and must not be a P.O. box address.

A registered address service is not required if you have a physical address in Singapore. However, to protect your privacy, you can choose to use this service.

If you are a foreigner wanting to set up a company, you need to have a nominee director. Singapore requires at least one director who resides in Singapore. This person can be a Singapore citizen/ Singapore permanent resident or an Employment Pass/Entre Pass holder

Once you reside and live in Singapore, you can act as the sole director of your company.

A nominee director service  can be used to fulfill the residency requirement. This person will have no management power over your company.

In Singapore, you can set up your company with only 1 SGD. You can increase the share capital in the future

A constitution is a legal document outlining the rules and regulations for governing the company. It details the rights and responsibilities of the directors, shareholders, and company secretary.

You must submit a copy of your company's constitution when incorporating a company in Singapore

The business structure you choose will affect how you handle your operations, tax obligations, and business hurdles in the future.

There are many company types you can choose to set you for foreigners and residents. 

For a foreign company establishing a presence in Singapore, you have 3 options

If you choose to set up a subsidiary, you can form a local company in Singapore the same as Singapore residents.

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Limited Partnership
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Private Limited Company

Among these option, a private limited company should always be your go-to choice.

You need to get approval for your company name. Approved company names will be reserved for 120 days from the day of approval. You can also file for an extension for name reservation if the initial hold expires

After your company name reservation and your choice of business structures, you will need to prepare the required documents in English for the entity you have chosen:

As a foreigner, you need to assign a registered agent, like Global Link Asia Consulting, to help you sign in to BizFile+ to register your company. 

If you are a Singapore citizen/permanent resident, you can do it yourself or ask for support from a service provider.

The registration process with ACRA can be done in 15 minutes or as long as 3-4 days or weeks. ACRA will send an email of confirmation alongside a certificate of incorproation and a UEN number if the registration process is successful.

After opening your company in Singapore, opening a business bank account is much simpler.

You need to select a bank that meets your business needs and collect the required documents, like the Certificate of Incorporation and IDs of partners, directors, and shareholders. 

Once you prepare everything and have the application form signed, you can initiate the opening process.

Most banks require an in-person meeting to finish the process, but fintech companies offer products such as digital bank accounts, and digital wallets, which do not require in-person visits and a much simpler KYC process.