Approvals, Business Licenses and Permits for Singapore Companies
Depending on the type of business you would like set up in Singapore, it is sometimes necessary to obtain a license and/or permit when you register your business with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). ACRA’s automated system will indicate if another approving authority is required to grant a business license or permit during the application for name approval.
Although most comapnies do not require business licenses or permits to operate, there are a handful that do as they are regulated by the approving authorities. Some of these are private schools, travel agencies, liquor distributors, moneylenders, banks, childcare centres, importers/exporters, wholesalers and retailers of liquors.
Rikvin can assist and advise on this matter for an additional fee should the need arise. Please email us at info@rikvin.com or call us at +65 63201888, should you need any further assistance.
For a quick guide to find out the approving authority for a specific business, please refer to our Referral Authority Chart below.
| REFERRAL AUTHORITY | WHEN REFERRAL REQUIRED |
|---|---|
| Board of Architects (BCA) | For companies with names or activities concerning “Architectural” or “Architect”. |
| Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) | Proposed companies and businesses which state “Real Estate Agent” or “Real Estate Agency” as one of the proposed activities, and applications for change of name by companies and businesses already carrying on real estate agency activities. |
| International Enterprise Singapore(IE Singapore) | Names and activities to do with Physical Rubber, Rubber futures, Commodity futures e.g. “Rubber trading”, “Rubber futures”, “Commodity brokers”, “Commodity Futures Exchange”, “Commodity / Commodities Exchange”, “Futures brokers”, “Futures Exchange”, “Commodity Futures”, “Clearing Exchange/House/House Exchange”. |
| Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) | Companies with activities to do with the following SSIC codes:
Non-Residentially Based Social Activities
|
| Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)(Defence Technology and Resource Office) | For use of proposed names which include words such as “Military” or “Defence”. |
| Ministry of Education (MOE)(Private Schools Section) | Establishments that will function as a “school” / “learning centre” / “education centre” / “training centre”, excluding those offering instruction of a “non-academic” nature, e.g. beauty care, dressmaking, cooking, sports, games, driving, recreation-related, etc.Names containing references to “Academy”, “College”, “Institute”,”Institution”, “University”; and “National”, “Singapore”, will normally be disallowed. |
| Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) | Applications to be referred to MAS if the proposed BUSINESS/ COMPANY NAMES contain the following words:
Applications to be referred to MAS if the business/ company is involved or engage in the following ACTIVITIES:
|
| Majlis Ugama Islam of Singapore (MUIS) | Names and activities to do with “Islam”, “Muslim” or its derivatives. Names containing the following words will be rejected:”Halal”, “Islam”, “Islamic”, “Muslim”, “Muslimah”, “Muslimin”, “Allah”, “Illahi”, “Illahiyah”. |
| Singapore Police Force(Licensing Division) | Activities relating to arms, explosives, ammunition. |
| Singapore Tourism Board (STB) | Names to do with “Merlion”, “eMerlion” and activities to do with “Tourist”, “Travel”. Businesses and companies wishing to carry out tourism related activities could register for their license with the Singapore Travel Exchange of the STB. |
| The Law Society of Singapore | Names and activities to do with “Law”, “Legal” or “Lawyer” will be referred to the Law Society. Where the activity involves the setting up of a Law Corporation under the Legal Profession Act, the applicant should obtain prior approval from the Law Society. Such company is required to have either the initials “LLC” or the words “Law Corporation” at the end of the applied name, instead of “Pte Ltd”. Where the activity involves the setting up of a Joint Law Venture under the Legal Profession Act, approval from the Attorney-General’s Chambers is required. |
APPLICANTS TO OBTAIN APPROVAL FROM REGULATORY AUTHORITIES PRIOR TO REGISTRATION WITH ACRA
| REGULATORY AUTHORITY | WHEN PRIOR APPROVAL REQUIRED |
|---|---|
| Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) | Companies with names and activities concerning “Accountancy”, “Accounting”, “Audit”, “Tax”, “GST”, or derivatives thereof are to obtain approval from ICPAS. |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs(ASEAN National Secretariat) | Names containing “ASEAN” require written approval from the ASEAN National Secretariat.The following conditions must be satisfied:
|
| Registry of Co-operative Societies | Names and activities concerning “Co-op” or “Co-operative”. Applicant to obtain approval of Registrar of Co-operative Society. |
| Ministry of Health (MOH) | The terms “Clinic”, “Medical”, “Medical Hall”, etc and not to be used by Chinese Physicians. But applicants may use “Chinese Medical Hall” or “Traditional Medical Hall”. The name must make it clear that the applicant is dealing in traditional, not modern medicine. “National”, “Singapore” is not to be used unless justified e.g. government-run or large organisations. |
Need help obtaining approvals, business licenses and permits for your Singapore company?
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