How to register a company in Singapore: fees, steps and what you need

Your weekend baking orders went from five a week to fifty, and now a café wants an invoice with a company name on it. To register a company in Singapore, you pay ACRA S$315. That's S$15 to reserve the name and S$300 to register it on Bizfile. You also need a director who lives here and a company secretary within six months. Here's what each step asks for, what a sole proprietorship costs instead, and what you owe every year after.

Company or sole proprietorship: which one do you need?

It comes down to who carries the debt if the business goes wrong.

A private limited company, the "Pte Ltd" on an invoice, counts as its own legal person. The company owns its debts. A sole proprietorship has one owner and no legal split between you and the business. So you're fully liable for all its debts and losses.

A partnership works like a sole proprietorship with two or more owners. It isn't a separate legal entity, and every partner is personally liable. A limited liability partnership, or LLP, is a separate legal entity, and its partners have limited liability.

If you're still at the selling-from-home stage, our guide to starting a home-based business covers the home-based schemes and what to check first.

The four common business structures in Singapore
Structure	Owners	Separate legal entity?	Who carries the debts
Sole proprietorship	One	No	You, fully
Partnership	Two or more partners	No	Every partner, personally
LLP	Two or more partners	Yes	Partners have limited liability
Private limited company	Shareholders	Yes	The company

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

S$315 in ACRA fees. That's S$15 to apply for the business name and S$300 to register the company.

The name comes first. You have to reserve a business name before you can register a company, so the S$15 is step one for everyone.

A sole proprietorship or partnership costs less to start: S$15 for the name and S$100 to register, so S$115 in all. The running fees differ too, as the table shows.

These are government fees only. A company secretary, an accountant and any licence your trade needs are separate, and each provider sets its own price. Our ACRA registration fee calculator adds up the fees for the structure you pick.

ACRA fees to start and keep a business registered
Fee	Private limited company	Sole proprietorship or partnership
Reserve the business name	S$15	S$15
Register the business	S$300	S$100
Total to start	S$315	S$115
Every year after	S$60 to file annual returns	S$30 to renew the registration

Quick maths: what do the ACRA fees add up to?

Say you register a company this month, then file its first annual return when it falls due. Here's the sum, step by step.

You reserve the name: S$15.
You register the company on Bizfile: S$300.
You file the first annual return when it's due: S$60.
In ACRA fees, that's S$375. A sole proprietorship would be S$15, then S$100 for a year, then S$30 when you renew: S$145. The gap is S$230.

ACRA fees for a new private limited company, through its first annual return
Reserve the business name	S$15
Register the company	S$300
Fees to start	S$315
File the first annual return	S$60
ACRA fees in all	S$375

Is that S$230 gap the real difference?

No. The bigger costs sit outside ACRA, like the company secretary every company must have and the accounts you'll need to prepare.

Those are priced by each provider, so get two or three quotes before you decide. Put them into our business startup cost calculator to see your full first-year number.

What do you need before you apply?

Get these ready first: a reserved name, a director, a registered office address, your share capital and a Singpass login. Bizfile asks for all of them in one sitting.

What should you have open before you start?

Bizfile walks you through it in one form, so have these ready in another tab:

The transaction number from your approved name.
Singpass for each person filing as a director or secretary.
The company's financial year end, email address and office hours.
The registered office address.
Each officer's details, and who holds how many shares.
Your constitution, or the choice to use ACRA's ready-made one.
Details of your registrable controllers, unless the company is exempt.

Who can be a director?

Every company needs at least one director who normally lives in Singapore and is 18 or older.

That director must also be a citizen, a PR or someone who meets ACRA's residency rules. Live overseas? Check those rules on ACRA's site before you pay for anything. The application can't go through without a director who qualifies.

On a work pass? ACRA asks pass holders to check with MOM or ICA before they take on a director role.

When do you need a company secretary?

Every company must also have a company secretary. That's the person who keeps the company's records and filings in order.

You have six months from registration to appoint one. The post can't stay empty for longer than six months, or the director may face a fine of up to S$1,000.

If you're the only director, you can't also be the company secretary, so a one-person company needs a second person or a provider for that role.

What counts as a registered office address?

It's the address where ACRA sends notices to your company. It's also where you keep the company's records.

It must be open to the public for at least three hours on each business day. Getting that wrong can mean a fine of up to S$5,000, so a home address only works if you can keep to that rule.

What is share capital?

Share capital is the money the shareholders put into the company. Bizfile asks how much it is and who holds the shares. Agree on this with any co-founder first.

There's no big minimum. A company needs at least one issued share, and you set its value.

You'll also pick a financial year end and a constitution, the company's rulebook. You can upload your own, or use ACRA's ready-made one if you don't need special rules.

Do you need a Singpass?

Yes, if you're filing as an individual. Proposed directors and secretaries log in with Singpass. Corporate service providers, the firms that file for clients, use Corppass instead.

What name can you use?

Almost any name, as long as it passes ACRA's rules. Bizfile turns away a name that's identical to one already registered or reserved.

It also refuses names that are vulgar, obscene or offensive. Names that look like a government body, or that are protected by law, like Temasek, are out too.

Some words send your name to another agency first. A name with "school" in it may go to the Ministry of Education, for example. That can add 14 to 60 days before you can register, so plan for it if your name needs one of those words.

Once your name is approved, save the transaction number. You have 120 days to register the business with it, and after that the name is released for anyone to use.

How do you register a company on Bizfile, step by step?

You reserve the name, fill in the company's details, get every officer to endorse it, then pay. The whole thing happens on Bizfile, ACRA's online portal.

Reserve the name for S$15. Choose the entity type carefully, because you must register the same type you reserved the name for.
Fill in the company details: financial year end, email, office hours, registered office address, officers, share capital and constitution.
Add your registrable controllers, the people who really control the company, unless your company is exempt.
Submit. Every other position holder, such as a second director, must endorse the registration within 60 days. That step is skipped when a corporate service provider files for you.
Pay the S$300 once all the endorsements are in. A payment notice arrives in your Bizfile inbox.
Appoint your company secretary within six months of registration, if you haven't already.

Should someone file it for you?

You can file on Bizfile yourself, or pay a corporate service provider to do it. Both end with the same registered company.

If you file yourself, the person who reserved the name has to be the one who registers it, and that person must become a director or secretary of the new company.

What changes is who does the typing and what you pay on top of the S$315. When you compare quotes, ask three things. Does it include the ACRA fees? Does it include a company secretary, and for how long? And what does year two cost?

Real talk: does a provider make sense if you're the only director? It can, if you'd rather not handle the endorsements and filings yourself. It isn't required.

How do you register as a sole proprietor instead?

You use the same Bizfile portal and pay S$115: S$15 for the name and S$100 to register. After that, each renewal costs S$30.

Already self-employed? ACRA needs your MediSave payments up to date before you can reserve a name or renew.

There's no legal split between you and the business, so any debt the business runs up is yours. For a side business with small orders and no staff, many people start here and move to a company later.

Your profits count as your own income, so they go on your personal tax return. Our guide to income tax in Singapore shows how that bill is worked out.

What do you owe after you register?

The paperwork starts the day the company exists. These are the ones to put in your calendar.

Annual returns: file them every year, for S$60.
A company secretary: appointed within six months, and the post never empty for longer than that.
An auditor, unless your company is exempt from audit.
Records: keep receipts, accounts and bank statements for at least five years from the Year of Assessment they belong to.
Tax returns: an Estimated Chargeable Income within 3 months of your financial year end, unless the company qualifies for the waiver. Then Form C-S or Form C by 30 November each year.
Registers: the company keeps its own registers, including the register of registrable controllers, at the registered office.
GST: you must register if your taxable turnover was more than S$1 million at the end of a calendar year. You also must if you expect it to pass S$1 million in the next 12 months.
Licences: some trades, like food, need approval beyond ACRA registration. Check with the agency for your trade before you open.
A business bank account: each bank sets its own documents and checks, so ask two or three what they need before you pick.

How is a company taxed, and what do new ones save?

A company pays a flat 17% on its chargeable income, the profit left after allowed expenses and deductions.

New companies get a break for their first three Years of Assessment. IRAS exempts 75% of the first S$100,000 of chargeable income and 50% of the next S$100,000. That's up to S$125,000 a year that isn't taxed.

Not every company qualifies. Investment holding companies and property developers are left out, and the company must be set up in Singapore and be tax resident here, among IRAS's other conditions.

Say your new company makes S$150,000 of chargeable income in its first year. Here's how the exemption works on it.

75% of the first S$100,000 is exempt: S$75,000.
50% of the next S$50,000 is exempt: S$25,000.
So S$100,000 is exempt and S$50,000 is taxed, which at 17% comes to S$8,500 before any rebate for the year.

The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first

We'd look at who carries the debt before we looked at the fees. The S$200 gap in starting fees is small next to a debt you'd pay yourself. Then we'd confirm who the resident director will be, since nothing moves without one.

A company costs more to run each year, with a secretary and yearly filings. A sole proprietorship keeps things cheap, but the debts stay with you.

What settles it is whether the business could ever owe more than you'd be willing to pay from your own savings.

Before you go

Pick two backup names along with your first choice. Then have the person who'll be a director or secretary reserve it on Bizfile for S$15, under the entity type you'll register.

Frequently asked questions

What are the ACRA registration fees for a company?

S$315 in total: S$15 to reserve the business name and S$300 to register the company. After that, annual returns cost S$60 to file each year, and a sole proprietorship or partnership costs S$115 to start and S$30 to renew.

How do I do ACRA business registration?

Log in to Bizfile with Singpass, reserve your business name for S$15, then fill in the registration for your chosen structure and pay its fee. For a company, every other officer must endorse the application within 60 days before you pay.

How much does it cost to start a business in Singapore?

The ACRA fees are S$115 for a sole proprietorship and S$315 for a company. The rest depends on your trade. A company secretary, accounts, licences and tools all cost extra, so add your own quotes to a startup cost estimate.

Can a foreigner register a company in Singapore?

The company needs at least one director who lives in Singapore and is 18 or older. That person must be a citizen, a PR or someone who meets ACRA's residency rules. Check those rules with ACRA before you start.

What happens if I don't appoint a company secretary?

You have six months from registration to appoint one. If the post stays empty for longer than six months, the director may face a fine of up to S$1,000.

How long do I have to register after reserving a name?

120 days. Save the transaction number from your approved name and use it to register the business within that time, or the name is released for others to use.

Sources

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This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.

Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).