Which ACRA Tool Do You Actually Need?

ACRA does not run one website. It runs six, and Bizfile is only the busiest of them. If you are filing, registering or paying, you want Bizfile. If you are verifying a document, filing XBRL, running a VCC, pulling data by API or lodging a complaint, you want somewhere else entirely.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

That split catches people out constantly. Someone spends twenty minutes hunting through Bizfile for the XBRL preparation tool, or tries to incorporate a Variable Capital Company in the main business registration eService, or asks their corporate secretary to “check whether this certificate is real” when the check is free, instant and self-service.

The fastest way to stop losing that time is to hold the inventory in your head once. Six destinations, each with one clear job. Here they are.

The six destinations, and what each one is for

If you are new to the main portal, start with our companion piece on the Bizfile portal overview, which covers what the portal itself is and how it is laid out. This article is the map of everything sitting outside it. For the login mechanics, we have separate notes on logging in as a business user through Corppass and logging in as an individual through Singpass.

Bizfile: the default, and its real boundaries

Bizfile is ACRA’s digital service portal for registration, filing and information. The current version launched on 9 December 2024. In practice it handles four families of task: buying business information, registering new entities and professionals, managing an existing registration, and filing annual returns or annual declarations.

What trips people up is assuming Bizfile is therefore everything. It is not. Three things in particular live outside it:

• Variable Capital Companies. Different portal, different login journey, different fee schedule.
• XBRL preparation. You prepare the file in the BizFinx tool and only then bring it to the filing.
• Document verification. Bizfile sells you the product. trustBar tells you whether the PDF in front of you is the genuine article.

There are also two narrow eServices on Bizfile that people frequently cannot find, because they are not where you would look for them:

1. Product download. When you buy an ACRA information product you receive an email containing a download code. You key that code into a dedicated download eService, not into your transaction history.
2. PDF product authentication. A separate Bizfile eService that checks a PDF copy of a product you bought. Distinct from trustBar, though the purpose overlaps.

If you are not sure who in your organisation should be able to reach any of this, read who should have Bizfile access before you start handing out roles.

trustBar: the free check nobody runs

trustBar is a free service that tells you whether an ACRA Business Profile or Business Certificate is authentic and was genuinely issued by ACRA. It covers products purchased from 4 March 2023 onwards.

It also does something more useful than authenticity. Since 8 December 2023 you can check whether the information in a Business Certificate is still current, which means you can avoid buying a fresh certificate when the one you already hold has not gone stale. Currency checking is not available for Business Profiles.

We have a dedicated piece on trustBar and how the currency check works. The short version: if a counterparty sends you a PDF certificate, checking it costs nothing and takes under a minute.

The API Marketplace: for when you are doing this at scale

If your firm checks dozens or hundreds of entities a month, the manual route stops making sense. The ACRA API Marketplace is the subscription platform for programmatic access, and it currently offers three service families:

Entity Information Query

Profile information on entities registered with ACRA, including the Business Profile Data API launched on 18 November 2025. Residential address data is restricted: only specified persons may request access under the ACRA Act 2004, and the request goes through a separate form rather than the subscription itself.

Financial Information Query

Basic financial details for companies that have filed financial statements in XBRL, including financial year end dates and the auditors who signed off.

trustBar Verification Query

The bulk equivalent of trustBar. Verifies the authenticity of Business Profiles and both the authenticity and currency of Business Certificates. This one is free, and it is the right answer if you are verifying documents in volume rather than one at a time.

Two operational details worth knowing before you subscribe. Corppass users under the same entity share one Marketplace business account, so subscriptions and usage history survive staff turnover. And auto top-up triggers when you are down to 150 API calls or two days from expiry, whichever comes first, but it switches itself off after 90 days of account inactivity.

What goes wrong in practice

People verify the wrong thing. A Business Profile that passes a trustBar authenticity check is genuine, but authenticity is not currency. A genuine profile can still be six months out of date. If the point of the exercise is due diligence, you want a current document, not merely a real one.

Nobody owns the API subscription. Because Marketplace access is shared at entity level, it is easy for a subscription to sit unwatched. Then auto top-up disables itself after 90 days of inactivity, and the first person to need a batch verification finds the account cold.

The VCC assumption. Fund managers who have incorporated Singapore companies before reach for the familiar registration eService and lose an afternoon. VCCs are a separate portal with their own name reservation, their own officer updates, their own information products and their own charge registration window.

Complaints get sent to the wrong queue. ACRA distinguishes between name complaints, suspected statutory breaches, complaints against public accountants and public accounting entities, complaints against Chartered Valuer and Appraiser holders, and appeals against annual filing breaches. Each has its own route. A complaint filed in the wrong stream does not get quietly redirected as fast as you would hope.

A sensible sequence for a new company

If you have just incorporated and you are setting up your compliance plumbing, do it in this order:

1. Get Corppass working for the entity. Nothing else functions until this does. Our guide on setting up Corppass for a new company covers the sequence from UEN to first login.
2. Log in to Bizfile once and look around. Confirm the entity details ACRA holds are correct while it is cheap to fix.
3. Assign e-Service roles deliberately. Filing rights are not something to hand out by default.
4. Bookmark trustBar. You will need it the first time a counterparty sends you a certificate.
5. Decide whether you file XBRL yourself. If yes, download the BizFinx preparation tool now rather than in the week your accounts are due.
6. Only then consider the API Marketplace. It earns its keep at volume, not at one entity.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do everything on Bizfile?
No. Bizfile handles registration, filing, information purchases and payments for most entity types, but Variable Capital Companies have a separate portal, XBRL financial statements are prepared in the BizFinx tools first, document verification happens on trustBar, and complaints and appeals run through their own routes.

Is trustBar free, and do I need a login?
trustBar is free to use. It verifies Business Profiles and Business Certificates purchased from 4 March 2023 onwards, and since 8 December 2023 it can also tell you whether a Business Certificate’s information is still current. Currency checks are not offered for Business Profiles.

What is the difference between trustBar and Bizfile’s PDF product authentication?
Both check whether an ACRA product is genuine. Bizfile’s PDF product authentication eService is aimed at the buyer checking their own purchased product. trustBar is the general verification service, is free, and adds a currency check for Business Certificates that Bizfile’s authentication does not provide.

Do I need the API Marketplace if I only check a handful of companies a year?
Almost certainly not. The Marketplace is a subscription platform designed for systems integration and bulk processing. For occasional checks, buying products through Bizfile and verifying them on trustBar is cheaper and involves no account to maintain.

Where do I appeal a late filing penalty?
Through ACRA’s complaints and appeals routes, not through a general Bizfile enquiry. Appeals for a reduction of late lodgement penalties or composition amounts are only considered after the underlying breach has been rectified, so file the outstanding item first.

My company is a VCC. Does any of Bizfile apply to me?
The VCC portal handles VCC name reservation, incorporation, information and officer updates, information products and charge registration. It also has a directory search for registered VCCs and their sub-funds. Treat Bizfile as irrelevant to the VCC itself.

Knowing which door to knock on

None of this is hard. It is just fragmented, and fragmentation costs time in a way nobody budgets for. The companies that handle ACRA smoothly are not the ones with clever people; they are the ones where somebody already knows which of the six doors to use.

That is the part we carry. Raffles Corporate Services files across all of these systems daily, for entities ranging from single director private companies to fund structures, and we keep the access and the subscriptions alive so nobody discovers a cold account the week something is due. If you are not sure whether your Corppass roles and filing access are set up sensibly, that is a short conversation.

You can reach us through Raffles Corporate Services, or read more on Singapore corporate secretarial practice at Singapore Secretary Services.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services