You cannot register a business in Singapore until ACRA has approved its name. The application costs $15, is usually decided within a few working days, and an approved name is held for 120 days while you complete the registration. The fee is not refundable if the name is refused.
That last sentence is the one to absorb. A name application is not a search. It is a chargeable application that either succeeds or fails, and a failure costs you the fee and the time. The work that determines the outcome happens before you open the form.
This article is the map of the whole process, from picking a name to holding a reserved one. Each stage has its own detail, and the series covers those separately: how to choose a name that will survive scrutiny, the mechanics of filing the reservation in Bizfile, the referral authorities that can add weeks to your timeline, and how to find the right SSIC code. What follows is the shape of the thing, so you know what you are walking into.
One thing to settle before you start: the name carries the legal suffix of the structure you have chosen, so if you are still weighing a company against a partnership, read choosing a business structure in Singapore first. Changing your mind after approval means a fresh application and a fresh fee.
The process, end to end
| Stage | What happens | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Decide the structure | Company, sole proprietorship, partnership or LLP. The suffix follows from this | Nothing, but changing later means a fresh name application |
| 2. Test the name | Check it against existing and reserved names, trade marks, domains and social handles | Time only |
| 3. Pick SSIC codes | One primary activity, one secondary if applicable | Time only |
| 4. Apply in Bizfile | Singpass yourself, or through a corporate service provider | $15, non-refundable |
| 5. ACRA reviews | Usually decided quickly. Complex cases take longer | Waiting |
| 6. Referral, if triggered | Another agency reviews the name or the activity | Weeks, potentially |
| 7. Approved and reserved | You hold the name for 120 days | Nothing further |
| 8. Register the entity | Separate application, separate fee | The registration fee |
What makes a name fail
ACRA refuses names on three broad grounds, and the first of them accounts for most rejections.
It is identical to an existing or reserved name. Not similar. Identical, after ACRA disregards a set of words it treats as carrying no distinguishing weight. This is where founders get caught, because the disregarded set is wider than instinct suggests. “The” at the start of a name is disregarded. So are geographical and regional words such as Singapore, Asia, Asia Pacific and Worldwide. So are business descriptors: Company, Corporation, Group, Holdings, International, Trading, Associates, Partners. So are entity type variants such as Pte, Ltd, LLP, Sendirian and Berhad, and domain suffixes such as .com and .sg.
The practical consequence: if “Morning Caffeine Pte Ltd” exists, then “The Morning Caffeine Pte Ltd”, “Morning Caffeine Singapore Pte Ltd”, “Morning Caffeine Holdings Pte Ltd” and “Morning Caffeine.com Pte Ltd” are all the same name as far as ACRA is concerned. To distinguish it you must add words that mean something.
It is undesirable. Vulgar, obscene or offensive terms, and anything ACRA considers contrary to the public interest.
It is protected. Names similar to government bodies, or protected by legislation. Temasek is the standard example.
Check before you pay
Two checks, five minutes, and they save the fee more often than not.
- Search your proposed name on the GoBusiness e-Adviser for starting a business, which covers existing business names alongside domain names, social media handles and trade marks to avoid.
- Search Bizfile under “Search for business information” and select Reserved name, to catch names already held by somebody else who has not yet registered. Our guide to using Bizfile’s search functions covers what each search actually returns.
If either returns a hit, change the name. Fees are not refundable, and a rejection on grounds you could have found in five minutes is an avoidable cost.
Referral authorities: the schedule risk
Some names and some business activities are referred to another government agency before ACRA will approve them. This is the single largest source of timeline uncertainty in the whole registration process, and most founders discover it after they have already told a landlord or an investor when they expect to be trading.
Referral is triggered by either the words in your name or the SSIC code you select. A few examples of the pattern:
| Trigger | Referred to |
|---|---|
| “architect” in the name, or SSIC 71111 | Board of Architects Singapore |
| “real estate agent” or “real estate agency” | Council for Estate Agencies |
| “law”, “legal”, “counsel”, “chamber”, “advocate”, “solicitor”, “LLC” | Ministry of Law, Legal Services Regulatory Authority |
| “bank”, “banking”, “finance company”, “securities exchange”, “clearing house” | Monetary Authority of Singapore |
| “academy”, “college”, “institute”, “university”, or a school SSIC code | Ministry of Education |
| “military” or “defence” | Ministry of Defence |
| “foundation”, “international” or “Singapore” in a charity name | MCCY Charities Unit |
| Religious activity SSIC codes | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| “ASEAN” | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Spot commodity or rubber trading activity | Enterprise Singapore |
ACRA’s guidance on referrals puts the additional review at up to 15 working days. Its guidance on choosing a name puts the delay at 14 to 60 days. Plan for the longer figure and be pleasantly surprised.
Two things are worth understanding about referrals. First, approval of the name is not approval to carry on the activity: a licence under the relevant Act is a separate matter, and ACRA’s approval does not remove it. Second, some regulators expect you to hold the licence before you approach ACRA rather than after. Law practices, for instance, are directed to apply to LSRA before registering with ACRA.
SSIC codes are part of the name application
You cannot complete a name application without selecting a Singapore Standard Industrial Classification code. Every ACRA-registered entity uses five-digit SSIC codes to classify its primary business activity, and a secondary activity where applicable. The Department of Statistics revises the classification every five years.
Choose deliberately. The code you pick determines whether a referral is triggered, sits on your business profile where banks and counterparties read it, and shapes what licensing authorities assume about you. Picking something vaguely adjacent because the search did not surface anything better is a habit that causes problems later.
Who can file, and the 120 days
You can file the name application yourself with Singpass if you will hold a qualifying role in the proposed entity: an owner or authorised representative of a proposed sole proprietorship or partnership, a director or secretary of a proposed company, a partner or individual manager of a proposed LLP, or a general partner of a proposed limited partnership. Anyone with Singpass, including foreigners, can file the name application for a foreign company branch.
Foreigners registering a Singapore business must engage a corporate service provider. Anyone else may choose to.
Once the name is approved, save the transaction number. You have 120 days to register the entity, after which the name is released and anyone can take it. That period is generous, and it is also the window in which people lose names, because they treat approval as the finish line rather than the start of a clock. If your registration will depend on documents from overseas, or on a licence you have not yet applied for, count backwards from the 120 days before you apply rather than after.
You can withdraw a pending application before it is approved, using the same login credentials you filed with. The fee is not refunded.
What goes wrong
The founder treats the ACRA name as the brand. It is not. Registering a business name with ACRA gives you no exclusive rights to the name, no intellectual property protection, and no ability to stop a competitor using something similar. That is what a trade mark does, and it is a separate application to IPOS. Companies discover this when someone else registers the mark and asks them to stop using their own company name.
The domain is assumed to follow. It does not. Web addresses are first come, first served, and .sg and .com.sg domains go through an SGNIC-accredited registrar. Check domain availability before you fall in love with the name, not after.
The name is approved and then the registration stalls. The 120 days runs down while founders wait on a director’s documents, a registered office or a bank. Then the name lapses, somebody else takes it, and there is no remedy. Our note on why Bizfile name applications and registrations get stuck covers the common stalls and how to clear them.
A referral is triggered by the SSIC code, not the name. The name is unremarkable, so nobody expected a referral, and then the activity code routes the application to a regulator. Check the code as carefully as you check the name.
The rejection is accepted too quickly. If a name is refused and you have a genuine basis for using it, you can submit a name review request. A letter of consent from the owner of an identical name can also resolve an identity objection. Neither is guaranteed, but neither is uncommon.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in Singapore?
The name application fee is $15. It is not refundable if the name turns out to be unavailable or if you withdraw the application. Registering the business itself is a separate application with a separate fee, paid after the name is approved.
How long is a reserved business name held?
120 days from approval. You must complete the registration of the entity within that period. After 120 days the name is released and becomes available for anyone else to apply for, and there is no extension.
Why was my business name rejected when it is not identical to anything?
Probably because ACRA disregards certain words when comparing names. “The” at the start, geographical words such as Singapore or Asia, descriptors such as Holdings or International, entity suffixes and domain suffixes are all ignored. Strip those out and your name may be identical after all.
Does registering a business name protect it?
No. ACRA registration records the name for your entity. It gives no exclusive rights and no intellectual property protection. To stop others using the name you need a registered trade mark, which is a separate application to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
Can a foreigner apply for a Singapore business name?
A foreigner with Singpass can file a name application for a foreign company branch. For other structures, foreigners must engage a corporate service provider to register the business, and the provider will normally file the name application as part of that engagement.
What is an SSIC code and do I have to pick one?
A five-digit Singapore Standard Industrial Classification code describing your business activity. You must select a primary code during the name application, and a secondary one if applicable. The code can trigger a referral to another agency, so choose it as carefully as you choose the name.
Getting the name right the first time
The name application is a small fee and a large amount of downstream consequence. It fixes your SSIC codes, it can route your file to a regulator you did not expect, it starts a 120-day clock, and it does none of the brand protection people assume it does.
Raffles Corporate Services runs name applications alongside incorporations every week, which means we know which words attract a referral, which SSIC codes cause a delay, and how to structure a name so it survives the identity test rather than colliding with it. If you have a name in mind and want it tested before you pay for it, that is a quick check rather than an engagement.
For what happens after the name is approved, see how to register a company in Singapore, and if you have hit an error partway through, why Bizfile name applications and registrations get stuck. 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