Incorporating Your Company in Singapore — Step by Step
Okay, we’ve managed to sort all of the documents and other requirements to register you company in Singapore within just 1 day.
So far so good!
Now let’s look at the step by step process to actually register your company with ACRA. Again, it’s all very simple, and you guessed it, can be sorted within just a day.
1. Company Name Approval
First thing’s first, you’ll need to have your company’s name approved with ACRA. Again, this can be done with minimum fuss, as your company incorporation service will take care of this very quickly.
There are just a few things to consider:
- Your company’s name cannot infringe upon current trademarks
- Your company’s name cannot be obscene or vulgar
- Your company’s name cannot be the same as any current business in Singapore
- Your company’s name cannot be currently reserved by any other company
All very normal and expected requirements which really shouldn’t be an issue. If they are, your Singapore incorporation service provider can help you navigate any problems.
ACRA is generally very swift with this process, taking only a few hours to 1 day to approve your company name.
The only exception to this timeframe is if your company is in a field that needs a licence to operate. This includes the likes of medicine, law, finance, etc. If this is the case for your company name, approval may (in rare cases) take a few weeks.
Once ACRA has approved your company’s name, they will reserve it for you for 120 days. After that, it will be released for use by any other company that wants to use it.
2. Registration Documents
Alright, your company’s name has been approved, and the incorporation ball is well and truly rolling.
We now move on to your company’s registration documents that your incorporation service provider will submit to ACRA for approval.
Registration Documents Required by ACRA:
- A signed Consent to Act form from each director.
- A signed Consent to Act form by the company secretary.
- A Company Constitution (formerly known as Articles of Association). You can create your own constitution, or use the official template.
- Identification and proof of residential address for all officers and shareholders of the corporation.
- “Know Your Customer” (KYC) due diligence completed by your incorporation service provider for anti-money laundering regulations.
You Singapore company incorporation service provider can provide you with all of these documents. All you’ll need to do is sign them.
Again, all very straight forward, and you should be able to complete them on day 1.
3. Registering Your Company with ACRA
This is the home stretch! Your company name has been approved with ACRA, and your registration documents have been submitted. It’s still only been 1 day, and your Singapore incorporation service provider has walked you through each step.
Now it’s time to complete your registration with ACRA.With all of your documents in place, which combined, should have taken you just 1 day, your incorporation service provider will submit you application to ACRA online.
In most cases, this final step only take about an hour.In some rare occurrences, your application may need to be submitted to another government department, which might take an extra few weeks. But, if you’ve picked up on the trend here, for most new business, you’ll be officially incorporated and open for business in Singapore within just 1 day!
Check out the process of starting a company in Singapore at Singapore Company Incorporation website.
