How to get approval for the name of a private limited company in Singapore?

Application of company name is the first step of incorporating in Singapore.

Approval of company name requires the following items to be submitted:

• Proposed company name
• Principal activities
• Approvals from other government authorities (if necessary)
• Details of directors, shareholders and members

The “principal activities” submitted shall be in the form of Singapore Industry Classification Code, which is how Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority categorize companies by their business scopes.

The company name applied for must comply with the following three requirements to stand legally:

• The company name applied must not be identical to any company names that are existing entries in the register. The availability of business names can be checked on the online directory of Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority;
• The company name must end with the suffix “private limited” or “Sendirian Berhad” (private limited in Malay) for a private limited company; and
• Name with specific words, such as bank, finance, law, media and etc., may require additional approvals from relevant authorities.

Also, approved names will be stayed with the authority in reserve for 60 days from the date of application, which can extend for another 60 days if extension is applied.