Company Name Check in Singapore: How to Search, Reserve, and Verify a Business Name

Every Singapore company starts with a name that ACRA will accept. A company name check tells you whether yours is available before you spend money on branding, a domain, or an incorporation package.

The same search tool answers a second question that matters just as much: Is the company you are about to pay, hire, or partner with actually registered? This guide covers both. You will learn how to search the Bizfile portal, what ACRA rejects and why, how to reserve a name for 120 days, and how to verify any Singapore entity in a few minutes.

How to Check Company Name Availability in Singapore

ACRA runs the official Singapore companies registry through the Bizfile portal at bizfile.gov.sg. The portal replaced the older BizFile+ system in December 2024, so screenshots and walkthroughs published before then no longer match the interface.

Run a Free Search First

You do not need an account to check whether a name exists. Enter your proposed name in the Bizfile search bar and review the results for identical and closely similar entities. The free search returns the essentials:

• The registered entity name and its UEN.
• Entity type, such as private limited company, sole proprietorship, or LLP.
• Registration status and registration date.
• The registered address currently on file.

Free Search Versus the Paid Business Profile

For due diligence on a counterparty, the free search rarely suffices. The Business Profile is the document banks, landlords, and investors ask for, and it is the one that lists who actually controls the company.

Check Beyond ACRA

A clear ACRA search does not mean the name is yours to use commercially. Three parallel checks take minutes and prevent expensive problems:

• Trademarks. Search the IPOS register. A registered mark can stop you using a name ACRA happily approves.
• Domains. Check the .com and .sg availability before you commit to branding.
• Social handles and marketplaces. Consistency across channels is worth more than a marginally better name.

ACRA Naming Rules: Why Applications Get Rejected

ACRA applies a strict test. A name fails when it is identical to an existing registered name, when it is undesirable, when the Minister has prohibited it, or when it is reserved by another applicant.

The Words ACRA Ignores

This trips up most first-time applicants. Under the Companies (Identical Names) Rules, ACRA strips out a defined set of non-distinctive elements before deciding whether two names are identical. Those elements include:

• "The," only when it is the first word of the name.
• Legal-form suffixes such as Private, Pte, Limited, Ltd, and LLP.
• Certain words, when they appear at the end of the name, include Asia, International, Singapore, and Worldwide.
• Plural forms, letter case, spacing, and punctuation.

Names That Get Referred to Another Authority

Certain words imply a regulated activity, so ACRA refers the application to the relevant agency before deciding. Words connected to banking, finance, insurance, education, law, media, and healthcare commonly trigger this.

A straightforward name is often approved within the hour. A referred name can take from a few working days to several weeks, depending on the agency. Plan your launch date around the slower scenario if your name touches a regulated sector.

Practical Ways to Avoid Rejection

1. Build around a distinctive core word. Invented or unusual words clear the register far more easily than descriptive ones.
2. Say the name out loud. ACRA also considers phonetic similarity, so a different spelling of an existing name will not help.
3. Avoid regulated terms. Only use them if you hold the licence that justifies them.
4. Prepare a second and a third choice. Each new application costs another SGD 15.

What Is the Process for Reserving a Business Name?

Reservation is a separate transaction from incorporation, and it comes first. ACRA requires an approved name before you can register the company.

1. Run the free availability search on Bizfile and shortlist two or three options.
2. Log in with Singpass or Corppass, or instruct a corporate service provider. Our explainers on Singpass and Corppass cover the access side.
3. Submit the name application and select the SSIC code that matches your intended business activity. The code you choose here follows your company into incorporation and into every bank application afterwards.
4. Pay the SGD 15 fee. It is non-refundable whether ACRA approves, rejects, or you withdraw.
5. Save the transaction number. You need it to register the company against the reserved name.
6. Incorporate within 120 days. Miss the window and the name is released for anyone else to take.

If ACRA rejects a name you believe you have a legitimate claim to, you can submit a name review request with your reasons rather than starting again from scratch.

How to Use the Bizfile Portal for Searches

Bizfile handles far more than name checks. It is the single interface for registering entities, filing annual returns, updating company details, and running due diligence on any registered business.

1. Go to bizfile.gov.sg and use the search field on the homepage. No login is needed for a basic entity search.
2. Enter either the company name or the UEN. Searching by UEN removes ambiguity when several entities share similar names.
3. Review the result for entity status, entity type, registration date, and registered address.
4. Buy the Business Profile when you need directors, shareholders, share capital, and declared business activities.
5. Log in with Singpass or Corppass for transactional services such as name applications, incorporation, and filings.

One limitation matters for foreign founders. Non-residents without a Singpass account cannot file transactions themselves and must appoint a registered corporate service provider, as our guide to registering a company in Singapore as a foreigner explains. Searching, however, is open to anyone.

How to Verify a Company Registration Status

The same search that checks name availability also confirms whether an entity is real and active. Start with the status field, which tells you where the company stands on the register.

How to Check If a Company Is Legit in Singapore

Status alone is a weak test. A registered shell company still shows as Live. Work through this checklist instead:

• Match the UEN to the name. Ask for the UEN and confirm it returns the exact entity you expect.
• Buy the Business Profile. Check the incorporation date, paid-up capital, directors, and shareholders against what you were told.
• Compare the registered address. A serviced address is normal; a mismatch with the address on invoices deserves a question.
• Check the declared activity. An SSIC code unrelated to what the company claims to do is a genuine red flag.
• Verify GST registration on the IRAS register if the company charges you GST.
• Confirm regulated status where relevant. A corporate service provider must be registered with ACRA, and a payment or financial services firm must be licensed by MAS.
• Look at the filing history. A company that files its annual return on time generally runs its affairs properly.

Where to Find Singapore Company Registration Data

Several official sources publish company data, each with a different scope.

• Bizfile. The authoritative registry for entity names, UENs, status, and Business Profile extracts.
• The government's open data portal. ACRA publishes bulk entity information datasets, useful for market research rather than one-off checks.
• The IRAS GST register. Confirms whether a business is GST-registered and from when.
• The ACRA register of corporate service providers. Verifies that a firm offering incorporation or secretarial services is registered as required.
• IPOS. The trademark register, which sits entirely outside the ACRA name check.

Commercial aggregators repackage this data with extra analysis. They are convenient, though the underlying record always lives with ACRA, and that is the one a bank or investor will ask you for.

What Are the Requirements for Company Registration?

Once your name is approved, incorporation follows quickly if your documents are ready. A Singapore private limited company needs:

• At least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore, a requirement that foreign founders usually meet through a nominee director.
• Between one and 50 shareholders, individual or corporate, with 100% foreign ownership permitted.
• A company secretary appointed within six months of incorporation. See what a corporate secretary does for the statutory duties.
• A local registered address that is a physical location, not a PO box. Our guide to the registered address covers the accessibility rules.
• A company constitution and at least SGD 1 of paid-up capital.
• An SSIC code matching your actual business activity.

ACRA issues your UEN and an electronic certificate of incorporation on approval. The full sequence sits in our Singapore company registration guide, and our overview of company incorporation requirements covers the eligibility details.

What Services Are Included in a Company Name Check?

Free name checker tools published by incorporation firms query the same ACRA data you can search yourself. They save a click, nothing more. A professional name check as part of an incorporation engagement goes further:

• A pre-submission similarity review, including phonetic matches and the generic words ACRA strips out.
• Referral risk flagging before you pay, so a regulated word does not stall your launch unexpectedly.
• SSIC code selection, chosen to match your real activity and to survive later scrutiny from banks.
• The name application and reservation filed on your behalf, which is mandatory for founders without a Singpass account.
• Incorporation inside the 120-day window, with the constitution, resolutions, and registers prepared alongside.

If you are comparing providers, our review of the best company incorporation services sets out what each package covers, and our breakdown of hidden incorporation costs flags the fees that appear later.

Reserve Your Name and Incorporate With Statrys

Statrys Corporate Services Singapore Pte. Ltd. is registered as a Corporate Service Provider with ACRA under the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024. We file your name application and your incorporation, so you don't need a Singpass account to get started.

• Name check and application handled for you, with a similarity and referral review before submission.
• Incorporation in about five days, entirely online, with government fees included in the package price.
• Company secretary, registered address, and nominee director available in one package.
• A free multi-currency business account, so your approved name and your account go live together.

Current package pricing sits on our pricing page. Not sure whether your name will clear? Talk to our team before you spend the SGD 15.

Conclusion

A company name check costs nothing and takes a minute, yet it decides how smoothly your incorporation runs. Search Bizfile first, build your name around a genuinely distinctive word, and remember that Singapore, Asia, and Pte Ltd add no distinctiveness at all.

Once ACRA approves, the clock starts: 120 days to incorporate before the name returns to the pool. Use the same search in the other direction, too, because verifying a counterparty UEN and Business Profile before you pay an invoice is one of the cheapest due diligence checks available to a Singapore business.