What is a Nominee Director in Singapore & Do You Need One? [2026]

Before you can incorporate a company in Singapore, there’s a key legal requirement : every Singapore-registered company needs at least one local director.

For foreign founders without a local resident partner, this can be a challenge. That’s where a nominee director becomes essential.

This guide will walk you through what nominee directors are, why they matter for international business owners in Singapore, and how to appoint one properly to ensure compliance and a smooth start.

In Singapore, a nominee director is a local resident appointed to a company’s board to fulfil the legal incorporation requirement of having at least one director based in Singapore. They are especially common in foreign-owned businesses where the founders are based overseas.

Typically, nominee directors are appointed to meet residency and corporate governance obligations and do not take on an executive management role. However, they are still legally recognised as company directors under Singapore law and carry the same legal duties and responsibilities.

You need a nominee director if your company does not have a locally resident director.

Under the Singapore Companies Act 1967, to legally register and maintain a company in Singapore, you must have at least one director who lives in Singapore at all times. This can be a Singapore citizen, permanent resident, or an approved Employment Pass or EntrePass holder with a local residential address in Singapore.

If none of the company’s directors meet this requirement, you must appoint a nominee director to incorporate and avoid non-compliance. 

If you already have a qualifying local resident director, you do not need a nominee director.

A nominee director’s role is to help your company meet its legal and regulatory requirements by acting as the local director required under Singapore law. They are not involved in running your business or making day-to-day business decisions.

In general, the responsibilities of a nominee director in Singapore include:

• Serving as the local resident director on record for your company
• Helping ensure your company meets its statutory and regulatory obligations
• Fulfilling director-level responsibilities required under Singapore law, such as attending meetings when required

Although the role is not an executive director, a nominee director is still legally treated as a director of the company. This means they owe the same fiduciary duties as any other director, including acting in the best interests of the company and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Now that the role of nominee director has been covered. Let’s quickly look at the differences between a nominee director, a company director, and another similarly named role you may come across called “the nominee shareholder.”

A person may be both a nominee director and a nominee shareholder, but the legal duties and risks are different.

To qualify as a nominee director in Singapore, an individual must meet all of the following conditions:

• Be a Singapore citizen, permanent resident of Singapore, EntrePass holder, or Employment Pass (EP) holder with a local residential address in Singapore.
• Be at least 18 years old and of full legal capacity to act as a director.
• Have a clean criminal record and must not be subject to disqualification from acting as a director of a company.

After understanding the nominee director’s eligibility criteria and responsibilities, it is time to appoint one.

Here are the steps to appoint a nominee director:

Start by deciding who you want to appoint as your nominee director. This could be someone you already trust, a business partner who meets the requirements, or a professional firm that provides nominee director services.

Who you choose matters. A nominee director is legally registered as a director of your company, so it is important to pick someone reliable, experienced, and comfortable with their responsibilities. Familiarity alone is not enough.

The next step is to put the arrangement in writing by setting out the terms in a nominee director service agreement.

Singapore law does not require a fixed template for this agreement. Its purpose is to clearly set out the role and its limits, so both sides know what to expect.

A typical agreement covers:

• What the nominee director is responsible for
• Confidentiality and information handling
• Limits on day-to-day or operational involvement
• How the arrangement can be ended or changed

If the agreement describes the role as non-executive, this only limits day-to-day involvement. It does not remove or reduce the nominee director’s legal duties as a company director under Singapore law.

Before signing, make sure both you and the nominee director are aligned. Once signed, the agreement has legal effect and should be treated seriously by both the nominee director and the company’s founder or beneficial owner who appoints them.

Once you have agreed on the appointment and the terms are in place, the next step is to register the nominee director with ACRA through BizFile. You need to do this whether the nominee director is appointed at incorporation or after the company is set up.

When you register the appointment, you submit key details to ACRA, including:

• The nominee director’s personal details (such as name, identification, and address)
• The effective date of the appointment or cessation (when it starts or ends)

Supporting documents, such as nominee director agreements or internal approvals, are usually kept for your own records. They do not need to be uploaded, but must be available if regulators ask to review them.

You must also keep a Register of Nominee Directors, which is a private internal record kept at your registered office or with your filing agent. Any changes must first be updated in this private register and then filed with ACRA via BizFile within 2 business days.

You can appoint a nominee director in different ways, depending on whether you want to handle the setup and compliance yourself or work with external support.

Many foreign founders work with a corporate service provider, particularly if they are based overseas. This way, the nominee director, incorporation, and ongoing compliance are all handled together, instead of dealing with different parties.

Appointing an Individual Nominee Director

You can appoint an individual nominee director yourself, for example, a trusted contact or business associate, as long as they meet Singapore’s residency and eligibility requirements.

This option makes sense only if you are prepared to manage the paperwork yourself, including the nominee director agreement, ACRA filings, and ongoing compliance. You remain fully responsible, so it works best if you are hands-on and trust the nominee director.

If you are an entrepreneur managing the company from overseas, this approach usually requires more active oversight to avoid missing compliance obligations.

Using a Corporate Service Provider

For most foreign founders, the easiest way to appoint a nominee director is through a licensed corporate service provider. These providers usually handle company incorporation too, so the nominee director is included as part of their overall service.

They also take care of the paperwork, from preparing incorporation documents to handling compliance and ongoing filings, which saves you time and helps keep costs simpler over time.

In Singapore, nominee directors are paid an annual service fee, not a salary. Even if their role is described as limited or non-executive in an agreement, the law still treats them as full company directors. Because they carry the same legal responsibilities and risks, their fees are higher than standard administrative support.

For most foreign-owned companies, fees typically range from SGD 1,500 to SGD 5,000 per year, with most reputable providers charging closer to SGD 2,400 to SGD 3,500, depending on what’s included. 

Most providers also ask for a refundable security deposit, usually SGD 1,000 to SGD 5,000. This is separate from the yearly fee, and you will get it back when the nominee director steps down, as long as the company has not run into any compliance problems.

Here is where the price difference really comes from.

If you arrange a nominee director on its own, you are paying just for that one role. Nothing else is bundled in, which is why the cost is typically higher.

With a bundled incorporation package, the nominee director is included as part of the full setup. Everything is handled at the same time, which usually brings the overall cost down.

As an example, Statrys offers a Singapore incorporation package at SGD 3,500. That price covers the core requirements and more, including:

• Nominee director (1 year)
• Company secretary (1 year)
• Registered office address
• ACRA registration and statutory setup
• Registered Filing Agent (required if you don’t have a SingPass ID)

Appointing a local director in Singapore can help your business meet legal requirements, but it’s not without risks. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• More legal responsibility:
  A nominee director sits on the board of directors and owes full fiduciary duties to the company. If compliance or legal issues arise from their role, regulators may review your company’s governance and filings as a whole, not just the nominee director alone.
• Limited control in edge cases:
  When uncommon situations arise, a nominee director can say no if a decision looks legally risky to them. Even as the owner, you cannot force approval. This does not happen often, but it can slow or block key actions.
• Operational delays:
  If a nominee director spots a compliance issue, they may step down or stop acting. Without a resident director, your company becomes non-compliant and everyday processes like filings, banking, and approvals can get stuck.
• Limited privacy:
  A nominee director can help keep your name off some public records, but it does not make you invisible. Nominee status can still come up during banking, audits, or regulatory checks.

For foreign founders, appointing a nominee director is usually part of the process. The simplest way to handle it properly is to have an experienced provider manage it for you.

With Statrys, the nominee director is already included in our Singapore incorporation package, at no extra cost. This means you avoid the average annual fee of at least SGD 2,400 that most companies pay for this service.

Beyond that, we also offer you company secretary services and provide a registered address in Singapore, so you don’t have to worry about these mandatory requirements. Everything you need is included in a single, transparent price.

From your side, the process is simple. You provide the details and documents, and we handle the incorporation, filings, and electronic signing. Everything can be completed online, even if you’re managing the company from overseas.