SSIC Codes in Singapore: How to Choose the Right One (2026)

Picking an SSIC code looks like the easiest box on your incorporation form. It's one 5-digit number, and the first result in Bizfile's search usually sounds close enough.

That's exactly why founders get it wrong. You type "trading", take the first match, and move on. Then the questions start. Why was my name application sent to another agency for review? And does "general wholesale trade" actually cover what I sell?

A five-second choice can add weeks to your incorporation.

Below, you'll find what an SSIC code is and what changed with SSIC 2025. You'll also see how to pick your primary and secondary codes, and what to do when your business outgrows the code you started with.

What Is an SSIC Code?

An SSIC code is a 5-digit number from the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification, the national standard Singapore uses to classify business activities. The Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) maintains the SSIC. ACRA (the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, which registers Singapore companies) requires every registered entity to use one for its primary business activity, plus one for a secondary activity where that applies.

You choose your codes when you reserve your company name in Bizfile, ACRA's online filing portal. That makes the SSIC code one of the standard requirements to incorporate a company in Singapore, alongside your company name, directors, shareholders, and registered address.

GoBusiness, the government's business portal, says agencies use SSIC codes for service delivery as well as for industry statistics. For you, the code works less like a label and more like a routing instruction. It tells agencies which rules might apply to your company before anyone reads the rest of your application.

One thing the code doesn't do is limit your business. SingStat states that SSIC codes reflect a firm's main activities and don't restrict the activities it can carry out. If your software company sells the occasional consulting day, you haven't broken any rule.

How an SSIC Code Is Structured

Each SSIC code narrows down from a broad industry to a specific activity. The letter (the section) isn't part of the 5-digit code you enter in Bizfile, but it tells you which part of the list you're in.

Between the division and the class sits a 3-digit group (620 in this example). SingStat's SSIC 2025 classification structure file lists 22 sections, 82 divisions, 212 groups, 390 classes, and 988 five-digit sub-classes.

Why does this matter when you're choosing? Codes that share their first 4 digits are close relatives. When Bizfile shows you two plausible results from the same class, the difference is usually in the detailed definition, so that's where to look before you pick.

What Changed With SSIC 2025?

SSIC 2025 is the current edition. SingStat published it on 15 April 2025 as an update of SSIC 2020, and Bizfile switched to SSIC 2025 codes on 9 May 2026. From that date, new name applications and changes of business activity have to use SSIC 2025 codes.

ACRA converted every existing entity's SSIC 2020 code to an SSIC 2025 code automatically, so most companies didn't need to file anything. The catch is in how some codes were converted.

The information and communications section was split in two. The old Section J now covers publishing, broadcasting, and content production. A new Section K covers telecommunications, computer programming, consultancy, and computing infrastructure. Every section after it moved one letter along, so financial and insurance activities are now Section L.

Some old codes now point to more than one new code. SingStat's official correspondence table shows 55 SSIC 2020 codes that map to two or more SSIC 2025 codes. If your old code is one of them, the automatic conversion had to pick one destination, and it may not be the one that fits your business best.

"n.e.c." stands for "not elsewhere classified", the catch-all code at the end of each class.

The software split is the one we'd look at first. SingStat's definition of 62011 now sends "combined development and publishing of software" to 58202. If your company builds a product and sells subscriptions to it, 58202 may describe you better than the 62011 you picked in 2024.

How to Choose Your Primary and Secondary SSIC Codes

Your primary code describes your principal activity, which SingStat defines as the activity that contributes the most value added to what your company produces. If you can't measure value added (most new companies can't), SingStat lets you use revenue, gross output, or the share of staff and wages each activity takes instead. Your secondary code is optional and covers a second activity of real weight.

Here's a process that works for most founders.

Step 1: Describe What You Actually Sell in One Sentence

Write down who pays you and for what. "We buy electronic components from manufacturers in China and resell them to factories in Vietnam" gives you something to search with. "We do trading" doesn't.

The more specific the sentence, the fewer codes you'll have to choose between.

Step 2: Search Bizfile or the GoBusiness e-Adviser

ACRA's guide to finding the right SSIC code walks you through the Bizfile search: enter a keyword under "Business activity", click Search, then pick the codes that fit. If you want to explore before you start a filing, the GoBusiness e-Adviser for Starting a Business has an SSIC search based on SSIC 2025.

Search with two or more different keywords from your sentence. "Electronic components" and "wholesale" will surface different results from "trading".

Step 3: Read the Detailed Definition, Not Just the Title

SingStat publishes a detailed definition for every code, including what's excluded. Most wrong picks get caught here. Two codes where the definition changes the answer:

• 46900 Wholesale trade of a variety of goods without a dominant product. It sounds like the natural home for any trading company. SingStat's definition says it only applies if you wholesale products covering at least 5 SSIC classes and no single product contributes more than 50% of your value added. If one product line dominates, you belong under that product's specific wholesale code, such as 46522 Wholesale of electronic components. If you sell on commission without owning the goods, 46100 Wholesale on a fee or commission basis fits instead.
• 64202 Holding companies of firms engaged in non-financial and insurance activities. This code is for companies whose principal activity is owning a group of operating subsidiaries. SingStat's definition points personal investment holding companies, set up to hold an individual's or family's wealth, to 64300 instead.

So what happens if you skip this step? You end up with a code that technically exists but describes a different business, and anyone reading your business profile sees that mismatch.

Step 4: Check Whether Your Code Triggers a Referral

Some codes send your application to another agency for approval before ACRA can approve it. The next section lists the common ones. If your code is on the list, build the extra review time into your launch plan.

Step 5: Decide Whether You Need a Secondary Code

Add a secondary code when a second activity brings in meaningful revenue or needs to be visible to partners. Skip it if the activity is occasional. Since the code doesn't restrict what you can do, a secondary code is about describing your business accurately, not about permission.

Worked example. Back to the electronic components trader. Most of its revenue comes from components, with a smaller line in packaging materials for the same customers. Its primary code would be 46522 Wholesale of electronic components and its secondary code 46472 Wholesale of packaging materials. 46900 would be wrong here, because one product line clearly dominates.

Common SSIC Codes for Singapore Companies

These SSIC 2025 codes cover business types that are common among founders setting up in Singapore. Read the full definition before you file, because the title alone can mislead.

The full list, with definitions and the correspondence tables between editions, is on SingStat's SSIC page.

SSIC Codes That Need Approval From Another Agency

Some business names and activities need approval from a referral authority, a government agency other than ACRA, before your application goes through. ACRA's list of referral authorities ties many of these to specific SSIC codes:

GoBusiness says applications that need a referral authority's approval can take between 14 and 60 days. ACRA also notes that MAS approval of a name application isn't the same as holding an MAS licence, so a regulated financial business still needs its licence separately.

The practical takeaway: if your code is on this list, choose it deliberately and expect the extra wait. If it isn't, don't pick a code from this list just because its title sounds close.

How to Check and Change Your SSIC Code

To check the code your company has today, log in to Bizfile with your company's Corppass account (the government's corporate login) and look at your business profile. SingStat also lists ACRA's helpdesk (+65 6248 6028) as a way to find out the code registered for your company.

To change it, update your entity information in Bizfile. Under ACRA's rules on updating company information, directors and the company secretary must report changes to company details, including your business activity, within 14 days. In practice, your corporate secretary handles the filing.

Four situations should send you back to Bizfile:

• Your SSIC 2025 conversion picked the wrong code. Check this first if you incorporated before 9 May 2026, especially if your old code is in the split table above.
• Your business pivoted. A consulting company that now mainly sells a software product has a new principal activity.
• Your secondary activity overtook your primary one. Under SingStat's value-added rule, the activity that contributes most is your principal activity, even if it started as a side line.
• You added a regulated activity. Moving into real estate brokerage or financial services can bring a referral authority into the picture.

Your annual accounts are the easiest place to spot that third case. When your accountant prepares the year's figures and one revenue line has clearly overtaken the other, that's your cue to recheck the code.

How Statrys Helps With Your SSIC Code

When you set up with Statrys, your SSIC code is part of the filing we prepare for you. Our Singapore company incorporation package includes your business profile set-up, which is where your SSIC codes are recorded, with the ACRA fees and name check covered. It also includes a year of company secretary services and a nominee director, which matters if you're registering a company in Singapore as a foreigner without a local resident director.

After incorporation, the same team is there when your business changes and the code needs to follow. And because Statrys' accounting service in Singapore prepares your annual accounts, the revenue picture that tells you your principal activity has shifted sits with people who can act on it.

If you also need somewhere to receive payments once you're registered, you can open a Singapore business account with Statrys alongside your incorporation.