Singapore regulatory update · ACRA
Effective 20 October 2026
A further set of amendments under Singapore’s Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 will take effect on 20 October 2026. For most private companies, the most relevant change is to the Annual Return: the filing will require confirmation that key information held by ACRA is accurate, as well as a new declaration about the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Other changes affect registered-office opening hours, inspection of company records, striking-off and restoration, and selected requirements for public companies and public accountants. ACRA announced this phase on 6 October 2026.
What should you do now? If your company is preparing an Annual Return, check its latest Bizfile particulars before filing. You do not need to change your company’s Annual Return deadline simply because this new set of rules takes effect.
Which changes are relevant to your business?
| Change | Who should pay attention | Practical takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Return confirmations | Companies filing Annual Returns and their filing agents | Review Bizfile records, including officers and members, before submitting. |
| Registered office and records | Companies using an office, shared address or registered-office service | Minimum public opening hours are removed, but record-inspection duties remain. |
| Striking-off and restoration | Companies, LLPs and relevant other entities closing or seeking restoration | Pay attention to revised notices, timelines and the legal effective time. |
| Other company and accounting changes | Selected public companies, public accountants and accounting firms | Check whether the removal of filings, renewal choices or insurance rules apply. |
1. Annual Returns: new confirmations and CEO declaration
From 20 October 2026, companies filing an Annual Return must confirm that the latest particulars provided to ACRA are accurate. The confirmation covers the company's directors, CEO, company secretary, auditors and relevant members, where applicable. ACRA identifies information such as names, identification particulars, nationality, contact addresses, appointment dates, registered-office address and shareholding details.
The Annual Return will also include a question asking whether anyone performs the role of CEO in the company. Where a CEO is present, the relevant CEO particulars must be correctly reflected among the company's position holders. The filer may need to update the record through the appropriate Bizfile appointment or withdrawal transaction before submitting the Annual Return.
This does not mean that every private company is required to appoint a CEO. The declaration is about whether an individual performs that role in the company. It should be answered based on the actual arrangement, rather than assuming every company has a CEO.
For a company limited by guarantee, the filer must also confirm that the total number of members most recently provided to ACRA is accurate.
For our company secretarial clients: Keep us informed whenever a director, officer, member or registered detail changes. We can check the Bizfile record against the information you provide before preparing the Annual Return. If something needs to be corrected, the relevant change should be lodged before the return is filed.
For the existing filing procedure and deadlines, see our guide to filing Annual Returns. If you need assistance with the filing itself, we also offer an Annual Return filing service.
2. Registered offices: minimum opening hours removed, inspections still required
Companies will no longer be required to keep their registered office open and accessible to the public for prescribed minimum hours during ordinary business hours on each business day. This provides more flexibility over office arrangements.
However, this is not a removal of the obligation to make company records available for lawful inspection. A person seeking to inspect records must give the company reasonable notice. After receiving that notice, the company must make the relevant records available for inspection for at least two hours on each relevant business day, as required by law.
Companies must also continue to notify ACRA of a change in registered-office address within 14 days after the change.
For businesses using a virtual office or registered-office address service, the practical point is to ensure that official correspondence and lawful inspection requests can still be handled appropriately. The removal of fixed public opening hours does not make statutory record-keeping optional.
3. Striking-off and restoration: revised procedures and effective dates
ACRA is streamlining processes for striking off and restoring companies, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), variable capital companies (VCCs) and relevant sub-funds.
For both voluntary and Registrar-initiated striking-off, certain Gazette notices can be published earlier. Under the revised process, ACRA says a Gazette notice can appear as early as the same day a notice is sent in the voluntary process, or 15 days after the relevant letter is sent in the Registrar-initiated process.
There is also greater clarity about when the legal effect occurs: an entity is dissolved or restored on the date and at the time its name is struck off or restored on the register. The Government Gazette will record those particulars.
The restoration framework also specifies circumstances in which the Court or Registrar must refuse restoration, including where the restored entity is likely to be used for an unlawful purpose or where restoration would be contrary to Singapore's national security or interests.
Practical point: Do not assume an old striking-off timetable applies to a new application, or that a company is legally dissolved merely because an application was lodged. Check the actual status and effective time shown by ACRA.
4. Selected public-company filing requirements removed
The amendments remove certain regulatory requirements, including the filing of a statement in lieu of prospectus in prescribed circumstances and the requirement for public limited companies with share capital to hold statutory meetings and prepare statutory reports.
These changes are more relevant to the affected public-company structures than to an ordinary private limited company. They should not be confused with the general annual compliance duties that continue to apply to private companies.
5. Public accountant registration: more renewal choices
Public accountants will be able to renew their registration for one, two or three years, rather than being limited to annual renewal. This is an administrative flexibility measure for public accountants, not a change to a private company's Annual Return filing frequency.
6. Professional indemnity insurance extends to more accounting firms
Professional indemnity insurance requirements will extend to accounting firms operating as sole proprietorships or partnerships, alongside public accounting corporations and accounting LLPs.
ACRA states that the required insurance quantum is based on the highest of S$1 million, S$500,000 per public accountant in the firm, or 2.5 times the firm's gross income in the last financial year (subject to the stated S$50 million maximum).
This requirement concerns the specified accounting-firm structures. It does not mean every private company must purchase professional indemnity insurance.
Before your next Annual Return: a practical checklist
- Review the current Bizfile profile. Check directors, secretary, auditors, any CEO, registered-office details and shareholding or membership information that applies to your company.
- Confirm the actual CEO arrangement. If someone performs the CEO role, make sure their particulars are reflected correctly. If you are uncertain how the role should be described, clarify the facts before the filing.
- Tell your filing agent about discrepancies. Updates to company particulars should be lodged using the appropriate Bizfile transaction before the Annual Return is submitted.
Already engaging us for company secretarial services? We'll incorporate the new ACRA confirmations into the preparation of your next Annual Return. We'll review the records available to us and reach out if we need you to verify any particulars or provide updated information. There is no need to arrange a separate Annual Return filing just because these changes are taking effect. Please continue to tell us promptly if your company's directors, officers, shareholders or registered details have changed.
Do you need to file something immediately on 20 October? Not solely because these amendments commence. The key operational change for most private companies is to verify the particulars and declarations required when their next Annual Return is prepared. Existing compliance obligations and filing deadlines still need to be met.
Common questions
Does every Singapore company now need a CEO?
No. The new Annual Return question asks whether anyone performs the CEO role. It does not, by itself, require every private company to appoint one.
Can our registered office now be closed all day?
The prescribed minimum public opening-hours rule is being removed. That does not override the company's duties to provide lawful access to records following reasonable notice, or to maintain a valid registered-office address.
Are Annual Return deadlines changing on 20 October?
ACRA's announcement addresses additional confirmations and declarations in the Annual Return, not a replacement of the ordinary filing deadlines. See our Annual Return and AGM timeline for the applicable filing schedule.
Need help checking your ACRA particulars?
We handle company secretarial filings and ongoing corporate compliance for Singapore companies. If your next Annual Return is approaching, send us the details that have changed or ask us to review the current records. We'll be happy to help you identify the right next step.
Contact our teamYou can also learn more about our company secretarial services.
Source: Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Commencement of Key Changes under the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 on 20 October 2026, announced 6 October 2026. This article reflects the announced changes as at 15 October 2026.
