- Registered with ACRA · $350 all in
Register a sole proprietorship in Singapore
The simplest and cheapest way to put a business in your own name. We check the name, prepare the forms and file with ACRA for one fee of $350, with the government charges already inside it. Most registrations are approved the same day.
Not sure this is the right structure? Compare it against an LLP and a company first.
One owner. One fee. A straightforward registration.
We handle the ACRA filing for you.
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In a nutshell
What a sole proprietorship actually is
A sole proprietorship is a business registered with ACRA in the name of one owner. It is the simplest structure Singapore offers and the quickest to set up, which is why most people trading on their own start here: freelancers, consultants, tutors, online sellers, tradespeople and small single-person shops.
What it is not is a company. There are no shares, no directors and no separate legal entity. In law, you and the business are the same person. That is what makes it cheap and light to run, and it is also what makes it risky to own.
The five things that define it
01
It is not a separate legal entity
The business has no legal identity apart from you. It cannot own property, sign a contract, sue or be sued in its own name. You do all of that yourself, trading under the registered name.
02
Your liability is unlimited
Every debt of the business is your debt. If it cannot pay, creditors can claim against your personal savings and assets. This is the one real difference from a company, and it has no cap.
03
Exactly one owner
A sole proprietorship has a single owner. That owner can be a person, or it can be a Singapore company or an LLP. Two people going into business together need a partnership, an LLP or a company instead.
04
The registration expires
You register for one year or three, then renew before it expires. There is no annual return or statutory audit for a sole proprietorship, but you still need to keep proper business records and meet the tax, MediSave and other obligations that apply to your business.
05
The profit is taxed as your income
There is no corporate tax and no corporate tax exemption. Whatever the business earns is your personal income, declared in your own return and taxed at personal rates.
Registered with ACRA under the Business Names Registration Act 2014. A sole proprietorship has no separate legal identity or perpetual succession. Its continuity depends on the owner and the registration being kept active.
Choosing a structure
Sole proprietorship or private limited company?
The main trade-offs are liability, ownership structure, tax treatment and how much ongoing compliance you are comfortable with.
Sole proprietorship
One owner
Low-cost to start, with personal liability.
A sole proprietorship can suit a low-risk business run by one person, especially where the operations are simple and the owner is comfortable taking personal liability. Common examples include freelancers, tutors, home bakers, small online sellers and solo consultancies. Registration is straightforward, and there is no ACRA annual return or statutory audit, although tax, record-keeping and renewal obligations still apply.
- Registered the same day in most cases
- No audit and no annual return with ACRA
- No company secretary and no directors
- Profit taxed once, in your own return
- Closing it is a single ACRA filing
Private limited company
One or more shareholders
More compliance, but a separate legal entity.
A company can make more sense once the business signs significant contracts, holds stock, employs staff, borrows, takes on investors or needs a scalable ownership structure. Shareholders generally benefit from limited liability, while the company is taxed separately and may qualify for corporate tax exemptions. Company incorporation is $648, with 12 months of company secretary included.
- The company is a separate legal entity from its shareholders
- Start-up and partial tax exemptions may apply
- Corporate income tax rate is 17%, before applicable exemptions
- Shares can be issued, transferred and sold
- Better suited to investors, multiple owners or a scalable ownership structure
The main trade-off: unlimited personal liability.
A sole proprietorship is not a separate legal entity, so business debts and legal claims can become the owner’s personal responsibility. That may be acceptable for some small, low-risk activities, but the exposure increases where the business signs larger contracts, holds stock, employs staff or borrows. In those cases, a company or LLP may provide a more suitable liability structure.
Pricing
$350 to register your business, all in
One fee for the whole registration. The ACRA charges are already inside it, there is no GST, and nothing is billed after the business is live.
Business registration
Sole proprietorship
$350 one-time, one year of registration
The same fee whether the owner is a person or a company. Most registrations are approved within hours of us filing.
Includes the $15 ACRA name application and the $100 registration fee. No GST.
Everything inside the $350
- Name check and reservation with ACRA
- Preparation of all registration forms
- Preparation of registration filing and required declarations
- All ACRA registration fees included
- Notice of successful registration
- Your Unique Entity Number (UEN)
- ACRA business profile
- Bank account opening assistance
The fee covers a one-year registration. After that the renewal is $30 payable to ACRA, or $90 for three years. If your business activity needs a licence or a referral to another government authority, that approval sits outside this fee and we will tell you before you commit.
Renewal is separate
The $350 registers the business for one year. ACRA charges $30 to renew it, or $90 for three years, paid when it falls due. See all pricing.
You may need an address
The business needs a Singapore address, and a home address is only usable with HDB or URA approval. Our registered address service is $245 a year.
Comparing the alternatives
An LLP is $450 and a private limited company is $648, both all in. The table above sets the three side by side.
Eligibility
Who can register a sole proprietorship in Singapore
The core requirements are straightforward. An individual owner must be at least 18, and ACRA also permits a company or LLP to own a sole proprietorship. Additional conditions apply to foreign owners, pass holders, MediSave and undischarged bankrupts.
18 and over
Singapore citizens and PRs
Any Singapore citizen or permanent resident aged 18 or above can register one in their own name, provided their MediSave contributions are up to date.
ACRA
With consent
Pass holders
FIN holders and other pass holders should check whether their pass conditions allow them to own and operate the business, and obtain any approval required by the authority that issued the pass.
MOM / ICA
From overseas
Owners living outside Singapore
A foreigner living abroad can own a Singapore sole proprietorship. They must appoint at least one authorised representative who is ordinarily resident in Singapore and engage a corporate service provider (CSP) to register on their behalf.
ACRA
Not only people
Companies and LLPs
The owner does not have to be an individual. A Singapore company or an LLP can register and own a sole proprietorship, which is a common way to run a second trading name.
ACRA
Before you file
MediSave has to be current
If a self-employed owner has MediSave payable, it must be paid in full or covered by a monthly instalment arrangement with CPF Board before registration or renewal can proceed.
CPF Board
Restricted
Undischarged bankrupts
An undischarged bankrupt cannot manage or take part in the management of a business without the approval of the High Court or the Official Assignee.
Insolvency Act
Before you register
What you need to register a sole proprietorship
Six things ACRA asks for. Have them ready and the filing itself takes minutes.
An approved business name
The name has to clear ACRA before the business can be registered. It cannot be identical to an existing name, undesirable, or already reserved by someone else. We run the check and reserve it for you.
A description of your activities
What the business will actually do, matched to one or two SSIC codes. Some activities, such as food, education, travel and finance, need a separate licence or a referral to another authority first.
A Singapore business address
The main address the business will operate from. P.O. boxes are not accepted. Running it from home is allowed under the Home Office Scheme, with HDB or URA approval obtained beforehand.
Your particulars
NRIC or FIN details and your residential address, exactly as they appear on your identity document. Where a company or LLP is the owner, its UEN and registered address instead.
An authorised representative, if you live abroad
An owner who is not ordinarily resident in Singapore appoints at least one authorised representative who is: a citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible pass holder, aged 18 or over.
Declarations
We prepare the registration filing and any required declarations, then send the relevant documents to you for confirmation before submission.
How it works
Three steps to a registered business
Most sole proprietorships are approved within hours of us filing, once the name clears and you have signed. Nothing goes to ACRA without your confirmation.
1
Tell us about the business
Complete the short registration form, or call and we will take the details down with you. It runs to about ten minutes. We need the proposed name, what the business will do, the address it will run from and your NRIC or FIN details.
2
We check the name and prepare the filing
We run the name against ACRA’s register and reserve it, then prepare the registration filing and any required declarations for your confirmation before submission.
3
We file, and your business is live
Once the name is approved and the forms are signed, we file with ACRA. In most cases the registration is approved the same day, and we send you the notice of registration, your UEN and the ACRA business profile.
What to have ready
- Your NRIC or FIN, and your residential address
- Two or three proposed business names, in order of preference
- A short description of what the business will do
- The Singapore address the business will operate from
- HDB or URA approval, if you intend to run it from home
- MediSave paid up, or an instalment plan already in place
Ready to register your sole proprietorship?
Send us your details and we take it from there. We check the name, prepare the forms and file with ACRA, usually on the same day.
Side by side
Sole proprietorship, LLP or private limited company
The same nine questions, answered for the three structures most Singapore businesses choose between.
| Sole proprietorship | Limited liability partnership | Private limited company | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owners | One owner only | Two or more partners, no maximum | One to 50 shareholders |
| Separate legal entity | No | Yes | Yes |
| Personal liability | Unlimited for the owner. An individual owner is personally responsible for business debts and losses. | Partners are not personally liable for debts caused by other partners, but remain liable for their own wrongful acts. | Limited to the amount unpaid on the shareholder's shares, subject to matters such as personal guarantees or the shareholder's own wrongdoing. |
| How profit is taxed | Depends on the owner. An individual owner is taxed at personal rates; a corporate owner follows corporate tax treatment. | At each partner's own rates. A corporate partner pays corporate rates. | Corporate income tax, with exemptions where applicable |
| Audit | Not required | Not required | Required unless an audit exemption applies |
| Filed with ACRA each year | Renewal of the registration, $30 a year | Annual declaration stating whether the LLP is solvent or insolvent | Annual return, plus financial statements in some cases |
| Officers required | None | At least one local manager | At least one local director and a company secretary |
| Does the registration expire | Yes. Renewed every one or three years. | No | No |
| Our fee to register it | $350 | $450 | $648 |
A sole proprietorship is the simplest structure but gives the owner unlimited personal liability. An LLP suits two or more owners who want a separate legal entity with partnership-style flexibility. A private limited company is often considered when liability protection, ownership structure, fundraising or tax treatment becomes more important. If you are still weighing it up, our guide to Singapore business structures works through all five.
Tax
How a sole proprietorship is taxed
For the common case where the owner is an individual, the sole proprietorship is not taxed separately. Its business income is reported in the owner’s individual Income Tax Return and added to other personal income, with tax charged at the applicable individual rates. There is no separate corporate tax return for the business. If the registered owner is a company or LLP, the tax treatment follows that owner’s structure instead.
For an individual owner, administration is simple, but the tax outcome changes as income rises because business profit is combined with other personal income. A company is a separate taxpayer subject to corporate income tax at 17% before applicable exemptions. Liability, ownership and compliance should be considered alongside tax when choosing the structure.
Your tax year, in order
01
Keep your records as you go
Track what the business earns and what it spends, and keep the supporting documents. IRAS requires them to be kept for five years, even though nothing is filed with ACRA.
02
Work out your net trade income
Revenue less allowable business expenses. That figure is your business income for the year of assessment, whether or not you actually took the money out of the business.
03
File Form B/B1 if required
If you meet IRAS’s filing criteria, report the business income under “Trade, Business, Profession or Vocation” in your individual Income Tax Return (Form B/B1). E-filing is from 1 March to 18 April. There is no separate income tax return for the sole proprietorship itself.
04
Pay MediSave as a self-employed person
Once your net trade income for the year is more than $6,000, the CPF Board requires MediSave contributions on it. Keeping those current is also a condition of renewing the registration.
GST is a separate question. Compulsory registration applies if taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million under the retrospective calendar-year test, or if you can reasonably expect taxable turnover to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months. Our guide to registering for GST covers the process.
After you register
What a sole proprietorship has to do each year
Less than any other structure, and most of it is one renewal. These are the obligations that stay with you once the UEN is issued.
1 or 3 years
Renew before it expires
The registration is not permanent. You renew it for one year at $30, or three years at $90, and you can do that from 60 days before the expiry date.
ACRA
60 days
What happens if you miss it
Running the business after the registration has expired is an offence. ACRA may cancel the registration 60 days after expiry, and renewing late attracts a penalty.
ACRA
Before renewal
MediSave has to be current
ACRA will not process a renewal while MediSave is outstanding. A three-year renewal also needs either no arrears at all, or an instalment plan kept up for 24 consecutive months.
CPF Board
14 days
Changes to your particulars
A change of business name, address, activity or owner particulars is lodged with ACRA within 14 days of it happening.
ACRA
By 18 Apr
Income tax filing, where required
If you meet IRAS’s filing criteria, report the business profit as trade income in Form B/B1. The sole proprietorship does not file a separate corporate income tax return, but you must keep proper records and accounts for at least five years.
IRAS
On every bill
Name and UEN on your documents
The registered business name and its UEN have to appear on invoices, letterheads, statements of account and official business correspondence.
BNRA 2014
And what you never have to do
A sole proprietorship avoids much of the company-law compliance that applies to a Pte Ltd: no annual return, AGM, company secretary, directors or statutory audit. You still need to keep proper business records, file tax where required, keep MediSave arrangements current where applicable, renew the registration and meet any GST, licensing or employer obligations that apply. For a fuller walkthrough, see our guide to starting a sole proprietorship in Singapore.
FAQs
Sole proprietorship questions, answered
What do I need to register a sole proprietorship in Singapore?
A business name that ACRA will approve, a description of what the business will do, a Singapore address it will operate from, and your NRIC or FIN details with your residential address. For an individual self-employed owner, MediSave arrangements must also be in order where applicable.
We prepare the registration filing and any required declarations for your confirmation before submission. Nothing is filed until you have confirmed it.
How long does it take to register a sole proprietorship?
The information we need takes about ten minutes to give us. Once the name is approved and you have signed, most registrations are approved by ACRA within hours, and in many cases the same day.
A small number take longer. Applications that need to be referred to another government authority, usually because of the business activity, can take between 14 and 60 days. We will tell you if yours is one of them before you pay.
Can I run my sole proprietorship from home?
Yes, under the Home Office Scheme. You need approval from HDB if you live in a flat, or from URA if the property is private, and that approval should be in place before you register the address with ACRA.
A P.O. box is never accepted as a business address. If you would rather not put your home address on a public register, our registered address service is $245 a year.
Can a foreigner register a sole proprietorship in Singapore?
Yes. A foreigner aged 18 or over can own a Singapore sole proprietorship. If they live outside Singapore, they must appoint at least one authorised representative who is ordinarily resident here and engage a corporate service provider (CSP) to register on their behalf.
Pass holders who are already in Singapore should check their pass conditions and obtain any approval required by the authority that issued the pass. Relocating to run the business yourself is a separate pass matter.
Is a sole proprietorship a separate legal entity?
No, and this is the most important thing to understand about the structure. The business has no legal identity apart from its owner. It cannot own property, hold a contract or be sued in its own name; you do all of that personally, under the registered business name.
The practical consequence is unlimited liability. Every debt the business runs up is your debt, and creditors can claim against your personal assets if the business cannot pay.
Can two people own a sole proprietorship together?
No. A sole proprietorship has exactly one owner. Two or more people going into business together need a general partnership, a limited liability partnership or a private limited company instead.
Of those, an LLP or a company gives the owners limited liability, which a general partnership does not.
Can my company own a sole proprietorship?
Yes. The owner does not have to be an individual. A Singapore company or an LLP can register and own a sole proprietorship, and it is a common way to run a second trading name under an existing entity.
Where the owner is a corporate body, we register it against the company’s UEN and registered address rather than a personal NRIC.
Does a sole proprietorship need a company secretary or annual returns?
No. There is no company secretary, no directors, no annual general meeting and no annual return. Nothing is audited and no financial statements are ever filed with ACRA.
What remains is short: renew the registration before it expires, keep proper records, and declare the profit in your own income tax return.
How is a sole proprietorship taxed in Singapore?
For an individual owner, the business profit is taxed in the owner’s name. It is added to the owner’s other personal income and taxed at the applicable individual rates. If IRAS’s filing criteria apply, the income is reported in Form B/B1.
This differs from a private limited company, which is a separate taxpayer subject to corporate income tax and may qualify for corporate tax exemptions. If the registered sole-proprietorship owner is a company or LLP, the tax treatment follows that owner’s structure instead.
Do I have to pay CPF or MediSave as a sole proprietor?
You do not pay yourself employer CPF, because you are not an employee of the business. You do have to make MediSave contributions as a self-employed person once your net trade income for the year is more than $6,000.
Keeping MediSave current is also important for the business registration: ACRA requires owners to make arrangements with CPF Board for outstanding MediSave before renewal can be processed. If you employ anyone, normal CPF obligations apply to them.
How often do I renew my sole proprietorship registration?
Every one or three years, depending on the term you chose. ACRA charges $30 for a one-year renewal and $90 for three years, and you can renew from 60 days before the expiry date.
Carrying on the business after the registration has expired is an offence, and ACRA may cancel the registration 60 days after expiry. A three-year renewal also requires either no outstanding MediSave, or an instalment plan maintained for 24 consecutive months.
Does a sole proprietorship need to register for GST?
Compulsory GST registration applies if taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million under the retrospective calendar-year test, or if you can reasonably expect taxable turnover to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months under the prospective test.
Our guide to registering for GST sets out the process, exceptions and what changes once you are registered.
How much does it cost to register a sole proprietorship in Singapore?
Our fee is $350, one time, with every government charge already inside it. That covers the ACRA name application, the registration fee, the preparation and filing, your UEN and the ACRA business profile.
No GST is added. The only later cost is the ACRA renewal, which is $30 a year or $90 for three years and is paid when the registration falls due.
Are the ACRA fees included in your price?
Yes. ACRA charges $15 for the business name application and $100 to register the business for one year. Both sit inside the $350, along with our professional fee, so there is nothing to pay ACRA separately at registration.
Should I register a sole proprietorship or a private limited company?
Ask what happens if something goes wrong. If the worst realistic outcome is a small refund to an unhappy client, a sole proprietorship is the right structure and the cheapest way to trade legally. If the business will hold stock, sign contracts of any size, borrow money or employ people, the unlimited liability is doing real damage and a company is worth the extra cost.
Profit matters too. Once the business is consistently profitable, the corporate rate and the start-up exemptions usually beat personal income tax rates. The comparison table on this page sets both out alongside an LLP.
Can I convert my sole proprietorship into a private limited company later?
Yes, and it is a common path. Technically it is not a conversion: you incorporate a new company, transfer the business, its contracts and its assets across to it, then cease the sole proprietorship with ACRA.
Plan it around a clean date, usually a financial year end, so the tax position is easy to separate. Tell us what you have today and we will set out the steps and the cost.
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Guides
Read our guides
Plain-English explanations of the rules behind the structures.
Next step
Register your sole proprietorship
Start the registration online, or talk to us first if unlimited personal liability gives you pause and a private limited company would suit you better. We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner.
Email [email protected] · Call +65 3159 4755 · Weekdays 10am – 6pm