How to Change the Registered Address of a Singapore Company

There are a number of common changes that business owners make after registering their company. You might want to change the name of your company or change the particulars of your company officers or auditors.

This article will be about how you can change the registered address of your company.

Under section 142(1) of the Companies Act, all companies in Singapore are required to have a valid registered address. All company matters will be sent to this address.

For example, under the law, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is required to send all Income Tax Forms and notices to the registered address of the company.

If you wish to receive the forms and notices at a correspondence address other than the current registered address, you have to update the correspondence address as the company’s registered address with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) (see point 4 below).

If you do not have a valid registered address, you will be liable on conviction to a fine up to $5,000 and also to a default penalty.

1. Decide on a New Address

When deciding on a new company address, you generally need to consider a few factors:

• The location and its accessibility. For example, if you require clients to visit your office, you may wish to seek a location that is more prominent than remote. This may also attract potential employees who may choose their current office based on the ease of accessing it;
• All costs incurred. You may wish to check if your rent or lease covers the costs of building maintenance or public utilities (E.g. cleaning services or electricity bills), and beware of any hidden costs. For example, where you are asked to pay an additional fee for services;
• Availability of amenities. For example, if you need quick access to banks or post offices during working hours, choosing an office location that has these amenities nearby would be a convenient option; and
• If services are provided. For example, if telephone line(s) and WIFI network is required to meet your business needs.

Nevertheless, rather than renting a physical space to use as your office, there are now other alternatives that appear more attractive, especially to small companies.

You can consider subscribing to a virtual office package and utilising a virtual office as your new address. Alternatively, you can consider working from a co-working space, or even from your own home.

However, depending on the type of address that you are planning to register as your new address, you might have to get government approval before you can do so.

Do note that P.O. Box addresses cannot be used as your business address.

2. Prepare and Pass a Board Resolution for the Change of Address

After deciding on your new address, your company’s board of directors will need to pass a Board Resolution to change your company’s address.

The following steps are required in order to pass such a Board Resolution:

1. Prepare the written resolution to change the company address.
2. Decide on a date for a board meeting and inform all directors of the date of the meeting, as well as the proposal to pass the resolution to change the company address.
3. At the meeting, more than 50% of the directors on the Board have to agree to the resolution for it to be passed.

3. Moving Office

While changing your registered address, you will also need to plan your company’s relocation in advance.

You will need to check the tenancy agreement of your new place, as well as review and terminate your current tenancy agreement. In addition, you might have to terminate or transfer any relevant service contracts for services like communications services or public utilities.

You may wish to refer to our article on moving office to find out more about what you need to look out for when relocating your company.

4. Informing ACRA of the Change in Address

After confirming your company’s new address, you will need to file a “Change in Company Information (Change in Registered Office Address and Office Hours)” transaction with ACRA via the BizFile+ website. This has to be done within 14 days from the date of change of address.

Any director or company secretary of the company can file the application online by logging into the BizFile+ website with the company’s CorpPass account.

Filing such updates are free, but there is a penalty of up to $350 for late filing.

You will need to provide the new address of your company, as well as the date of change, along with any other supporting documents, e.g. the HDB/URA application form for your home-based office.

The e-transaction will take about 4 to 15 minutes to complete and will usually take 3 working days to process. However, it may take between 14 working days to 2 months if the application needs to be referred to another agency for approval or review.

For more information, you may refer to the step-by-step eGuide on how to navigate the BizFile+ website and change your company’s registered address.

5. Updating other Relevant Stakeholders

Once you have updated your company’s address on ACRA, you will not need to notify the IRAS separately since IRAS will update its records based on the information filed with ACRA on a weekly basis.

IRAS will then send any notices or correspondence for tax purposes to your new address.

However, you will have to notify other government agencies like the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or the CPF Board separately. This is so that any future correspondence pertaining to your company or your employees, e.g. notice of CPF contribution or work permit issues, can be sent to your new address from then on.

To update MOM, you will need to log in via Employment Pass (EP) Online as an “employer”, using your company’s CorpPass account, and just select the option to “Change Particulars” on the left menu.

To notify the CPF Board, you just have to print out and complete this form, and mail it to the CPF Board.

Apart from notifying the relevant authorities, you should also inform your suppliers, banks, customers, as well as update your new address on your company website or on social media so that others know where to find you.

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