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A UEN search takes a minute and costs nothing. Open ACRA's Bizfile, choose the entity search and type a name or a number. If you need the officers, shareholders and registration details on paper, a Business Profile costs S$5.50 and arrives within 15 minutes.
Checked against ACRA, MOF and Data.gov.sg.
What is a Unique Entity Number?
The UEN is a standard identification number for every registered entity in Singapore. A finance ministry release on its launch put it this way: the UEN is for registered entities what the NRIC is for Singapore citizens. It replaced the mix of separate registration numbers that agencies used before.
It started on for 51 government agencies, and the rest followed by . Businesses and local companies kept their ACRA registration number as the UEN. Other entities, such as limited liability partnerships, foreign companies, societies and management corporations, received newly assigned ones.
ACRA is one of several UEN issuance agencies. Data.gov.sg lists entities from 16 agencies, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Health, in two datasets: one for entities registered with ACRA and one for those registered with other agencies.
How do you search a UEN on Bizfile?
- Go to bizfile.gov.sg.
- Open the entity search.
- Type the business name or the UEN.
- If you search by number, choose the filter for UEN including previous UEN. That also finds an entity that has changed its number.
- Open the right result and read the status and registered address.
You can also confirm whether an entity is a registered corporate service provider, which matters if a provider is asking you to hand over documents. The full list of free searches is in our Bizfile guide.
What does a UEN look like?
The shape depends on the entity type. ACRA's format guide gives these patterns.
| Entity | Pattern | Length | Example from ACRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship or partnership | 8 digits plus a letter | 9 characters | 12345678A |
| Local company | Year, 5 digits, letter | 10 characters | 199012345X |
| LLP, foreign company, public accounting firm | T, year digits, entity code, digits, letter | 10 characters | T08LL1234A |
The final letter is a check character added by the system. ACRA also says the first and last parts of a UEN are system-generated and cannot be changed. Only the middle digits can be chosen if you apply for a Special UEN. The examples are patterns, not real entities.
What does the free search show, and what is paid?
The free entity search gives the basics: whether the entity is live, its registered address and CSP status. For the registered officers and the business activities, ACRA sells a Business Profile.
| Product | What it is for | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Free search | Status, registered address, CSP check | Free |
| Business Profile | UEN, entity name, registration date, position holders and owners | S$5.50 |
| Corporate Compliance and Financial Profile | Profile plus financial ratios and audit opinion | S$50 |
Read the business profile guide before buying, because a free copy is sent to the person who has just filed.
Where do you need a UEN?
Almost everywhere in business life:
- Opening a bank account and signing contracts.
- Invoices and official letters.
- Applying for Corppass: the first thing the portal asks for is the entity's UEN. See the Corppass guide.
- Registering for GST and filing tax with IRAS.
- Applying for work passes with MOM.
If you cannot find your own company's UEN, look in the Notice of Successful Incorporation, then run the entity search by name.
How do you check that a company is real before you pay it?
Use three checks, in order. First, run the entity search and confirm the name and UEN match what the supplier gave you. Second, read the status: a live entity is currently registered, so a struck-off or ceased one is a warning sign. Third, compare the registered address with the one on the invoice. If something is off, buy a Business Profile to see the position holders.
This is general due-diligence advice from us. ACRA's pages describe the search, not a fraud checklist. We are an independent guide and not ACRA.
What can go wrong with a UEN search?
Three things come up. A search by name returns several close matches, so read the registered address before you copy a number. An old number may no longer match, which is why the previous-UEN filter exists. And the free view is a status check, not proof of good standing: it will not show you filed accounts, officers' history or financial position.
Data.gov.sg also publishes the registered-entity data as downloadable files, which helps if you need to check many entities at once rather than one at a time. The data covers entities registered since February 1881 and ran up to October at our check, so the newest registrations may lag behind Bizfile.
What if you want a provider to handle company records?
Looking up a UEN is simple to do alone. Registering a company and keeping its records in order is where many owners hire help. If you would rather hand that over, use the quote form on this page and we will pass the request to suitable providers. We may be paid a referral fee when a request becomes a client, which does not change any fee shown on this page.
Sources
- ACRA, using Bizfile's search functions: https://www.acra.gov.sg/resources/guides-forms/using-bizfiles-search-functions/ (entity search, UEN filter, CSP check).
- ACRA, applying for a Special UEN: https://www.acra.gov.sg/resources/guides-forms/applying-for-special-uen/ (UEN prefix and suffix are system-generated, middle digits customisable).
- Government UEN format annex: https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/153/17ee6a09-7414-4e9b-ada9-3e6d9a01840e/annexe060808.pdf (format patterns and examples).
- Ministry of Finance, UEN release: https://www.mof.gov.sg/news-resources/newsroom/unique-entity-number-brings-convenience-to-entities/ (start dates, which entities kept their numbers).
- Data.gov.sg, registered entities with UEN: https://data.gov.sg/dataset/entities-with-unique-entity-number (16 issuance agencies, two datasets).
- ACRA, types of information products: https://www.acra.gov.sg/resources/buying-business-information/types-of-acra-information-products/ (Business Profile and CCFP fees).
