Singapore has an official regulatory body that administers the registration of corporations, corporate service providers and public accountants in the country. Singapore refers to it as Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

ACRA also facilitates the advancement of organizations within Singapore. In accordance with this mandate, ACRA has established a registration process for organizations in that each organization gets a specific identification number as its own identity when going through the procedure. Choosing UEN Number is a crucial step in starting a venture. Full details of the process are provided on their website, BizFile.

The BizFile

Singapore has also embraced the passage of digitization when it comes to best practices for government and services. ACRA developed BizFile to reduce the tedious process of working with government agencies. It is a completely digital portal, which has entirely transformed the process of completing an application. Applicants no longer have to visit the offices and submit applications in terminals and in long lines.

What is UEN?

UEN number is a code that is unique to every business in Singapore. It is required for businesses to use various government e-services. If you are starting a new business, you will need to apply for a UEN number from ACRA. This guide will show you how to ensure you get the right UEN number.

Singapore-based companies (local ones included) require a unique identification number to transact with government agencies (sometimes called the Unique Entity Number, or UEN). Businesses previously used other identification numbers when they intend to deal with government agencies. Of those identification numbers, the UEN was the most common.

How to choose a preferred UEN Number for a company?

This optional UEN number is referred to as a Special UEN (SUN). But they are optional, unlike the mandatory free UEN. If you think your business can do without the SUN, you can select the UEN. Like its free and mandatory UEN counterpart, SUN is used to identify a business entity and also enable businesses to operate and transact with the government.

How can you apply for SUN?

In cases where a business is registered but converted to another company type, a list of all the UENs that have been reserved in the business by the previous owner is provided, and business owners can select their desired UEN from the list.

SUN is one of the primary startups in the market because as a business owner, you can choose your desired number of liabilities. This makes one’s memory much easier to remember when you find yourself dealing with the company’s numbers. It makes it much easier to recall an arbitrary number given to you than to pick one yourself.

While it is an optional feature and incurs a fee, one can choose their desired SUN in BizFile during the payment process. During the process, check the box titled Do you wish to select a Special Unique Entity Number (SUN)? if it pops up, click on the button labelled YES once you’re redirected to the SUN page. If you’re certain you don’t want to use the SUN, select the button labelled “NO” and the system will autodetect it.

It is important to make sure you get the right UEN number for business. This can be done by doing a search online, or by contacting the company directly. Once you have the right number, you can use it to register your business with the government.

Danny White