When a company is incorporated in Singapore, the personal particulars of its officers and owners are submitted to Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
This includes directors, the company secretary, and shareholders. The information recorded includes their full name, nationality, identification number and address. Here’s how you can keep it private.
1) How Anyone Can Access Your Information On ACRA
The most common window into a company’s registration details is its Business Profile. For a nominal fee, any member of the public can purchase and download this document directly from ACRA’s BizFile online portal.
This profile serves as the company’s official identity card, containing essential information such as the company name, incorporation date and the registered office address.
Beyond the corporate data, the Business Profile also lists key personnel. This leads to the direct disclosure of information about the individuals managing and owning the company.
Furthermore, ACRA offers a “People Profile” service. This report provides a consolidated view of an individual’s corporate involvement, listing all business entities they are currently or were previously associated with, including their specific appointments (e.g., director, shareholder).
2) Protect Your Personal Information On ACRA
ACRA has implemented measures to allow business owners and company officers to enhance the privacy of their personal details, particularly their residential address, on the public register. The primary mechanism for this is the Contact Address regime.
Simply put, you can prevent your residential address from being publicly accessible on ACRA’s records by registering a “Contact Address.”
Unlike the older “Alternate Address” system that ACRA uses, the new “Contact Address” system is free-of-charge to use.
3) How Does The ACRA Contact Address System Work?
When an individual, be it a director, shareholder, or business owner, registers a Contact Address with ACRA, it is this address that will be displayed in all public records, including the Business Profile that can be purchased from ACRA’s BizFile portal.
The Contact Address is an alternative address that is displayed instead of your residential address. This can be your office address, the address of your corporate service provider, or another valid physical address where you can be contacted.
However, do note that all individuals must still provide their true and current Residential Address to ACRA for its internal records.
All official correspondence from ACRA to the individual (such as legal notices or compliance reminders) will continue to be sent to the private Residential Address on file, not the public Contact Address.
4) Legal Requirements For A Valid Contact Address
To be accepted by ACRA, a proposed Contact Address must meet several criteria:
- Must be a Physical Address: The address must correspond to a physical location where the individual can be reliably contacted. This could be a business office, the office of a corporate service provider, or another suitable physical location.
- No P.O. Boxes: A Post Office (P.O.) Box address is explicitly disallowed. The requirement for a physical location is strict.
- Same Jurisdiction Requirement: The Contact Address must be located within the same jurisdiction (i.e., the same country) as the individual’s registered Residential Address. This prevents the use of overseas addresses to obscure an individual’s location from a regulatory standpoint.
5) How To Add Your Contact Address On ACRA
For Existing Company Officers and Business Owners
Individuals who have already registered a business and have their residential address on public display can update their records at any time.
- Login to BizFile: Login to the BizFile portal.
- Navigate to the Correct eService: Select the relevant transaction for updating personal information. For company officers, this is typically the “Change in Personal Particulars of Company Officers” eService. For sole proprietors or partners, it would be the “Change in Personal Particulars of Business Owners or Authorised Representatives” eService.
- Enter the Contact Address: Within the eService form, there will be an option to add or update the Contact Address. Enter the new, valid address in this field. The system will retain the existing Residential Address on file.
- Submit the Change: Review the changes and submit the application. There is no government fee for filing or updating a Contact Address. The change should be reflected in ACRA’s public records shortly after processing.
For Registering A New Company
The most efficient approach is to provide the Contact Address at the point of registration.
- Prepare the Address: Before starting the incorporation process, decide on the valid Contact Address that will be used for all directors, shareholders, and other relevant individuals.
- Enter Details During Application: During the online incorporation process on BizFile, there will be fields to enter the particulars for each company officer and shareholder.
- Provide Both Addresses: For each individual, enter their true Residential Address in the designated field. Then, enter the chosen proxy address in the Contact Address field.
- Complete Incorporation: Once all details are entered correctly, proceed with the incorporation. The public-facing records will automatically display only the Contact Address from the outset.
By following these steps, any entrepreneur can effectively utilize ACRA’s primary privacy shield, removing their home address from the public domain.
