The Colour-coded Compliance Rating for locally incorporated companies was launched in April 2010 to recognise companies that comply with three important statutory requirements under the Companies Act: the timely holding of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) (section 175), laying of up-to-date financial statements at the AGM (section 201), and the timely filing of the Annual Returns (AR) (section 197). [View mock-up screenshots]
A company which has fully complied with the statutory requirements based on the last AR filed is eligible for the Certificate of Compliance (
) with a unique certificate number. With effect from 1 February 2011, the Certificate of Compliance can be purchased from ACRA’s one-stop shopping portal, iShop@ACRA for a fee of $15.
To prevent fraud, validation of the Certificate of Compliance is available online free of charge.
What is the purpose of awarding the Certificate of Compliance?
Its purpose is similar to that of the Colour-coded Compliance Rating:
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To provide recognition to companies that are in compliance and to enable them to use their good track record for brand equity purposes, as prompt disclosure and good compliance translate to good corporate governance.
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To serve as an incentive for those not in compliance to strive to do better and be on time in their next AGM and annual filing.
Who is eligible for the Certificate of Compliance?
Companies which are fully compliant with the three statutory requirements under s175, s201 and s197 and rated with a 
based on the AR lodged, are eligible for the Certificate.
Newly incorporated companies are not eligible for the certificate if it has not held its first AGM and the AGM is not yet due.
How do I know whether a company is eligible for the Certificate of Compliance?
You can perform a check on ACRA's online Directory of Registered Entities search service. Companies eligible for a certificate will have an 
icon displayed under the heading “Certificate of Compliance” in the companies’ compliance record page.
Who can request for the Certificate of Compliance?
The company and any other interested parties can request for the Certificate of Compliance on any company.
Where can I obtain the Certificate of Compliance?
You may perform a search for the company via "Certificate of Compliance" or "Entity Search" in iShop@ACRA. If the company is eligible for a Certificate of Compliance, the company's Certificate of Compliance will be listed in the search result, and will be available for purchase.
Alternatively, you can perform a directory search via ACRA’s Directory of Registered Entities search service at ACRA website. From the directory search result, you will be able to know whether the company is in compliance through the 
or 
marked against the company’s name. If a 
is shown, click on it and you will be directed to the compliance record of the company where an icon is displayed under the heading “Certificate of Compliance”.
Upon clicking on the icon, you will be directed to iShop@ACRA to purchase the certificate.
Upon successful payment for purchase of the certificate, an email containing the URL to the certificate will be sent to you within 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can login to BizFile using your identification number and SingPass, and download the information from your inbox.
Note: Please save your purchased information as all URLs to electronic information will expire in 48 hours from the time of purchase.
If you do not receive the email containing the URL to the certificate within 30 minutes, please contact ACRA Helpdesk at 6248 6028 or use our interactive web service Ask ACRA.
What is the cost of the Certificate of Compliance?
Each Certificate of Compliance costs $15.
How do I know if a Certificate of Compliance presented by a third party is valid?
You can do a validation of the Certificate of Compliance presented to you via our Certificate of Compliance Validation Service, available at ACRA website.
You will be required to enter the company’s registration number and certificate number in the mandatory fields indicated. If the certificate is valid, a message will be displayed to confirm that the certificate is still valid.
What can I do to confirm that the validation result is correct?
You can do a fresh search on the entity via our Directory of Registered Entities search service to confirm the latest compliance status of the company.
Is the Certificate of Compliance awarded based on the compliance status of the company’s last financial year or the company’s compliance status over a period of time (e.g. compliance with annual filing over the past three years)?
The Certificate of Compliance is awarded based on the company's compliance status for the last financial year and is only valid until the next annual filing due date, or such time when the conpany's compliance status has changed.
A company has been compliant for two consecutive years and received the Certificate of Compliance for each year. If I try to validate the Certificate of Compliance that was issued in the 1st year, will the validation result show that the certificate is no longer valid?
The Certificate of Compliance is only valid for the particular financial year that the company is compliant. Any subsequent certificates issued to the company will render any preceding certificates issued invalid. The validation result will then show that the earlier certificate issued is invalid.
Does ACRA check through the lodgment records to ensure that the documents submitted by the “compliant” companies, are correct and complete? If not, what will happen to the compliance rating of the company if a member of the public reports to ACRA that information provided in the company’s AR is incomplete / inaccurate?
The compliance rating is displayed on the assumption that all filings and declarations made to ACRA are true and accurate.
The issuance of the Certificate is based on the dates as stated in the AR lodged. If ACRA receives notification from the public that information provided in a company’s AR is incomplete / inaccurate, we will conduct investigations, and take the necessary action. We will also amend the rating if necessary.
For enquiries, you may call our Helpdesk at 6248 6028 or use our interactive web service, Ask ACRA.