Corporate Service Provider (CSP)

A Corporate Service Provider (CSP) is a person or business that provides specific corporate services set out under the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024 (CSP Act), which took effect on 9 June 2025. CSPs include law firms, accounting firms, and corporate secretarial firms. All CSPs must register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) — you can check whether a provider is registered using Bizfile’s entity search.

Who must register

Registration is required if you provide any of these six services to others:

1. Business registration — setting up corporations or other legal entities for clients
2. Address services — registered office, business, correspondence, or virtual office addresses
3. Role services — acting or arranging for others to act as company directors, secretaries, or partners
4. Nominee shareholder services — acting or arranging for others to act as nominee shareholders (doesn’t apply to listed companies)
5. Designated accounting services — accounting services combined with designated activities like buying/selling real estate or managing client money and accounts
6. Filing services — filing ACRA transactions on behalf of others, including annual returns and maintaining company registers

Who doesn’t need to register

• Existing Registered Filing Agents (RFAs) — registrations transitioned automatically to CSP status on 9 June 2025, with the same expiry date and no new application needed. RFAs must still separately notify ACRA of the specific CSP services they provide via ACRA’s Update Corporate Service Provider Information eService.
• Registered Public Accounting Entities, unless filing transactions on behalf of others
• Landlords leasing a dedicated physical space under a proper tenancy agreement
• Intermediaries who only refer customers to registered CSPs
• Anyone filing for their own entity, or for a holding company/related corporation as group secretary

Requirements to register

To register as a CSP, a business must meet four requirements:

1. Business registration — registered with ACRA as a business, company, LLP, or LP
2. Registered Qualified Individual (RQI) — the business must have at least one RQI: either the applicant themselves, a partner, or an employed/engaged individual
3. Fit and proper requirements — directors, partners, and anyone directly or indirectly involved in management must meet ACRA’s fit and proper criteria
4. Mandatory AML/CFT/PF training and test — at least one director, owner, or partner must complete a prescribed course and pass a proficiency test within six months before applying, offered through the Chartered Secretaries Institute of Singapore (CSIS) or the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)

The training course costs $200 (a 3.5-hour live webinar), and the proficiency test costs $45 per attempt (40 multiple-choice questions, unlimited attempts, course completion required first).

If ACRA has previously cancelled a CSP’s registration, they must wait two years before reapplying.

How to register

Registration is done via Bizfile: complete the application, declare you meet the fit and proper requirements, appoint at least one RQI, submit, and pay the fee. Any appointed RQIs other than the one who submitted the application must separately log in and endorse their appointment before the application proceeds. ACRA then reviews the applicant’s compliance history, any record of professional misconduct or serious negligence, and understanding of targeted financial sanctions legislation, before approving and issuing a unique CSP number.

Registration deadline and penalties

Providers offering corporate services when the CSP Act took effect had to register with ACRA by 9 December 2025. Providing corporate services in or from Singapore without registration is illegal, with a fine of up to $50,000 on conviction.

Ongoing obligations

Registered CSPs must comply with the CSP Act and CSP Regulations 2025, including anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and countering weapons of mass destruction proliferation (AML/CFT/PF) requirements — covering employee screening against fit-and-proper standards and ongoing compliance training.

Registration must be renewed every two years. If it lapses, the CSP cannot file transactions for clients and must renew within 60 days or reapply from scratch. CSPs must also notify ACRA of changes to their own particulars promptly, and of any RQI changes (including appointments or withdrawals) within 14 days.

HeySara is a registered CSP with ACRA, and our corporate secretarial service operates in full compliance with the CSP Act.