What is Unique Entity Number (UEN) in Singapore?

Unique Entity Number (UEN) is a 9 or 10 digit identification number that is issued by the government in Singapore to all entities that operate within the country.

Businesses and local companies that are registered with ACRA will retain their ACRA registration number as their UEN. You will get your UEN upon incorporation. 

Benefits of UEN

With a UEN, you can have a seamless interaction with government agencies. Be it filing your corporate tax returns or applying for import/export permits, you do not have to use various numbers to interact with different government agencies. The only number that you would need is your UEN.

Who will get a UEN?

After UEN was introduced in 2009, all entities that are registered in Singapore listed below need to have a UEN:

  • Businesses
  • Local companies
  • Limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
  • Societies
  • Representative offices
  • Healthcare institutions
  • Trade unions

Do take note that your UEN is a permanent and unique number that cannot be changed if your business name changes. This unique number will also not be given to any other entity.

Who will be exempted from getting a UEN?

UEN will not be issued to the following:

  • Individuals (required to have their own identification number)
  • Foreign-based companies with no interaction with local government agencies
  • Sub-entities of a Singapore company classified as a branch
Do take note that some government agencies may choose to add sub-entity codes to UEN in their system if they need to identify and communicate with the branches.

How do I find out an entity’s UEN?

If you are looking for another company’s UEN that has been registered with ACRA, you can search for it via the directory search here. Upon searching, you will get to see the UEN, company name, UEN status, UEN issuance agency, entity type and partial address will appear on the website. 

If the company is not registered with ACRA but other agencies (listed above), you can use the same directory search to find out more information.

UEN formats

Below are the 3 UEN formats listed: 

 

Issued to

UEN format 

A

Businesses registered with ACRA

nnnnnnnnX 

(9 digits)

B

Local companies registered with ACRA

yyyynnnnnX 

(10 digits)

C

All other entities which will be issued new UEN

TyyPQnnnnX

(10 digits)

‘n’ = a number

‘P’= a alphabetical letter 

‘Q’ = an alpha-numeric digit

‘PQ’ = Entity-type 2

‘Tyy’ / ‘Syy’ / ‘yyyy’= year of issuance 3

‘X’ = a check alphabet

For example, the UEN for a limited liability partnership (LLP) formed on 1 January 2009 could be ‘T09LL0001B’.

If you are a foreign entity registered with ACRA, you will also be issued with a UEN with ACRA and it will look like TyyUFnnnnX.

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