What is a Unique Entity Number (UEN) in Singapore?
A Unique Entity Number (UEN) is the official identification number assigned to every legally registered business in Singapore. Think of it as your company’s national ID card. It is a single, permanent number used for all official government transactions.
Before the UEN system was introduced in 2009, businesses had to manage multiple registration numbers for different agencies.
The UEN was created to simplify this, providing one number for everything from filing taxes to making employee pension contributions.
You can check a UEN number validity in our article.
Why Your UEN is Essential for Business Operations
Your UEN is the key to interacting with any government agency in Singapore. Anytime you act on behalf of your business, you will need this number.
You will use your UEN for critical tasks such as:
- Filing corporate taxes with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
- Making Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for your employees.
- Applying for business licenses and permits.
- Opening a corporate bank account.
In short, if your organization is registered in Singapore, it will have a UEN.
How Do You Get a UEN?
The good news is that you don’t need to apply for a UEN separately. It is automatically assigned to your business when you successfully register it with the relevant government agency.
For most foreign investors setting up a company, this happens during the incorporation process with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
When you work with a service provider like Emerhub to register your company as a foreign investor, the UEN is generated and issued as part of your official company profile as soon as your registration is approved.
Understanding the UEN Format
A UEN isn’t just a random string of characters; its format can tell you about the type of entity and when it was registered.
Here are the most common formats for businesses:
| Entity Type | UEN Format | Example |
| Businesses (Sole Proprietorships) | nnnnnnnnX (9 characters) | 53212345A |
| Local Companies (Pte Ltd) | YYYYnnnnnX (10 characters) | 202412345Z |
| Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) | T-YYLLnnnnX (10 characters) | T23LL1234A |
Legend: YYYY or YY is the year of registration, n is a sequential number, and X is a check letter.
So, if you see a UEN starting with “2024”, you know the company was registered in that year.
Can You Choose Your Own UEN? (The Special UEN)
Singapore offers a Special UEN (SUN). For a fee, you can select a more memorable or auspicious number through the SUN service.
However, this option is only available at the point of incorporation on the BizFile+ portal; you cannot change to a SUN later.
There are two tiers of SUNs available, with prices starting from SGD 1,000 for memorable combinations and going up to SGD 3,000 for premium numbers containing the number ‘8’ or other consecutive digits.
UEN vs. GST Number: What’s the Difference?
This is a common point of confusion for new business owners. Your UEN and your Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration number are not the same.
- UEN: Your company’s primary identifier for all government matters. Every registered business has one.
- GST Number: A specific number issued by IRAS only to businesses that have registered for GST. You are only required to register for GST if your company’s annual taxable revenue exceeds S$1 million.
While your GST number is often the same as your UEN, it is used for the specific purpose of managing GST filings and transactions. You should not use your UEN in place of a GST number on tax invoices.
How Emerhub Can Help
Securing your UEN is a seamless part of the company registration process in Singapore. Emerhub’s team handles the entire incorporation on your behalf, from reserving your company name to submitting all the required documents to ACRA. Once your company is approved, we provide you with your official business profile, which includes your newly issued UEN.
Ready to set up your company in Singapore? Contact us to get started.
