Singapore's Department of Statistics replaced SSIC 2020 with SSIC 2025 on 9 May 2026. Every company on BizFile+ now sits under the new classification, and ACRA auto-mapped existing entities the same day.
For most foreign-owned Singapore companies the change is administrative. The activity stays the same, the code keeps its number, and nothing on the ground shifts. For a smaller group of entities, the new classification matters: 58 codes were renumbered, 58 codes from SSIC 2020 were dropped, and 26 codes were added for activities that did not have their own classification before. If your business sits in one of those buckets, your SSIC 2025 code may not be what you expect.
Understanding SSIC Codes and Their Importance
Every company registered in Singapore is assigned a Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) code. It is a five-digit number that describes the primary business activity of a company.
The SSIC code drives several things for your business:
- Eligibility for sector-specific grants (EDB, Enterprise Singapore, IMDA)
- Licence requirements with MAS, IRAS, MOM, NEA, SFA, and other regulators
- Tax incentives such as the Pioneer Certificate and the Development & Expansion Incentive
- Foreign-ownership signals in your corporate filings
- The sector classification in your BizFile+ profile that banks and counterparties read during onboarding
When the code under your company changes meaning, any of these can shift. SSIC 2025 is the largest revision since 2015. It aligns Singapore with ISIC Rev. 5, the UN's latest international standard, and adds dedicated codes for activities that have grown significantly since 2020.
The headline change: Section J was split into J and K
Under SSIC 2020, Section J was a single bucket called "Information and Communications." SSIC 2025 splits it in two:
- Section J: Publishing, Broadcasting, and Content Production and Distribution Activities. Books, newspapers, software publishing, motion picture and TV production, streaming platforms, online gaming sites, social network sites, and content licensing.
- Section K: Telecommunications, Computer Programming, Consultancy, Computing Infrastructure, and Other Information Service Activities. Telecoms, IT consultancy, cybersecurity, data processing, hosting, and online marketplaces.
The split pushed every subsequent section letter up by one. SSIC 2020 Section K (Financial and Insurance) is now Section L. Further down the alphabet, SSIC 2020 Section T (Activities of Households) is now Section U, and Section U (Extra-territorial Organisations) is now Section V.
If you maintain internal documents that reference sections by letter, those lookups need a rebuild.
The 5-digit class codes mostly stay the same, but the section letter above them does not. A software development company classified as 62011 still has code 62011 in SSIC 2025, but it now sits under Section K instead of J.
The 26 New SSIC 2025 Codes
These codes have no SSIC 2020 predecessor. They were introduced because the activity is now common enough to warrant its own classification, and the list is a useful signal of where SingStat sees the economy heading.
Climate, energy, and the green transition
- 39000: Carbon capture activities. A standalone code for entities capturing CO₂ from industrial sources or the atmosphere, reflecting Singapore's positioning as a carbon-services hub.
- 35200: Manufacture of gas; distribution of gaseous fuels through mains; processing of natural gas.
- 35400: Activities of brokers and agents for electric power and natural gas. Energy-trading desks now have their own classification.
Food technology
- 10795: Manufacture of plant-based, microbial-fermented, and cell-cultivated food products. Singapore was the first jurisdiction to approve cultivated meat for retail sale in 2020. SSIC 2025 finally gives the sector its own code, separate from generic food manufacturing.
Digital platforms and the creator economy
- 60302: Operation of social network sites and other content distribution activities (except publishing). A direct response to platforms that distribute but do not publish content.
The SSIC 2020 marketplace code 63200 was also broken into six sibling codes (63201 to 63205 and 63209) covering goods, health services, education, travel, real estate, and other third-party services. Those are reclassifications rather than new entries, but worth flagging if your platform falls under one of the verticals.
Telecommunications
- 61010: Telecommunications network operation.
- 61020: Telecommunications resellers and third-party telecommunications providers.
The previous single telecommunications code was split to distinguish infrastructure operators from MVNOs and resellers, which MAS licensing and IMDA frameworks treat very differently.
Manufacturing precision
- 20223: Manufacture of printing ink, prepared pigments and dyes.
- 23910: Manufacture of clay products.
- 23930: Manufacture of other porcelain and ceramic products.
- 26520: Manufacture of watches and clocks.
- 27900: Manufacture of other electrical equipment, apparatus, appliances and supplies.
Several SSIC 2020 catch-all manufacturing codes were broken into more specific subcategories. If you registered under one of the older umbrella codes, your new code might be narrower than your actual activity.
Construction
- 42100: Civil engineering general contractors.
- 42200: Road, railway and associated viaduct, bridge and tunnel construction.
Arts, culture, and live events
- 82305: Concert organisers.
- 90110: Literary creation and musical composition activities.
- 90120: Visual arts creation activities.
- 90190: Other arts creation activities.
- 90209: Activities of performing arts n.e.c.
- 90390: Other support activities to arts and performing arts.
- 91300: Conservation, restoration and other support activities for cultural heritage.
- 93112: Sports and fitness event organisers.
Singapore's events economy expanded considerably after 2020. These codes break independent creators, event organisers, and heritage conservation out of the generic "arts" group.
Other additions
- 01410: Cattle and goat farms for livestock and milk production.
- 55109: Short-term accommodation activities n.e.c. Captures activities outside hotels and serviced apartments.
- 65300: Provident funding and pension funding.
- 94996: Community and grassroots organisations.
Renumbered and Dropped Codes
Beyond the additions, 58 SSIC 2020 codes received a new number in SSIC 2025. The activity itself did not change, but the reference did. Examples that affect a meaningful number of companies:
- 91021 → 91201 (Museums)
- 42201 → 42301 (Water and gas pipeline construction)
- 42202 → 42302 (Communications and power line construction)
- 85211 → 85310 (Secondary schools)
- 85501 → 85601 (Student recruitment agencies)
- 63120 → 63901 (Internet search engines)
A further 58 SSIC 2020 codes were dropped entirely. If your BizFile+ still references one of these, ACRA's auto-mapping picked the closest SSIC 2025 successor, and you should check whether that successor matches what you actually do.
The full list is searchable in the SSIC 2025 hub on ssicdata.com, and individual codes are looked up in the SSIC 2020 to 2025 converter.
Does SSIC 2025 Affect Your Company?
ACRA updated every entity's SSIC code on 9 May 2026 using the official correspondence table. For most foreign-owned Singapore companies, that is the end of it. There are four situations where you should still review your code.
1. Your old code was split into more granular codes
ACRA's auto-mapping picks one sub-code as the default. If your activity actually falls under a different sub-code, you should update on BizFile+ within 14 days of the cutover. The first SSIC change in a calendar year is free.
2. Your old code was dropped entirely
This applies to the 58 removed codes, which together affected over 2,900 active companies in our review. ACRA picked a successor, but it may not be the right one for what you actually do.
3. You claim a grant or tax incentive tied to your code
Re-verify that the new code keeps you eligible. The Pioneer Certificate, the IP Development Incentive, and most EDB schemes reference specific SSIC ranges, so a changed code can quietly affect eligibility.
4. You operate in one of the new code areas
If your business is carbon capture, alternative proteins, digital marketplaces, or live events, there is now a code that fits more precisely than the one ACRA may have auto-assigned.
To check your code, log in to BizFile+, view your business profile, and compare the SSIC against the description in the official SSIC 2025 reference published by SingStat.
The fastest way to interpret a new code or look up what an old one became is the SSIC 2025 lookup tool maintained by ssicdata.com.
When to update your SSIC code on BizFile+
Update your SSIC code on BizFile+ if any of the following is true:
- The auto-assigned code does not match what your company actually does
- The new code excludes you from a grant or incentive you previously qualified for
- You are about to apply for a licence and the SSIC under your entity does not match the applicable scheme
- Your bank or a major counterparty has flagged the change during periodic KYC
You do not need to do anything if the change is purely a number swap or a refined description and your activity is unchanged. The activity is what matters, not the code reference.
How Emerhub helps
Emerhub handles company setup in Singapore end to end: incorporation, registered address, corporate bank account opening, and ongoing tax, accounting, and licensing. Picking the right SSIC code is part of getting incorporation right, since it shapes your licensing path, grant eligibility, and how banks read your business during onboarding.
If you already have a Singapore entity and want to check whether the SSIC 2025 cutover assigned you the correct code, we can run that review and file any BizFile+ update for you.
Talk to our Singapore team to get started.
Frequently asked questions
When did SSIC 2025 take effect?
SSIC 2025 took effect on 9 May 2026. From that date, BizFile+ uses SSIC 2025 for every new entity registration and SSIC update. Existing entities were auto-mapped to their SSIC 2025 equivalent on the same day.
Do I need to manually update my SSIC code?
In most cases, no. ACRA's system mapped every existing entity's SSIC 2020 code to a SSIC 2025 successor using the official correspondence table. You only need to update if your activity has changed, the auto-mapping picked the wrong option from a split code, or you want a more accurate code than the default.
What's the difference between SSIC 2020 and SSIC 2025?
SSIC 2025 is the first revision since 2020 and the largest since 2015. The biggest structural change is the split of Section J (Information and Communications) into a new Section J (publishing, broadcasting, content) and Section K (telecoms, computer programming, IT services). Beyond that, 26 new five-digit codes were added, 58 were renumbered, and 58 were dropped. The 5-digit numbers stay broadly stable, so the lookup work is manageable for most companies.
Does SSIC 2025 affect my foreign-owned company?
It applies equally to Singapore-registered companies regardless of shareholder origin. For a foreign-owned Pte Ltd or a Singapore branch of a foreign company, the auto-mapping process is identical to locally owned entities. If your Singapore entity is a holding company or regional headquarters, the most common codes for that use case (64202 and 70101) kept the same code numbers, though their official definitions were refined in SSIC 2025.
Where do I find the official SSIC 2025 correspondence table?
The Department of Statistics publishes the SSIC 2025 reference and the SSIC 2020 to 2025 correspondence at singstat.gov.sg under Standard Classifications. For a searchable version, the SSIC 2025 hub at ssicdata.com and the SSIC 2020 to 2025 lookup tool are the fastest options.
Where can I check the SSIC 2025 equivalent of an old code?
The SSIC 2020 to 2025 lookup at ssicdata.com takes an old SSIC 2020 code and returns the SSIC 2025 equivalent, the change type (unchanged, renamed, recoded, removed), and the new official title. For codes that were split, it surfaces every SSIC 2025 successor.