Resources

Singapore CSP compliance, answered plainly.

The authoritative reference for Singapore Corporate Service Providers. Every entity that provides corporate services by way of business must now register with ACRA and meet strict AML/CFT duties under the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024, in force since 9 June 2025. These guides answer the questions CSPs actually ask — cited to ACRA and the primary law.

For firm owners: choosing & justifying software

Deciding whether — and how — to put your CSP practice on modern software. A neutral buyer’s framework, what AI actually changes in the work, the honest ROI, and where CorpSec AI stands today (roadmap items clearly flagged).

Buyer’s guideHow to choose CSP compliance software: a buyer’s checklistA vendor-neutral scoring framework — ten dimensions from ACRA coverage to migration and pricing — plus an honest read on where CorpSec AI is live, demo or roadmap.Read →What AI actually does for a corporate service providerDrafting, KYC triage, document ingestion and client memory — with honest before/after times and a clear line between what works today and what is on the roadmap.Read →The ROI of automating corporate secretarial workA transparent business case: how hours-saved is calculated, a worked mid-size example (~30+ hours a month), switching costs, and a decision checklist — same numbers as our live calculator.Read →Why CorpSec AI: an honest look at what it does todayAI-first, Singapore-only, security as a first principle, regulator-friendly by design — with an open list of what is still roadmap (direct ACRA filing, live screening, billing, bulk migration).Read →

CSP Act 2024

Singapore’s Corporate Service Providers Act 2024 took effect on 9 June 2025. It requires every CSP to register with ACRA and to meet strict AML/CFT/PF duties. Start with the pillar guide, then go deeper on each obligation.

PillarThe CSP Act 2024: what corporate service providers must doThe complete pillar guide — who it covers, registration with ACRA, AML/CFT duties, RQIs, nominee directors, record-keeping and penalties (up to S$100,000 per breach).Read →Who must register as a CSP in Singapore?If you form companies, provide a registered office, act as or arrange directors or nominee shareholders, or file with ACRA for others by way of business — you must register.Read →What are the AML/CFT obligations for CSPs?Customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence for high-risk clients, sanctions screening, risk assessment, ≥5-year record-keeping and suspicious transaction reports.Read →What is a Registered Qualified Individual (RQI)?Every registered CSP needs at least one RQI — a qualified, AML/CFT-trained individual who provides or supervises corporate services and answers to ACRA.Read →Nominee director requirements under the CSP Act 2024CSPs must run a fit-and-proper assessment before arranging any nominee director, and nominee status is disclosed to ACRA. Acting by way of business outside a CSP is an offence.Read →Penalties under the CSP Act 2024The enforcement landscape in one place — operating unregistered, AML/CFT breaches and nominee fit-and-proper failures, with senior-management accountability. Figures attributed and flagged to confirm against the Act.Read →

KYC, AML & CDD for CSPs

The AML/CFT engine room of a CSP practice: who you must check, how deeply, and what to do when something looks wrong. Written to the CSP Act 2024 and MAS AML/CFT expectations — describing the obligation, not inventing thresholds.

ChecklistA CDD checklist for corporate service providersIdentify and verify the customer and its beneficial owners, understand the purpose of the relationship, screen and monitor — the standard, simplified and enhanced tiers, and the records to keep.Read →How to screen a nominee directorFit-and-proper plus sanctions, PEP and adverse-media screening, consent and disclosure — and why nominee arrangements sit in a higher-risk band.Read →What triggers enhanced due diligence (EDD)?PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, opaque structures, nominee arrangements — the factors that push a client into EDD, and what source-of-wealth and source-of-funds work looks like.Read →AML red flags in company incorporationWhat to watch at onboarding — reluctance to disclose, opaque ownership, profile-activity mismatch, high-risk nexus — and the RFI → EDD → decline → STR path when they appear.Read →

Company incorporation

Forming a Singapore private limited company on a client’s behalf — eligibility, the ACRA/Bizfile+ flow, and the documents and KYC a CSP collects along the way.

GuideHow to incorporate a private limited company in SingaporeEligibility (resident director, secretary within 6 months, registered office), the Bizfile+ name-application and incorporation flow, timeline, and the CSP’s role and post-incorporation duties.Read →Documents needed to register a company with ACRAName and SSIC activity, constitution, particulars of directors, shareholders and secretary, registered office, and the identity/KYC documents the CSP gathers — including foreigner considerations.Read →

Annual returns, AGMs & director changes

The recurring statutory work every Singapore company depends on its corporate secretary for — deadlines, exemptions and how to file each one with ACRA.

When is the annual return due, and how to file itThe annual return deadline for Singapore companies, what it contains, and how it is lodged with ACRA.Read →Do private companies need to hold an AGM?AGM timelines, the exemptions available to private companies, and the resolutions involved.Read →How to appoint a director in Singapore (the 14-day rule)Consent to act, the ACRA filing deadline for a new director, and the records to keep.Read →How to file a director resignation with ACRANotice, the filing that removes a resigning director, and what happens if the board falls below the minimum.Read →Company secretary appointment requirementsAppoint within 6 months of incorporation, the resident and qualification requirements, why a sole director cannot also be secretary, and the consequences of a vacancy.Read →Applying for an AGM / annual-return extension with ACRAWhen and how to apply for an extension of time on Bizfile+, the 60-day limit and S$200 fee, and what happens if you miss the deadline.Read →

Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the corporate-secretarial and CSP Act 2024 terms that come up most often.

RQI — Registered Qualified IndividualThe qualified individual every registered CSP must have under the CSP Act 2024.Read →CDD — Customer Due DiligenceIdentifying and verifying clients and their beneficial owners.Read →EDD — Enhanced Due DiligenceThe extra scrutiny applied to higher-risk clients such as PEPs.Read →Nominee directorA director who acts on behalf of another person — now tightly regulated.Read →

Never miss a Singapore compliance deadline

Get occasional reminders for ACRA annual returns, AGMs and filing deadlines — plus plain-English guides as we publish them.

Just occasional, relevant emails. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

Turn these rules into finished work

CorpSec AI runs CSP Act 2024 KYC, drafts resolutions and prepares your ACRA filings across your whole client book — the AI does it, you just confirm.

Get started free →