Frequently Asked Questions

Any club, company, partnership or association of 10 or more persons, whatever its nature or object should seek registration with ROS, unless you are any of the following:

1. Any company registered under any written law relating to companies for the time being in force in Singapore.
2. Any company or association constituted under any written law.
3. Any trade union registered or required to be registered under any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in Singapore.
4. Any co-operative society registered as such under any written law.
5. Any mutual benefit organizations registered as such under any written law relating to mutual benefit organizations for the time being in force in Singapore.
6. Any company, association or partnership, consisting of not more than 20 persons formed for the sole purpose of carrying on any lawful business that has for its object the acquisition of gain by the company, association or partnership, or the individual members thereof.
7. Any class, society or association of foreign insurers carrying on insurance business in Singapore under any foreign insurer scheme established under Part IIA of the Insurance Act (Cap. 142).
8. Any school or management committee of a school constituted under any law regulating schools for the time being in force in Singapore.

For the categories of societies listed below, the majority of the Committee Members must be Singapore Citizens. In addition, the President, Secretary, Treasurer and their deputies shall be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents. Foreign Diplomats shall not serve as Committee Members.

1. Religious societies.
2. Societies which identify themselves publicly as or whose membership is confined exclusively to members of a single race.
3. Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to represent; promote any cause or interest of; or discuss any issue relating to a class of persons defined by reference to their gender or sexual orientation.
4. Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to promote or discuss the use or status of any language.
5. Any arts groups except those promoting classical music/works.
6. For societies categorized as below, the majority of the Committee Members must be Singapore Citizens. In addition, the President, Secretary, Treasurer and their deputies shall be Singapore Citizens. Foreign Diplomats shall not serve as Committee Members.
   • Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to represent persons who advocate; promote; or discuss any issue relating to any civil or political right (including human rights, environmental rights and animal rights).

I. Information on the Society

1. Name of the society (and 2 more alternative names for Normal Registration process)
2. Place of Business (defined as the place where the books and records of the society will be kept)
3. Constitution of Society in English
4. Email, telephone and/or Fax Nos.
5. Letters of affiliation, where necessary, in English
6. Constitution of affiliated body, where necessary, in English
7. Letters of approval or support from relevant government agencies, schools, organisations, personalities, etc., where necessary, in English

II. Information on the 10 Members

1. Name, NRIC No / FIN / Passport No., Date of Birth
2. Title of Office (e.g. President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ordinary Member, etc.)
3. Residential Address
4. Gender, Marital Status, Race, Dialect Group, Religion
5. Contact Information (e.g. email, mobile no., etc.)
6. Educational Qualifications, Present Employment Status
7. Membership in other societies, if any

III. Other Information

1. SingPasses of the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the society.
2. Email addresses of the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the society.
3. Name, address, email and telephone no. of a Contact Person for the application.

IV. Additional questions if you are applying under normal registrations:

1. What are the other two alternative names - in order of preference - that your society would like to be called? What is the meaning and significance of the alternative names? Where applicable, please also provide the Chinese characters of the alternative names.
2. What are the sources of funds for the society, apart from those mentioned in the constitution?
3. Was the society previously in existence? If so, where was it and why was it not registered then? Was it registered under any written law?
4. What is the expected size of membership?
5. Will any foreigners be employed? If so, who are they (name, date of birth and passport number)? How long will they be working here?
6. Does the proposed society represent the interests of any ethnic group? Is the membership restricted to any particular ethnic community? If so, please state the ethnic group.

V. Additional questions if you are a religious society

A "religious society" refers to any society conducting worshipping activities or studying any religious text pertaining to any deity or deities.

Catholic or Christian Societies

1. What is the Christian denomination of the proposed society?
2. Will the society publish any literature in Singapore for dissemination outside Singapore and vice-versa? In what languages will the literature be published?
3. Please state the church each protem member is currently attending.
4. Please provide us with the religious leader's curriculum vitae including his name, NRIC No./Foreign Identification No. (FIN)/Passport No., nationality and religious background.
5. Is the proposed society under or intending to come under any umbrella Christian organisation, locally or overseas? If so, please state the name of the organisation.

Buddhist or Taoist Societies

1. What are the deities that will be worshipped/revered/paid homage to? What do they symbolise? (Names in Chinese characters must also be provided, where applicable.)
2. What are the religious beliefs of the society (i.e. whether it is Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, a combination of them, etc.)?
3. Will the proposed society be conducting any classes? If yes, please state the texts to be used.
4. Please provide us with the religious leader's curriculum vitae including his name, NRIC No./Foreign Identification No. (FIN)/Passport No., nationality and religious background.

Hindu Societies

1. What are the deities that will be worshipped/revered/paid homage to? What do they symbolise?
2. Will the proposed society be conducting any classes? If yes, please state the texts to be used.
3. Please provide us with the religious leader's curriculum vitae including his name, NRIC No./Foreign Identification No. (FIN)/Passport No., nationality and religious background.

Other Religious Societies

1. What are the deities that will be worshipped/revered/paid homage to? What do they symbolise? (Names in Chinese characters must also be provided, where applicable)
2. What are the religious beliefs of the society?
3. Will the proposed society be conducting any classes? If yes, please state the texts to be used.
4. Please provide us with the religious leader's curriculum vitae including his name, NRIC No./Foreign Identification No. (FIN)/Passport No., nationality and religious background.

A society can submit its annual returns via iROSES. It is a requirement under the Societies Regulations for a society to submit its Annual Returns within a month after the holding of their Annual General Meeting, or if no meeting is held, once in every calendar year within a month after the close of its financial year. 

The information provided in the Annual Return should contain:

1. The latest update on the society and its office-bearers.
2. A copy of the statement of accounts (income and expenditure and balance sheet) of the last financial year of the society, duly certified by the society’s auditors or a qualified company auditor in accordance with Societies Regulations 7(1)(b) and, where an annual general meeting has been held, approved by the annual general meeting, must be attached.

The current President, Secretary and Treasurer are required to verify and submit the application online using their SingPasses. Statement of accounts duly signed by the society’s auditors or qualified company auditors should be attached in jpeg, pdf or tif format. The file size of each attachment should not exceed 2Mb.

If your society does not fall under any of the types of societies listed in the Schedule of the Societies Act, you are eligible to seek registration under the automatic registration process. Societies that wish to register under Automatic Registration will need to declare that they are eligible for Automatic Registration. Do note that under the Societies Act, the Registrar of Societies is empowered to order an automatically registered society to, after its registration, change its name or its rules, if he is of the opinion that the rules of the society if unchanged, would be contrary to national interest or prejudicial to the public peace, welfare or good order in Singapore.

The Gambling Regulatory Unit (GRU) had been set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs to operationalise the blocking measures and regulate the exempt operators.

Websites which provide or facilitate remote gambling services, or contains advertisements and promotions will be blocked.