How Do You Switch Corporate Secretary in Singapore? (2026)

Published: 4 November 2026 · Reviewed by Ray Tay, Co-Founder & Managing Director, VIVOS PTE. LTD. (ACRA Filing Agent FA20240323 · MOM EA Licence 24S2425)

To switch corporate secretary in Singapore, the directors appoint the new secretary by resolution, the outgoing secretary resigns, and the change is lodged on Bizfile within 14 days at no ACRA fee. If the old provider also supplies your nominee director or registered address, appoint the replacements first so the company is never left without them.

Written by the VIVOS team (MOM Employment Agency Licence 24S2425) and reviewed by Ray Tay. Figures checked against ACRA and IRAS on 3 November 2026.

Changing the company secretary is the easy part. The work is in everything else the old provider holds for you: the registered address, a nominee director, the registers ACRA does not keep, and the access that lets someone file your tax return. This guide sets out the order that keeps a Singapore company compliant on every day of the switch.

What are the key rules when you change corporate secretary?

Item	Rule	Official source
Lodging the officer change	On Bizfile, within 14 days of the appointment or withdrawal	ACRA
ACRA fee to appoint or withdraw an officer	Free	ACRA
Secretary vacancy	The office cannot stay empty for more than 6 months; the secretary cannot be the sole director	ACRA
Registered office address change	Lodge within 14 days of the change	ACRA
Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)	Update the company’s register within 7 days; file with the Central RORC within 2 business days after that	ACRA
Register of Nominee Directors (ROND)	Update within 7 days of a change; file with the Central ROND within 2 business days after that	ACRA
Nominee director	Since 9 June 2025, must be arranged by a registered corporate service provider (CSP)	ACRA (CSP Act 2024)
Annual return	Since 20 October 2026, the filer confirms that officer and registered office particulars held by ACRA are accurate	ACRA

What does a switch actually involve?

Most foreign founders bought a bundle when they incorporated. The secretary came with an address, often a nominee director, and sometimes bookkeeping and tax filing. Each piece moves on its own track, and each has its own deadline.

What the old provider supplies	What has to happen	Deadline that applies
Company secretary	Directors appoint the new secretary; the old one resigns; both changes are lodged on Bizfile	14 days from the change
Registered office address	Directors approve the new address; the change is lodged on Bizfile	14 days from the change
Nominee (resident) director	A new nominee is arranged by a registered CSP and appointed before the old one leaves; ROND updated	14 days for Bizfile; 7 days for the ROND; 2 business days for the Central ROND
RORC, ROND and nominee shareholder register	Registers move to the new registered office or the new CSP’s office	Keep them current at all times
Corporate tax filing	The company authorises the new tax agent in Corppass	Before the next Form C-S or Form C is prepared

In what order should you switch?

The order matters more than the speed. This is the sequence that avoids a gap on any day of the switch.

Engage the new provider first. Under the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024, which took effect on 9 June 2025, a registered CSP has anti-money laundering obligations. Expect identity and ownership checks on the directors, shareholders and controllers before the new provider can act.
Ask the old provider for the records. Send a written request for the items listed in the next section. Do this before anyone resigns, while the old provider is still engaged.
Pass the directors’ resolutions. One resolution can appoint the new secretary, approve a new registered office address and, where needed, appoint a replacement nominee director.
Appoint the replacement nominee director before the old one resigns. ACRA allows a director to resign only if the company will still have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore. If your nominee is the only resident director, the new one has to be on the register first.
Lodge everything on Bizfile within 14 days. Officers cannot withdraw themselves on Bizfile, so another authorised position holder or a CSP files the withdrawal. Foreign appointees must be appointed or withdrawn through a CSP.
Update the nominee and controller registers. Record the change of nominee director in the ROND within 7 days and file with the Central ROND within 2 business days after that. Late Central RORC filings can lead to fines of up to S$25,000.
Move IRAS access. Your company’s Corppass Administrator authorises the new tax agent through “Authorise Third Party Entities”, with both the Preparer and Approver roles.
Check the particulars before the next annual return. Officer details and the registered office address must be right before the return is filed.

What records should the old provider hand over?

ACRA keeps the electronic registers of members, directors and secretaries on Bizfile, so those do not need to be handed over. What sits with the provider is everything else.

Minutes of directors’ and shareholders’ meetings, and written resolutions
The Register of Registrable Controllers, with the notices and confirmations behind each entry
The Register of Nominee Directors and the Register of Nominee Shareholders, if the company has them
Share certificates, share transfer forms and records of allotments
The constitution as currently in force
Copies of past annual returns, financial statements and corporate tax filings
The company seal, if the company has one
Details of who holds the Corppass Administrator role for the company

The last item is the one founders forget. If an employee of the old provider is your Corppass Administrator, ask for a director to be made Administrator before the engagement ends. Without that access, nobody on your side can authorise a new tax agent.

What changed on 20 October 2026 that affects a switch?

The next phase of the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 started on 20 October 2026. Two changes matter when you change provider.

First, the annual return now asks the filer to confirm that the particulars ACRA holds are accurate. That covers directors, secretaries, the CEO, auditors, the registered office address and shareholdings where applicable. The return also asks whether anyone performs the role of chief executive officer. ACRA’s advice is to update particulars on Bizfile before filing the return. In a switch, that means the new secretary and new address should be lodged and correct before the first return the new provider files.

Second, the registered office no longer has to be open to the public for minimum hours. Records must still be made available for inspection on reasonable notice, for at least two hours on each relevant business day. A virtual registered address from a CSP still has to meet that, which is one reason the registers usually sit at the CSP’s office.

What most guides get wrong

“Lodge the secretary change and you are done.” For a foreign-owned company, the secretary is often the smallest part of the bundle. The nominee director and the registered address carry the real risk.
Letting the old nominee resign first. ACRA allows a resignation only if an ordinarily resident director remains. Get the order wrong and the resignation stalls, or the company sits without a resident director.
Overlapping tax agent authorisations. IRAS says authorisation periods for different tax agents should not overlap for corporate tax. Where they do, each agent has to be authorised for different Years of Assessment, for example the old agent for YA 2026 and the new one from YA 2027.
Treating the change as free of deadlines. The ACRA lodgement is free, but the 14-day and 2-business-day clocks still run.

Does switching corporate secretary affect my Employment Pass?

No. An Employment Pass is tied to your employer, which is the company, not to its corporate secretary. The pass carries on as it is. What may change is who prepares your renewals and updates, so tell the new provider when the pass is due and which Employment Agency, if any, filed it.

How VIVOS can help

VIVOS Pte. Ltd. (UEN 202416468C) is an ACRA Registered Filing Agent (FA20240323) and holds MOM Employment Agency Licence 24S2425. We take over corporate secretary services, registered address and nominee director service for Singapore companies, along with accounting, tax and Employment Pass work. For what a secretary must do once appointed, see our guide to company secretary requirements in Singapore. To check how the CSP Act affects your current provider, read Singapore’s Corporate Service Providers Act explained, and for filing deadlines see the annual return filing guide.

Contact the team at 14B Stanley Street, Singapore 068733, on +65 8827 7870 (WhatsApp) or at contact@vivos.com.sg.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to tell ACRA about a new company secretary?

14 days. ACRA requires the appointment of the new secretary and the withdrawal of the old one to be lodged on Bizfile within 14 days of the change. The filing itself is free.

Can the outgoing secretary remove themselves on Bizfile?

No. ACRA does not let an officer withdraw themselves. Another authorised position holder or a corporate service provider has to lodge the withdrawal, which is why the new provider usually files both changes together.

Can I act as my own company secretary?

Only if you are not the sole director. ACRA says the secretary cannot be the same person as the sole director, and the secretary must be a natural person who meets the local residency rules.

Do I need a new registered address when I change provider?

Only if your current address belongs to the old provider. If it does, the directors approve a new address and the change is lodged on Bizfile within 14 days. The company’s registers should move to the new address or to the new provider’s office.

What happens to my nominee director when I switch?

The new provider arranges a replacement, who is appointed before the old nominee resigns. ACRA only allows a director to resign if at least one ordinarily resident director remains. The Register of Nominee Directors is then updated within 7 days and filed with ACRA within 2 business days.