How to Lodge a Court Order With ACRA: Which Orders, Who Files and By When

Short answer: Yes. Many Singapore court orders must be lodged with ACRA, and some do not take effect until they are. The deadline depends on the order: 3 days for a judicial management order, 7 days for a winding-up order, 14 days for a section 216 order and 90 days for a capital reduction order. The statute names who must lodge.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

Do court orders have to be lodged with ACRA at all?

Often, yes. A court order changes the position of a company, but ACRA’s register shows the public record. Parliament therefore requires a copy of certain orders, or a notice based on them, to reach the Registrar of Companies, who runs the register through ACRA. For some orders the lodgement is a formality after the order takes effect. For others, such as a scheme of arrangement sanction order or a capital reduction order, the order does not bite until the lodgement is done.

There is no single rule. Each statute that creates a power sets its own lodgement duty, the person who must lodge, the time limit and the penalty. The clock usually starts on the date the order is made, not the date the sealed copy reaches you.

This guide covers the lodgement step only. For the court applications themselves, see our guides on opposing a winding-up application, interim judicial management and restoring a struck-off company.

Which court orders must be lodged, by whom and by when?

The table below sets out the orders we see most, with the legal basis, the person the statute makes responsible, the deadline and the consequence. Section numbers were checked against Singapore Statutes Online as in force on 28 October 2026, including the changes that commenced on 20 October 2026 under the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025.

One caution: ACRA’s restoration guide still describes the court route as section 344(5) of the Companies Act. The Act as amended from 20 October 2026 places the court application for restoration in section 344CA, with new refusal grounds for unlawful purpose and national security. Quote the section in force on the date of your order.

Who is responsible: the solicitor, the applicant or the company?

The statute decides, and it usually names the person who applied for the order or the office-holder it appoints. In a compulsory winding up the duty sits with the applicant. In judicial management it sits with the judicial manager. For a section 216 order it sits with the applicant, who is often the minority shareholder and not the company. For a scheme or a capital reduction it sits with the company.

ACRA’s guidance on the winding-up order says authorised position holders of the company, or a corporate service provider acting for a third party such as a creditor or the court, may file it in Bizfile. The offence for default falls on the person named in the section, but the company still bears the practical cost, such as a scheme that is not yet effective. Ask the law firm in writing who will lodge, by what date, and send you the acknowledgement. Court proceedings are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor. If you need litigation counsel, experienced Singapore litigation counsel can advise on the application itself.

How do you lodge a court order on Bizfile?

The Bizfile eService depends on the order. The steps below follow ACRA’s published guides for the three orders it covers in detail: a winding-up order, a capital reduction order and a restoration order.

1. Obtain the sealed court order and note the order date, the reference number and any condition in the order itself.
2. Log in to Bizfile as a Business User through Corppass. A corporate service provider selects the Corporate Service Provider profile and then the client entity.
3. Open the relevant eService: “File winding up of business entity” for a winding-up order, “Update reduction of share capital” for a capital reduction order, or “Apply to restore business entity” for a restoration order.
4. Enter the details ACRA asks for. For a winding-up order that means uploading the order and stating the date it was filed in court, which must be the current date or a past date. For a capital reduction it means the order date, a copy of the order and whether an extension of time under section 78I was filed.
5. Review, declare and submit. Keep the acknowledgement and the Bizfile Inbox notification with the matter file.
6. Check the public record. After a capital reduction filing, ACRA says the new share capital can be checked immediately in the entity’s details. A court-order restoration can take up to 15 working days to process.

For a winding-up order, ACRA treats this as the second of three filings: the notice of order and liquidator appointment comes first, then the order, then the appointment of the liquidator. Do not skip the first filing, because the order webform pre-fills from it.

What documents do you need before you lodge?

What does late lodgement cost, and how long does the process take?

Late lodgement costs more than a fine in several cases, because the order may not be effective yet. The table separates the three types of consequence. Fees and timings below are ACRA’s published figures; we do not quote legal fees, which depend on the matter and the law firm.

Solicitor costs vary widely, so we do not give a figure. Ask the law firm for a written estimate that separates the court application from the post-order filings.

What does the company secretary prepare, and what does the solicitor file?

The solicitor takes the application, draws the order and, in most matters, obtains the sealed copy. The corporate service provider or company secretary does the corporate work around it. A practical split looks like this:

• The solicitor: the court application, affidavits, attendance at the hearing, the draft and sealed order, and written confirmation of the order date.
• The company secretary: the board or member resolutions that authorised the application, the Bizfile filing where the company is the filer, updates to the registers of members, directors and charges after the order, and a diary entry for every statutory deadline.
• Both: agreement in writing on who lodges what and when.

Once the sealed order arrives: record the order date, identify the section and the person who must lodge, set a reminder at half the deadline, lodge, save the acknowledgement and confirm the change on ACRA’s record. Our free tools page has resources you can use alongside this checklist.

What happens after the order is lodged?

After a scheme order, a copy must be annexed to every copy of the company’s constitution issued afterwards, unless the court exempts the company (s 210(6) and (7)). After a section 216 order that alters the constitution, the company cannot make a further inconsistent alteration without the court’s permission (s 216(4)). After a restoration, the company is regarded as having continued in existence as if its name had not been struck off (s 344G(1)), and any person can apply to the court for directions within 3 years of restoration (s 344G(3) and (4)).

After a capital reduction, update the register of members and the share certificates. If the reduction leaves a shareholder at zero, ACRA asks whether the company still qualifies as an exempt private company. Our guide to winding up in 2026 and the new ACRA lodgement rules covers that stage, and our guide to reducing share capital sets out the court-approved route.

What are the common mistakes?

• Counting from the wrong date. Most deadlines run from the date the order is made, not from the date the sealed order is collected.
• Assuming someone else has lodged. The applicant, the judicial manager and the company may each think another party has done it.
• Using a superseded section number, such as section 344(5) for restoration.
• Forgetting the Official Receiver. Several insolvency sections require a copy to go to both the Registrar and the Official Receiver.
• Missing the first filing in a winding up. The winding-up order filing depends on the earlier notice of order and liquidator appointment.

Related reading: rectification by court under section 12B, section 216 oppression remedies and our sister-site guide on the court-approved capital reduction route. Primary sources: Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, Companies Act 1967 and ACRA’s guide to filing a winding-up order.

Frequently asked questions

Does every court order need to be lodged with ACRA?

No. Only orders for which a statute imposes a lodgement duty, or which change what appears on the register. An interlocutory order about a hearing date, for example, is not on the list above. Check the section behind the order you hold.

Who lodges a section 216 order?

The applicant must lodge a copy within 14 days after the order is made (Companies Act s 216(5)). Failure is an offence carrying a fine of up to $1,000 and a default penalty.

Can the deadline be extended?

Sometimes. Under IRDA s 208(2) the court may allow further time for lodging a declaration of void dissolution order. Under Companies Act s 78I(3) the Registrar may allow longer than 90 days on application and payment of the prescribed fee. Other sections state no extension, so do not assume one.

What does ACRA charge to lodge a court order?

For a winding-up order, $20 for a local company. For a capital reduction court order, nothing. For a court-order restoration, $0. These are ACRA’s published figures; other transactions may differ.

Can a corporate service provider lodge the order for me?

Yes, in the cases ACRA covers. For a winding-up order, ACRA allows a corporate service provider to file on behalf of a third party. For a capital reduction order, the company can engage a corporate service provider. Proceedings themselves remain with a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.