Licensed Insolvency Practitioner Singapore: Licensing, Independence and Fees

Short answer: Only a licensed insolvency practitioner may act as liquidator in a court-ordered or creditors’ voluntary winding up, or as judicial manager. Check the Ministry of Law register, confirm the licence is the accountant type, ask for written conflict disclosures and the fee basis, and compare quotes before you nominate anyone.

A licensed insolvency practitioner in Singapore is the person who takes control of a company in liquidation or judicial management, so the choice shapes cost, speed and what creditors recover. This guide explains who holds the licence, how to check it, how independence and fees are policed, and what the board and company secretary prepare before the appointment.

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.

What is a licensed insolvency practitioner, and when must you use one?

A licensed insolvency practitioner holds a licence granted by the Licensing Officer at the Ministry of Law, and the IRDA requires that licence for most formal insolvency roles. The licensing regime began on 30 July 2020 for cases commenced under the IRDA.

The roles that need a licence are listed on the Ministry’s licensing pages: liquidator or provisional liquidator in a court-ordered or creditors’ voluntary winding up, receiver and manager, judicial manager or interim judicial manager, trustee in bankruptcy and nominee in an individual voluntary arrangement. A liquidator in a members’ voluntary winding up, and a scheme manager under Part 5 of the IRDA, do not need one. For the solvent route, see our guide to members’ voluntary liquidation.

Because the licence is the gatekeeper, a practitioner who is not on the register should not be taking the roles above. If you are weighing winding up against rescue, our guides on judicial management and interim judicial management set out the alternatives.

Who can hold the licence, and what does it allow?

An applicant must be a “qualified person”: a solicitor, a public accountant or a chartered accountant (section 50(3) IRDA). The licence type then limits the work.

Applicants also need relevant experience under regulation 5(3) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Insolvency Practitioners) Regulations 2020. They must show at least one of the following: having acted as an insolvency practitioner; having assisted one for at least three continuous years, two of them at supervisory level; or having acted as a solicitor in bankruptcy matters within the last three years. The Licensing Officer must also be satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person, taking into account matters such as past licence revocations, convictions for fraud or dishonesty, and bankruptcy history.

For a company matter, then, the practitioner you want is an accountant-type licensee. A solicitor-licensee cannot take a company liquidation or judicial management.

How do you choose a licensed insolvency practitioner in Singapore?

Start with the register, then test independence, experience and fees in that order. A practitioner who cannot answer these points in writing is not ready to be appointed.

1. Open the Ministry of Law’s register of licensed insolvency practitioners and confirm the individual’s name and licence status. Do not rely on a firm’s brochure.
2. Check the Ministry’s list of practitioners whose licences were revoked or suspended under section 56 IRDA.
3. Confirm the licence type fits the case: an accountant-type licence for a company winding up or judicial management.
4. Ask the practitioner to disclose in writing every past and existing business relationship with the company, its directors and its major creditors.
5. Ask what experience the practitioner and the team have with companies of your size and sector, and what resources the team has. The licence conditions require a licensee to have sufficient expertise and resources before accepting an appointment.
6. Ask for the engagement terms and the basis of fees in writing, and obtain more than one proposal.
7. Ask whether the practitioner holds professional indemnity insurance, which the licence conditions require for insolvency work.
8. Put the choice to the board and, where the process needs it, to members and creditors, then record the decision in minutes.

One practical point: the Ministry notes that a licence showing an end date of 30 June 2026 continues in force until the renewal is granted or refused (section 51(6) IRDA), so an end date alone does not mean a practitioner has lapsed. Ask the practitioner rather than guess.

Who appoints the practitioner in each type of insolvency process?

It depends on the process. In some the court appoints, in others the company or its creditors nominate, and in a members’ voluntary winding up the company chooses without a licence requirement.

The full Act is on Singapore Statutes Online. Our guide to appointing the liquidator in a creditors’ voluntary winding up covers the meetings and filings in more detail.

What does independence mean, and what must a practitioner disclose?

A licensee must be independent and be seen to be independent, and must decline or stop acting if there are reasonable grounds to believe he or she cannot exercise impartial and objective judgment. That is a condition of every licence, imposed under section 52 IRDA.

The conditions turn this into specific duties:

• Before taking an appointment, the licensee must disclose to the client and to creditors (including the committee of inspection or committee of creditors, where there is one) the licensee’s and the firm’s past and existing business interests that may create a lack of independence or a conflict, and obtain their consent to act.
• If a conflict arises during the appointment, the licensee must disclose it as soon as reasonably practicable and obtain consent to continue.
• “Business and professional relationships” is defined widely: it includes providing accounting, audit, tax, insolvency, financial or legal services to the debtor, lending to or borrowing from it, and holding any financial interest in it.
• A licensee must not accept or pay referral fees or commissions relating to a client unless safeguards protect independence, and disclosure of the arrangement is one such safeguard.
• A licensee must not give or accept gifts or hospitality that may compromise actual or perceived integrity, independence or impartiality.

For interim judicial management by resolution, the proposed interim judicial manager must also lodge a statutory declaration with the Official Receiver and ACRA that he or she is not in a position of conflict of interest. In practice, if your usual accountant or auditor has acted for the company, expect that firm to raise the conflict itself. Ask early.

How are a practitioner’s fees set, and can they be challenged?

Fees are not set by the practitioner alone. The Act says who approves remuneration in each process, and the licence conditions require clear disclosure so that the approving body can judge whether the fees are reasonable. This guide does not quote fee figures, because they depend on the case.

On disclosure, the conditions require a licensee claiming remuneration to give “sufficiently detailed, meaningful, open and clear” information about the work done so the approving body can make an informed decision. Before accepting, the licensee must tell the client in writing the terms of engagement, what work is covered and the basis of fees, for example time-cost or commission.

When you compare quotes, ask each practitioner these questions: which tasks the fee covers, which are charged on top, who bears disbursements and legal costs, what happens if the assets are small, and how often fee reports will be given. Our guide to the committee of inspection explains how that body scrutinises fees, and priority of debts shows why the liquidator’s costs come out of the estate before creditors are paid.

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

The company secretary prepares the corporate paperwork and records, while a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor conducts any court proceedings. Practitioners and their solicitors then take over the insolvency steps.

Proceedings in the General Division of the High Court are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor, who works with your company secretary, who in turn supplies the records.

What happens after the practitioner is appointed?

The practitioner takes over, and the filings follow. In a court-ordered winding up, a liquidator other than the Official Receiver is not capable of acting until the Registrar of Companies has been notified and security has been given to the Official Receiver’s satisfaction (s 136 IRDA). The Official Receiver also takes cognisance of the liquidator’s conduct and must inquire into any creditor or contributory complaint (s 137).

ACRA’s insolvency eForms now ask for the insolvency practitioner’s licence number, and the former “approved liquidator” label has been renamed “Approved Liquidator / Approved Insolvency Practitioner”. Interim judicial management by resolution carries short deadlines: written notice to the Official Receiver and ACRA within 3 days, and a Gazette and newspaper notice within 7 days after that (ACRA, citing s 94(5) IRDA). See ACRA’s guidance on filing corporate insolvency documents. If your concern is a liquidator who is not performing, see our guide to removing a liquidator. A licensee’s conduct can also be reported to the Licensing Officer: the Ministry of Law accepts complaints on a complaints form with supporting documents.

What mistakes do directors make when choosing a practitioner?

The common mistakes are choosing on price alone, skipping the register check, and ignoring conflicts until a creditor raises them.

• Engaging the company’s own accountant or auditor without asking about independence, especially for interim judicial management by resolution, where the company’s auditor cannot be appointed.
• Choosing a solicitor-licensee for a company matter, when that licence does not cover company liquidations.
• Accepting a verbal fee estimate, rather than written terms and a stated fee basis.
• Leaving the consent too late: in a court-ordered winding up, the written consent must be filed before the hearing.
• Letting directors’ loans, related-party payments and missing records surface after the appointment, when the practitioner will review them anyway. Our guide on director loans in liquidation shows what that review looks like.

Frequently asked questions

Can any accountant act as my company’s liquidator?

Not in a court-ordered or creditors’ voluntary winding up. The accountant must hold an insolvency practitioner’s licence. A licence is not required for a liquidator in a members’ voluntary winding up of a solvent company.

Where can I check whether a practitioner is licensed?

On the Ministry of Law’s register of licensed insolvency practitioners, which sits on the Licensing & Regulation of Insolvency Practitioners site. A separate list shows those whose licences were revoked or suspended.

Can a solicitor be my company’s liquidator or judicial manager?

A solicitor can hold an insolvency practitioner’s licence, but the Ministry confines solicitor-licensees to bankruptcy and voluntary arrangement cases. Company liquidation and judicial management need an accountant-type licensee.

Can I negotiate the practitioner’s fees?

You can ask for terms and compare proposals before appointment. Once appointed, remuneration is fixed through the route in the Act, such as the committee of inspection, the creditors or the court, so disclosure and approval matter more than haggling later.

What if I think my practitioner has a conflict?

Raise it in writing with the practitioner, who must disclose conflicts and seek consent to continue. A creditor or contributory may complain to the Official Receiver, and a complaint about a licensee can be sent to the Licensing Officer at the Ministry of Law.

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.