Short answer: From 20 October 2026, a Singapore registered office no longer has to be open to the public for three hours every business day. Anyone entitled to inspect company records must give the company reasonable notice, and the company must then make those records available for at least two hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on each business day, at the place where they are kept.
The inspection of company records used to be tied to the registered office’s opening hours: if the office was open, the registers were open. The second phase of the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) broke that link. This guide explains the new section 396A of the Companies Act 1967, which records are still open to members, creditors and the public, what a sensible notice and response process looks like, and where the offence risks sit for a company or its registered office provider.
Key facts at a glance
- From 20 October 2026, CALA 2025 section 52 removed the rule in section 142(1) that a registered office be open to the public for at least 3 hours on each business day.
- New section 396A(1): records open to inspection must be available for 2 or more hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. of each business day, where they are required to be kept.
- New section 396A(1A): the person inspecting must give the company reasonable notice.
- Section 396A(1B) lists 13 powers the notice rule does not limit, including Magistrate’s warrants and Court orders.
- A change of registered office address must still be lodged within 14 days (section 143); the maximum fine is S$5,000 plus a default penalty.
- A “business day” excludes Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (section 4(1)).
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 changed for registered offices and record inspection on 20 October 2026?
Two linked rules changed on the same day. The minimum opening hours for the registered office went, and the inspection duty was rewritten so that it no longer depends on those hours.
ACRA’s announcement of 6 October 2026 says the change gives companies “greater flexibility” to set their own registered office hours, but that companies must continue to make company records available for inspection in accordance with the law. The statutory mechanics are in sections 52, 53 and 99 of the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025, all of which commenced on 20 October 2026.
| Rule | Up to 19 October 2026 | From 20 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Registered office opening hours (s 142(1)) | Open and accessible to the public for not less than 3 hours during ordinary business hours on each business day | No minimum hours. The office must still exist in Singapore and receive all communications and notices |
| When records are available (s 396A(1)) | During the hours in which the registered office is accessible to the public | For 2 or more hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. of each business day |
| Where records are available | At the place where the Act requires the record to be kept | Unchanged: at the place where the Act requires the record to be kept |
| Notice from the person inspecting | Not required by section 396A | Reasonable notice of intent required (s 396A(1A)), subject to the exceptions in s 396A(1B) |
| Change of registered office address (s 143) | Lodge within 14 days | Lodge within 14 days (section replaced, period unchanged) |
The address rules themselves, including virtual offices and what a registered office must do day to day, are covered in our registered office requirements guide, and the wider phase 2 changes are summarised in what commenced on 20 October 2026. This article stays with the inspection process.
How does inspection of company records work under section 396A now?
The person entitled to inspect gives notice, and the company then opens a window of at least two hours, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., on each business day, at the place where the record is kept. Section 396A does not itself create a right to inspect; it sets the time, place and manner for rights that other sections give.
The current text of section 396A on Singapore Statutes Online works in five parts:
- Subsection (1): records must be available for 2 or more hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. of each business day, at the place where the Act requires them to be kept.
- Subsection (1A): a person permitted to inspect must give the company reasonable notice of the intent.
- Subsection (1B): the notice rule does not limit listed powers, among them a Minister’s direction under section 8A, a Magistrate’s warrant under section 8B, a Court order under section 199(5) or 394(1), an inspector’s requirement under section 236 and the Registrar’s powers under section 386AM.
- Subsection (2): for electronic records, the company allows inspection of a hard copy reproduction or, if asked, of the recording by electronic means.
- Subsection (3): anyone permitted to inspect may make copies or take extracts.
Section 395(4) defines “company record” as any register, index, minute book, accounting record, minute or other document the Act requires a company to keep, so the window applies to every inspection right in the Act. The place does not move either: a register that must be kept at the registered office is inspected there, or through the electronic facilities required by section 396A(4).
Which records can be inspected, by whom, and at what fee?
The right to inspect, and any fee, comes from the section that requires the record to be kept. The table below covers the records most private companies are asked about.
| Record (section) | Where kept | Who may inspect, and fee | Copies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minute books of general meetings and members’ resolutions (s 188, s 189) | Registered office or principal place of business in Singapore | Any member, free of charge | Within 14 days of a written request, at no more than S$1 per page |
| Register of directors’ and CEO’s shareholdings (s 164) | Registered office | Members free; any other person S$3 per inspection or less | S$1 per page or less, sent within 21 days (or longer if the Registrar allows) |
| Charging instruments and register of charges (s 138) | Registered office | Creditors and members free; the register of charges is also open to any other person for a fee of up to S$2 | Copies of instruments at up to S$1 per page, within 3 days |
| Accounting and other records (s 199) | Registered office or another place the directors think fit | Directors, “at all times” | Not specified in s 199 |
Directors’ minutes are different. Section 189(2A) takes minutes of directors’ and CEOs’ meetings, and a sole director’s resolutions and declarations, out of the members’ inspection and copy rights.
A director’s right under section 199(3) is separate from a member’s. If a director is refused, the route is a Court application, explained in our guide to court-ordered inspection of company records. For the practical side of a director’s request, see how to prepare a controlled copy pack.
Which records are not open to the public at all?
Some registers are kept by ACRA rather than the company, and others must not be shown to the public. Requests for them should be redirected or declined, not booked into the two-hour window.
- Register of members of a private company: since 3 January 2016, ACRA keeps it electronically (section 196A), and any person may obtain a copy or extract from ACRA for the prescribed fee (section 12(2)(d)). See our explainer on the register of members.
- Registers of directors, CEOs, secretaries and auditors: kept by the Registrar under section 173(1), with access through ACRA under section 12(2)(c).
- Register of registrable controllers: section 386AF(11) says a company must not disclose it, or make it available for inspection, to any member of the public, subject to section 386AM. Breach carries a fine of up to S$25,000 for the company and each officer in default.
- Registers of nominee directors and nominee shareholders: sections 386AKA(2) and 386ALA(5) contain the same prohibition, with the same maximum fine.
Handing over a whole “statutory registers” folder in response to a member’s request could breach these prohibitions, which carry far higher fines than any inspection offence.
What counts as reasonable notice?
The Companies Act does not define “reasonable notice”, and neither the Act nor ACRA’s announcement sets a number of days. What is reasonable will depend on the request, so a company should judge each one on its facts rather than impose a fixed rule that could be challenged.
Relevant factors include how many records are asked for, whether they are paper or electronic, and whether an external provider holds them. Seeing one page of the register of charges is not the same as reviewing ten years of general meeting minutes.
Our recommended practice, not a statutory rule, is to ask for requests in writing (email is enough) that identify the record, the section relied on and a proposed date. A company that tells people where to send notice, and replies promptly, is better placed if its process is questioned. The notice exists so the company can prepare, not so it can delay access indefinitely.
How should a company or registered office provider handle an inspection request?
Treat each request as a small, documented process with a named owner. The steps below are our recommended protocol for companies and for corporate service providers that host registered offices.
- Log the request: date received, requester, records asked for and how notice arrived. Keep the original message.
- Identify the right relied on (for example section 189 for general meeting minutes) and whether the requester is a member, creditor, director or member of the public.
- Screen out records kept by ACRA or barred from disclosure, such as the register of registrable controllers, and explain the correct route.
- Confirm any fee the section allows before the visit.
- Offer at least two hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on a business day, at the place where the record is kept, and ask whether electronic records should be shown in hard copy or electronically.
- Produce the current signed records unaltered and supervise originals during the visit.
- Diarise any copy deadline, such as 14 days for minutes or 3 days for charging instruments.
- Note what was shown, when and to whom, and escalate any disputed entitlement to the directors and their legal advisers.
Where a corporate service provider hosts the registered office, the service agreement should say who receives notices, retrieves records and supervises inspections; the company remains the party under the duty. Our sister site’s registered office access transition checklist covers that handover, and its free compliance tools help with diarising deadlines.
A template reply: “Thank you for your notice dated [date] to inspect [record] under section [number] of the Companies Act 1967. It will be available at [address] on [date] from [time] to [time]. [The fee is S$[amount].] Please confirm, or propose another business day.”
What happens if a company refuses or fails to make records available?
The offence usually sits in the section that grants the right, and the amounts vary widely. Where no specific penalty is set, the general penalty provision applies.
- Failure to furnish copies of general meeting minutes under section 189: a fine of up to S$400 and a default penalty for the company and every officer in default.
- Breach of section 138 on charging instruments and the register of charges: a fine of up to S$2,000 and a default penalty.
- Breach of section 164 on the register of directors’ shareholdings: a fine of up to S$15,000 or imprisonment of up to 3 years, plus a further S$1,000 a day for a continuing offence.
- Failure to provide proper facilities for inspecting electronic records under section 396A(4): a fine of up to S$1,000 and a default penalty for the company and each officer in default.
- Breach of section 199 on accounting records: a fine of up to S$10,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, and a default penalty.
- Any other failure to do what the Act requires, where no penalty is expressly stated: section 407 provides for a fine of up to S$1,000.
Officers in default are personally exposed under most of these provisions.
Frequently asked questions
Can we close our registered office completely now?
No. Section 142(1) still requires a registered office in Singapore to which all communications and notices may be addressed. Only the minimum opening hours went. Records required to be kept there must still be made available for inspection on reasonable notice.
Can a shareholder of a private company inspect the register of members at our office?
For a private company, the register of members is the electronic register kept by ACRA under section 196A, and copies or extracts are obtained from ACRA for the prescribed fee. The company does not keep a separate statutory register of members for inspection.
Can we refuse an inspection request that arrives without notice?
A person who is permitted to inspect must give reasonable notice under section 396A(1A), so the company can ask a walk-in visitor to send a written notice and offer a later slot. This does not apply to the statutory powers in section 396A(1B), such as a warrant or a Registrar’s requirement.
Can the person inspecting make their own copies?
Yes. Section 396A(3) allows any person permitted to inspect a company record to make copies of it or take extracts from it. Separately, sections such as 138, 164 and 189 let a person ask the company to supply copies, at the per-page fees and within the time limits those sections set.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed: 5 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.
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