On 9 May 2026, Singapore’s business classification system underwent its biggest overhaul since 2020. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) officially migrated all registered entities — companies, limited liability partnerships, sole proprietorships and more — from the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification 2020 (SSIC 2020) to the updated SSIC 2025 framework. The migration was automatic: no action was required at the time. But “automatic” does not mean “accurate”.

If you have not yet logged into Bizfile to check your newly assigned SSIC 2025 code, now is the time. In some sectors, the auto-mapped code may no longer accurately describe what your company actually does — and an inaccurate SSIC code has real consequences for grant eligibility, MOM quota administration, and IRAS sector classification.

This guide explains what changed on 9 May 2026, how to check whether your code is correct, and what to do if it is not.

What Is the SSIC and Why Does It Matter?

The Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) is the national system used to classify businesses by the economic activity they primarily carry out. Every Singapore-registered entity is assigned at least one SSIC code at the time of incorporation or registration. This code serves multiple practical purposes:

Grants and incentives: Enterprise Singapore uses SSIC codes as one of the gating criteria for schemes like the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG), Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), and Market Readiness Assistance (MRA). Some grants are explicitly restricted to companies in certain SSIC categories.

MOM work pass administration: The Ministry of Manpower uses SSIC codes to determine sector-specific Employment Pass qualifying salaries and S Pass quota calculations.

IRAS tax classification: The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore uses your SSIC code to benchmark your company’s profitability against sector norms. See our Singapore Corporate Tax 2026 guide for more on your annual filing obligations.

Regulatory licences: Some industry regulators — including MAS, URA, and NEA — cross-reference SSIC codes when assessing licence applications and determining applicable conditions.

An inaccurate SSIC code is not a minor administrative matter. It can cause grant applications to be rejected outright, distort the MOM quota available to you, and misalign your IRAS tax filing profile.

What Changed in SSIC 2025?

SSIC 2025 is a substantive revision — not a cosmetic renumbering. Over 1,500 codes were revised in total. Here are the headline changes:

New Codes Added (26 New Categories)

Twenty-six new codes were introduced to cover economic activities that had no dedicated classification under SSIC 2020. These include codes for climate technology, AI-related services, digital platform businesses, and other emerging sectors that have become economically significant since the 2020 update. If your company operates in one of these areas, there is a good chance you were previously using an approximate code and there is now a more precise one available.

Codes Deleted (58 Removed)

Fifty-eight codes from SSIC 2020 were removed — typically because the activities they described had declined significantly, or because those activities were absorbed into broader categories. If your company was assigned one of these deleted codes, ACRA’s system will have auto-mapped you to the closest equivalent. But closest equivalent is not always accurate, particularly for businesses at the boundary between two categories or in fast-moving sectors.

Codes Renumbered and Restructured (58 Renumbered)

Fifty-eight codes were renumbered. The most significant structural change is the split of former Section J (Information and Communications) into two separate sections under SSIC 2025:

  • New Section J: Publishing, broadcasting, and content activities
  • New Section K: Telecommunications, computer programming, and IT services

This means that many technology companies, SaaS businesses, app developers, and IT consultancies may find themselves reclassified into a different section than before. If your company is in the tech sector, this is a particularly important area to review.

Sectors with the Most Material Code Changes

Based on the SSIC 2025 revision, these sectors saw the most significant code changes:

  • Fintech and financial technology: Previously caught in broad financial services or IT codes; more specific codes now exist.
  • Health technology and medtech: New dedicated codes separate from general medical devices or software development.
  • Green energy and sustainability: Climate technology and environmental services now have dedicated codes.
  • Platform and marketplace businesses: Online platforms, digital marketplaces, and gig-economy facilitators now have more precise classifications.
  • Creative and content industries: The Section J split affects content creators, digital publishers, and streaming-adjacent businesses.

How ACRA Auto-Mapped Your Code — and Where It May Have Gone Wrong

ACRA used official correspondence tables to automatically reclassify each registered entity from its SSIC 2020 code to the nearest SSIC 2025 equivalent. For the majority of businesses in stable, clearly defined sectors — retail, food and beverage, construction, and traditional professional services — the auto-migration will likely be correct.

However, auto-mapping is a blunt instrument. It looks at the description of your existing SSIC 2020 code and matches it to the nearest available SSIC 2025 category based on text similarity and official correspondence tables. It does not look at your actual business activities, your company profile on Bizfile, or how your business has evolved since you incorporated.

Auto-mapping is most likely to be inaccurate in the following situations:

  • Your SSIC 2020 code was already an approximation of what you do (common for novel or hybrid businesses that incorporated before a suitable code existed).
  • Your company’s activities have changed or expanded significantly since incorporation and you never updated your SSIC code.
  • Your SSIC 2020 code was one of the 58 that was deleted and had to be merged into a broader category.
  • Your business is in one of the high-change sectors identified above.

How to Check Your SSIC 2025 Code on Bizfile

Checking your current SSIC code takes less than five minutes. Here is the process:

  1. Log in to Bizfile using your Singpass credentials.
  2. Navigate to your company’s profile page.
  3. Locate the “Principal Activity” field — this displays your current SSIC 2025 code and description.
  4. Compare the description shown against what your company actually does as its primary business activity.
  5. If you have a secondary activity registered, check that code as well.
  6. Use the SSIC 2025 code directory available on Bizfile to search for the most accurate code if yours appears incorrect.
  7. If there is a mismatch, file a correction as described below.

How to File a Correction If Your Code Is Wrong

If you discover that your auto-assigned SSIC 2025 code is inaccurate, you can file a correction via Bizfile. ACRA provided a courtesy 14-day window from 9 May 2026 to file corrections at no cost — that window has now closed. Corrections remain available at the standard ACRA filing fee. We recommend acting promptly, particularly if you have a grant application pending or are planning to hire on an Employment Pass or S Pass.

The correction process:

  1. Identify the correct SSIC 2025 code for your primary (and secondary, if applicable) activities using the ACRA code directory on Bizfile.
  2. File a “Change of Principal Activity” transaction on Bizfile.
  3. Pay the applicable ACRA filing fee.
  4. The updated code will be reflected on your company’s profile immediately upon ACRA’s processing.

Your company secretary can handle this filing on your behalf. For the detailed step-by-step process, see our guide on how to change your SSIC code in Singapore.

SSIC Accuracy and Grant Eligibility: What You Could Be Missing

This is where an inaccurate SSIC code can cost your business real money. Grant administrators use your registered SSIC code as a gating criterion:

  • PSG (Productivity Solutions Grant): Certain PSG pre-approved solutions are sector-specific. If your SSIC code does not fall within the qualifying sector, your application will be rejected even if your business genuinely operates in that sector.
  • EDG (Enterprise Development Grant): Some EDG sub-programmes are restricted to specific SSIC categories, particularly for innovation and technology adoption projects.
  • MRA (Market Readiness Assistance): The MRA grant now supports up to 70% of qualifying overseas market expansion costs. Accurate SSIC classification supports the grant manager’s assessment of your sector fit and target market profile.
  • Sector-specific grants: Many sectoral grants administered by EDB, MCI, and the Singapore Tourism Board explicitly require companies to hold the relevant SSIC code before they can apply.

SSIC Accuracy and MOM Work Pass Administration

Your SSIC code also directly affects your Employment Pass and S Pass administration. The Ministry of Manpower uses SSIC sector classification to determine:

  • Employment Pass qualifying salaries: Financial services sector companies (SSIC codes in financial services sections) face higher EP qualifying salary thresholds — S$6,200 per month compared with S$5,600 for most other sectors as at 2026. If your company is incorrectly classified outside the financial services sector when it should be within it (or vice versa), your EP applications may be assessed against the wrong salary benchmark.
  • S Pass levy rates and quotas: Certain sectors have different Foreign Worker Levy rates for S Pass holders. An incorrect SSIC code could mean you are paying the wrong levy rate or have an inaccurate quota calculation.

Action Checklist for Directors and Company Secretaries

Here is a practical checklist for handling the SSIC 2025 transition:

  1. Log in to Bizfile and check your current SSIC 2025 code against your actual business activities.
  2. If you have pending grant applications, confirm with your grant consultant whether your SSIC code aligns with the grant’s sector requirements.
  3. If you have EP or S Pass holders, confirm with MOM or your company secretary that your sector classification is correct for salary and quota purposes.
  4. If your code is wrong, instruct your company secretary to file a change of principal activity transaction on Bizfile without delay.
  5. If your company has genuinely diversified into new activities since incorporation, this is also a good opportunity to register a secondary SSIC code to accurately reflect your full range of operations.

Check our Singapore Company Compliance Calendar for a full picture of your other annual filing obligations.

For the latest Singapore business and regulatory news, it is worth staying current with ACRA announcements as the SSIC 2025 transition continues to settle in across different sectors.

Beyond corporate compliance, sound financial planning and business investment decisions are equally important for directors navigating this regulatory transition.

If you need legal advice on your SSIC code’s implications for your regulatory licences or sector-specific compliance obligations, we can point you in the right direction.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services