Setting up and maintaining Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)

What is the Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)?

The RORC is a register maintained privately by corporate entities (i.e. companies, foreign companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), unless exempted) with information about their controllers. The information maintained in this register includes the names and identifying details of their controllers as well as information on their citizenship or place of registration in the case of legal entities.

Who can be a “Controller” of a Company?
A Controller is an individual or a legal entity with a “significant interest” in or “significant control” over the company.

Controller based on Significant Interest
A controller who has a significant interest in a company may include any of the following:

Controller based on significant control
A controller who has significant control over a company is a person who:   

• holds the right to appoint or remove directors who hold a majority of the voting rights at directors’ meetings;
• holds more than 25% of the rights to vote on matters that are to be decided upon by a vote of the members of the company; or
• exercises or has the right to exercise significant influence or control over the company.

Who can be a “Controller” of a LLP?
A controller of the LLP is a person who:  

• holds, directly or indirectly, a right to share in more than 25% of the capital, or more than 25% of the profits, of the LLP; or a right to share more than 25% of any surplus assets of an LLP on a winding up;
• holds the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove the manager of the LLP, or if the LLP has more than one manager, a majority of the managers of the LLP;
• holds the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove the persons who hold a majority of the voting rights at meetings of the management body of the LLP;
• holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the rights to vote on those matters that are to be decided upon by a vote of the partners of the LLP; and/ or
• has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over an LLP.

Entities required to maintain RORC
All companies, foreign companies, and LLPs are required to maintain a RORC unless they are exempted.

Setting up RORC

Companies, foreign companies, and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) may keep their registers electronically or in hardcopy format.

When to set up?

Companies, foreign companies, and LLPs are required to each maintain a RORC within the following timelines:

• Companies incorporated on or after 31 March 2017: within 30 days after the date of incorporation;
• Existing companies incorporated before 31 March 2017: within 60 days after 31 March 2017;
• Companies which are not required to maintain the register but are subsequently required to do so: within 60 days after the date of being required to maintain the register. For example, a company that was listed on the Singapore Exchange but is subsequently delisted must keep a register of registrable controllers within 60 days of being delisted. 

Maintaining RORC

Prescribed locations to maintain RORC
The RORC is to be maintained at the registered office address of the entity or the registered office address of its appointed Corporate Service Provider.

What information must be included in the RORC?
For controllers who are individuals:

1. Full name;
2. Aliases, if any;
3. Residential address;
4. Nationality;
5. Identity card number or passport number;
6. Date of birth;
7. Date of becoming a controller; and
8. Date of cessation as a controller, if applicable.

For controllers that are corporate entities:

1. Name;
2. Unique entity number, if any;
3. Address of registered office;
4. Legal form of the corporate controller;
5. Jurisdiction where the corporate controller is formed or incorporated and under which law;
6. Name of authority in which the corporate controller is formed or incorporated, if applicable;
7. Identification number or registration number issued to the corporate controller when it was formed or incorporated, if applicable;
8. Date of becoming a controller; and
9. Date of cessation as a controller, if applicable.

When to update changes?
Entities maintaining RORC must update the changes within:

• 2 business days after the particulars have been “confirmed”; or
• 2 business days after the end of 30 days after the date on which the company sends the notice to the registrable controller.

Lodging RORC information with ACRA

All companies, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs), unless exempted, are required to lodge their RORC information with ACRA. The information must be lodged with ACRA within two business days after the RORC has been set up or upon updating changes in the RORC.

Through your Corporate Service Provider

You can instruct your Corporate Service Provider to perform this lodgment for you with ACRA.

Self-submission

If you wish to lodge the RORC information with ACRA on your own as a position holder (i.e., directors and secretaries of company / partners and managers of LLPs), you can do so via the "Update Register of Registrable Controllers" eService on Bizfile, ACRA’s online filing portal. The filing process has been kept simple after taking into account feedback from corporate service providers and companies

There are no fees payable for lodging RORC information with ACRA.

Updating RORC information with ACRA

If there are changes to the RORC of your entity, you must first update the information in your RORC maintained at your registered office address or at the address of your appointed Corporate Service Provider. Following which, you must lodge the updates with ACRA’s Central Register of Controllers within two business days. The update can be lodged via Bizfile using the “Update Register of Registrable Controllers” eService. Alternatively, you may also wish to instruct your Corporate Service Provider to perform this lodgment with ACRA. 

There is no fee required for this transaction.

Penalties for not maintaining RORC information with ACRA

Failure to lodge RORC information with ACRA may lead to prosecution, for the offence and the offender can face a fine of up to $5,000 upon conviction. Entities that have not filed their RORC information with ACRA are strongly advised to do so as soon as possible to avoid enforcement action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please click here to access the list of FAQs.

Help Resources

Please click here to access the help resources to guide companies, foreign companies and Limited Liability Partnerships to comply with the requirements.