The UEN is the number ACRA gives a Singapore entity at registration, and CorpPass is the digital identity that lets the entity log in to IRAS, CPF Board and MOM. After incorporation, the company appoints a CorpPass administrator, who then grants staff access to each service. Without that step, online filing is blocked.
The Unique Entity Number is a single identifier that follows a business through ACRA, IRAS, CPF Board, MOM and most other agencies. ACRA assigns it when a company, sole proprietorship or partnership is registered. For companies it takes a format that includes the registration year, and it never changes, even if the company changes its name or address.
For tax purposes the UEN doubles as the tax reference number of the entity, so IRAS correspondence, corporate tax returns and GST filings all point back to it. A GST-registered business also has a separate GST registration number, which must not be confused with the UEN on tax invoices.
The UEN is also the PayNow Corporate proxy. Customers can pay a company by entering its UEN, which is why an invoice showing the UEN and the bank details makes small-value payments faster. Check that the UEN printed on templates matches the ACRA record exactly.
A practical check is to search your own UEN in the ACRA register and compare the result with your invoice template. The register shows the entity name, status, registered address and registered activities, and it is the reference a bank or a counterparty will use when they verify you.
CorpPass is the corporate login for government digital services. An individual signs in with Singpass, and CorpPass then links that person to the entity they act for. Every transaction with IRAS myTax Portal, CPF Board's e-services or MOM's work pass services happens through a CorpPass session tied to the UEN.
Directors and employees do not each need their own CorpPass account. They use their personal Singpass, and the entity grants them access to specific services. This keeps accountability clear, because the log shows which individual submitted a return.
Foreign nationals who are not yet in Singapore cannot always obtain Singpass. Where the only director is overseas, the company often relies on a local appointee, a corporate secretarial firm or an authorised employee to hold the CorpPass administrator role.
Specific CorpPass roles matter in practice. A user who can file GST returns is a different permission from a user who can submit employee CPF contributions, so confirm that each task in your calendar has a named person with the matching role.
Registration of the entity with CorpPass is done online, with the primary administrator nominated using Singpass. The company must name at least two administrators where possible, a primary and an alternate, so that staff changes do not lock the entity out of its own filings.
The administrator then creates users and assigns roles. Typical roles include a tax role for IRAS, a payroll role for CPF Board and a work pass role for MOM. Give each person only what the job needs. A bookkeeper who files GST returns does not need access to director appointment services, for example.
Review the user list at least once a year. When an employee leaves, remove their access on the same day, because a stale account is one of the most common causes of unauthorised submissions.
Document the recovery path. If both administrators leave on short notice, the entity has to be re-registered through its authorised signatories, which takes time while deadlines keep running. A short written procedure shared with the board avoids that.
A sensible order is: ACRA registration and UEN, CorpPass with two administrators, IRAS myTax Portal access, CPF Board registration before the first employee is paid, MOM access if you will hire foreign staff, and then GST registration and InvoiceNow enrolment when they become relevant.
Each step depends on the previous one. IRAS will not enrol a company that has no valid CorpPass, and an InvoiceNow access point provider needs the UEN and the GST status to configure the connection. Starting the sequence early avoids the situation where the first tax deadline arrives and nobody can log in.
Write the sequence into the onboarding checklist, with the person responsible for each step. A corporate secretarial firm usually manages the early steps, and the company takes over once the first employee and the first invoice exist.
A foreign-owned company often lists the sequence in a shared document with dates. When the CPF Board registration is only done after the first salary is already due, the first contribution is late, so the order of steps is not cosmetic.
Company details live in several registers. ACRA holds the registered office, officers and SSIC codes, IRAS holds tax contacts and filing status, CPF Board holds employer details, and MOM holds the work pass sponsor record. Changing an address in one place does not always update the others.
After a change in BizFile+, check the other agencies and update them where needed. A mismatch between the registered address and the tax contact address is a frequent reason why reminders and notices go to the wrong place and deadlines are missed.
Keep an internal record of the UEN, GST number, CPF submission number and the names of the CorpPass administrators. Updating invoice and contract templates is a manual step. Neither 4invoices nor 4softerp reads from any agency register, so a changed detail must be copied into your records yourself.
Officer changes are another trigger. When a director resigns, ACRA must be told, the CorpPass role of that person must be removed, the bank mandate changed and the signatory on the IRAS tax contact reviewed, and each of these is a separate action with a separate agency.
4invoices.net lets you issue PDF invoices carrying your UEN and keep them in an archive. 4softerp.net holds your company profile and bookkeeping for several companies in one place. Both help you keep a single copy of company data on your side.
Neither product creates a UEN, configures CorpPass or connects to IRAS, CPF Board or MOM. Those steps are done with the agencies themselves.
Without a correctly configured CorpPass account linked to the UEN, the company cannot access IRAS, InvoiceNow or CPF Board — yet the setup involves multiple agencies and non-obvious sequencing.
Follow the sequence with the agencies themselves: ACRA registration, UEN, CorpPass administrator setup, IRAS myTax Portal access, then InvoiceNow enrolment with a Peppol access point. The 4b2b products do not perform any of these steps.
UEN reference data becomes inconsistent across IRAS, CPF Board and MOM records when address or officer details are updated, causing submissions to be rejected.
Update address or officer changes in BizFile+ and with IRAS, CPF Board and MOM directly. You can then copy the new details into your own invoice and contact records; there is no automatic sync with any agency.
The UEN is the number that identifies your entity on the ACRA register and in tax records. CorpPass is the login system that lets named people act for that entity on government websites. You need the UEN first, then you register the entity for CorpPass and appoint administrators who grant access to individual users.
Name at least a primary and an alternate administrator. If only one person holds the role and leaves, the company can be unable to manage users or access agency services until the situation is repaired. Choose people who are likely to stay and who can be reached, and review the appointments whenever staff change.
It depends on whether the person can obtain Singpass, which is generally linked to residents. Many companies with overseas directors nominate a local employee or a corporate secretarial firm as CorpPass administrator. The overseas director remains legally responsible for filings, so agree in writing who submits what and on which dates.
No. The UEN identifies the entity and is issued by ACRA. A GST registration number is issued separately by IRAS once the business registers for GST. Tax invoices must show the GST number, while the UEN appears on contracts and payment proxies. Keep both visible in your records and do not swap them.
File the change with ACRA through BizFile+ first, then check IRAS, CPF Board and MOM and update them where required. Your invoice templates, contracts and website also need manual updates. If the agencies hold different addresses, notices can go astray, and a missed deadline may follow, so allocate one person to run the whole checklist.
Store your UEN and company data in your own records. UEN and CorpPass are set up with ACRA and the government.
