Recruitment Agency Register

Official online lookupHas not ratified ILO C181

Recruitment agency licensing in Singapore

Licensing authority: Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Employment Agency Licensing Branch.2,1

How to check an agency in Singapore

MOM's EA Directory (Employment Agencies and Personnel Search) lets the public find employment agencies and personnel. Foreign workers can also check the fees payable to the agency, and their fixed monthly salary, in the in-principle approval letter MOM issues before they arrive.3,1

Open the official lookup

Who needs a licence

A business needs an employment agency licence if it provides recruitment and placement services to other employers. No licence is needed to recruit only for one's own company or business.2

Fees charged to workers

Employment agencies may collect no more than one month of a worker's fixed monthly salary for each year of service, capped at two months' salary in total. MOM says it is an offence for an agency to charge excessive agency fees.1

Licence conditions

A licence is valid for three years from the date of issue. GoBusiness lists a S$400 application fee and a S$100 issuance fee. A Comprehensive licence covers all types of workers, while a Select licence is only for agencies placing workers earning over S$4,500 a month. All personnel of a Comprehensive licensed agency must hold the relevant Certificate of Employment Intermediaries (CEI), and key appointment holders must pass the CEI (KAH) test. Agencies must also provide a security bond, which MOM calculates with an online tool.2,4

Reporting an unlicensed agency

Workers who believe they have been overcharged can contact MOM through its online form, and MOM says the information is kept confidential. Licensing enquiries go to the MOM Employment Agency Licensing Branch through the MOM Contact Centre on (65) 6438 5122 or mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg.1,2

ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention (C181)

Not ratified5

Main law

Checked 28 October 2026. This page describes the licensing system. It does not list or rate individual agencies.

Sources

  1. Ministry of Manpower, How will foreign workers know the amount that they are expected to pay the Singapore EA? (3 July 2024)
  2. GoBusiness Licensing, Government of Singapore, Employment Agency Licence
  3. Ministry of Manpower, Employment Agencies and Personnel Search (EA Directory)
  4. Ministry of Manpower, Employment agencies
  5. Government of the Netherlands, Treaty Database, Convention concerning Private Employment Agencies, Geneva, 19-06-1997 (29 January 2026)