Can I put up a partition without telling SCDF?
Only if it is not a fire safety work. A partition that changes room layout, escape routes, travel distance, sprinkler coverage or detection is a fire safety matter. Partition works within an individual unit can usually be lodged as minor A&A works, but not if they affect compartment walls or fire doors, increase floor area, or change the use beyond ancillary pantries, toilets, small stores or offices. SCDF lists unapproved partitions among its common enforcement findings.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in SCDF Fire Safety for Fit-Outs in Singapore: Approvals, Inspections and Common Failures. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
Under Singapore's Fire Safety Act, fit-out works that touch fire safety — partitions affecting exits, sprinklers, fire doors, ventilation, change of use — need SCDF plan approval through a Qualified Person before work starts. Small works in buildings with a TFP or FSC can be lodged for S$90 within strict limits. After approved works, a Registered Inspector must certify them before SCDF issues a TFP or FSC.
More questions on this topic
- Does every office fit-out need SCDF approval?
- What is the difference between an FSC, a TFP and a Fire Certificate?
- Who is the Registered Inspector and who appoints them?
- How many sprinklers can I move without full SCDF approval?
- What happens if SCDF finds problems at inspection?
- Is a change of use an SCDF matter?
- Does the building's Fire Safety Manager need to approve my works?