How to Choose and Verify a Contractor in Singapore: Licences, Registration, Insurance and Red Flags

Choosing a contractor in Singapore starts with a set of public, checkable facts. BCA publishes which firms hold builder’s licences and which are registered in its Contractors Registration System; the Workplace Safety and Health Council publishes bizSAFE status; insurers issue certificates you can read. None of these guarantees good work, but each removes a category of risk, and a contractor who cannot show them is telling you something.

The second half of the decision is commercial: payment terms, deposits, performance bonds and the contractor’s financial resilience. The 2021 liquidation of Greatearth, main contractor on five public housing projects, is a reminder that even established firms can fail mid-project, and that what protects an owner is the contract structure as much as the selection.¹³

This guide explains each check, where to verify it, what it does and does not tell you, and the red flags that should make you pause. It is written for building owners, MCSTs, facility managers and tenants procuring fit-out, reinstatement, A&A and façade works.

Step 1: The BCA builder’s licence

When a licence is required

Under the Builders Licensing Scheme in the Building Control Act, BCA requires a licensed builder for building works where the plans require approval by the Commissioner of Building Control, and for specialist works in the licensed categories; the requirement applies to both public and private sector projects.¹ Generally only the main contractor needs a general builder’s licence; subcontractors do not, except for specialist works.¹

So the first question is not “is this contractor licensed?” but “do my works need BCA plan approval?”. Structural A&A, slab openings, new mezzanines and many façade and structural repairs do; most purely non-structural interior works do not. If in doubt, ask your Qualified Person, or start with the approval navigator and the guide on A&A works approvals.

Classes of licence

Source: BCA builder licensing page.¹

The GB2 limit has a statutory history worth knowing. Section 29C of the Building Control Act sets a default limit of S$3 million per contract, measured as the estimated final price including GST, and allows the Minister to substitute another amount by order.² The Building Control (Estimated Final Price for Class 2 General Builder’s Licence) Order 2008 raised it to S$6 million with effect from 18 December 2008,⁴ which is the figure BCA states today.¹ Section 29C also aggregates separate contracts on the same building entered into by the same person, so splitting a job into smaller contracts does not get round the limit.²

Specialist builder categories

BCA’s six specialist categories are piling works; ground support and stabilisation works; instrumentation and monitoring work; structural steelwork; pre-cast concrete work; and in-situ post-tensioning work.¹ If your project includes any of these, the firm doing that part, whether main contractor or subcontractor, needs the matching specialist licence.

The penalty for unlicensed building

Carrying on business as a general or specialist builder without the relevant licence is an offence under section 29B of the Building Control Act, punishable by a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both, with further daily fines for continuing offences.³ A person who carries out such works in breach cannot recover any charge, fee or remuneration for them in court.³

Step 2: The Contractors Registration System (CRS)

What CRS is

The CRS is BCA’s nation-wide registry of construction firms. Registration is required for firms tendering for public sector construction projects, firms acting as first-level subcontractors on public projects, and, since 1 June 2025, all firms hiring S Pass or Work Permit construction workers.⁶ Registration is by workhead (type of work) and grade (size of work).

Workheads you will see on fit-out, A&A and reinstatement work

CRS groups workheads into Construction (CW), Construction-Related (CR), Mechanical and Electrical (ME), Trade (TR) and Regulatory (RW) workheads.⁶

What the grades mean

Grades set the maximum value of public sector contracts a firm may tender for. Higher grades require more paid-up capital and net worth, a larger track record, more qualified personnel and stronger management certifications.⁶

Source: BCA CRS tendering limits, valid 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (unchanged from the previous year).⁵

Three points help when reading a listing:

• Grade is about public tendering capacity, not quality. A C3 firm can be excellent on a S$200,000 job. Grade tells you the firm met BCA’s financial, track-record and personnel thresholds for that size of work.
• Single-grade workheads have no size signal. CR01 and some other workheads are registered at a single grade, for which BCA sets the tendering limit as unlimited.⁹ A CR01 listing tells you the type of work, not the size of firm.
• CW grades are linked to licences and safety certification. BCA’s CW specific registration requirements tie the higher CW grades to a GB1 licence and the lower grades to a GB2 licence, and require bizSAFE Level 3 or ISO 45001 for grades C1 and C2.¹⁰

How to check

BCA’s e-Directory lets anyone search registered firms and verify registration status.⁶ Search by company name or UEN and check: the workheads and grades, the expiry date of each registration, and the builder’s licence class and expiry. Compare the legal entity name with the name on the quotation and the contract; a mismatch is a question to ask.

Step 3: bizSAFE and safety capability

bizSAFE is the Workplace Safety and Health Council’s programme for building safety capability. It has five levels: Levels 1 to 4 and bizSAFE STAR.⁷ Levels 1 and 2 are introductory and valid for six months, non-renewable; Level 3 and above recognise firms that have implemented workplace risk assessment under the WSH (Risk Management) Regulations, with Level 3 requiring a risk-management implementation audit by an MOM-registered WSH auditing organisation, and are valid for three years or until the relevant external certification expires.⁷

*Or until the relevant external certification expires, whichever is earlier.⁷

Check status with the bizSAFE Status Check on the bizSAFE portal, which shows level, status and expiry date without logging in.⁷ For work at height, in occupied buildings or in sensitive premises, ask for the method statement and risk assessment for your job, not just the certificate. See work at height and occupier liability for why owners have a stake in this.

Step 4: Insurance

Ask for certificates, read the period of cover and the named parties, and make sure they cover the whole contract period including defects rectification.

MOM requires employers to buy work injury compensation insurance for all employees doing manual work and for non-manual employees earning S$2,600 or less a month; subcontractors must insure their own employees, and failing to provide adequate insurance is an offence punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.⁸ Landlords set their own requirements: URA’s rules for reinstatement works at The URA Centre require contractor’s all risks (including fire and public liability) and work injury compensation insurance,¹¹ and CapitaLand’s guidelines for CapitaSky require public liability, work injury compensation and employer’s liability policies with named-insured and waiver-of-subrogation wording.¹²

Step 5: Payment terms, deposits and performance bonds

Pay for work done

The single most effective protection against contractor failure is not to be ahead on payments. Large up-front deposits put your money at risk before any work exists. Link payments to measurable milestones or monthly valuations of work done, verified on site, and agree a retention where appropriate. Singapore’s Security of Payment Act sets out a statutory process for progress payment claims and responses; see the SOPA guide before you set up your payment schedule.

Performance bonds

A performance bond is security, usually issued by a bank or insurer, that the employer can call if the contractor fails to perform. A Singapore legal information guide describes bonds as usually about 5 to 10 percent of the contract sum.¹⁴ The wording matters. Under an on-demand bond the guarantor pays when a demand is made in the form the bond requires; under an indemnity or conditional bond, the employer must prove breach and loss.¹⁵ Singapore courts restrain calls on on-demand bonds only on narrow grounds, fraud or unconscionability.¹⁵

For a small fit-out or reinstatement job, a bond may cost more than it is worth; tight payment terms may achieve the same protection. For larger contracts, especially with significant prepayments, a bond is standard practice.

Delay is often the larger risk. For a reinstatement job, each day of overrun can carry statutory double rent; see the true cost of a late handback and cheap quote versus delay economics.

Contractor insolvency: the Greatearth example

Contractor failure is not only a small-firm risk. In August 2021, Greatearth Corporation and Greatearth Construction, main contractors for five HDB Build-to-Order projects (Senja Heights, Senja Ridges, Marsiling Grove, Sky Vista @ Bukit Batok and West Coast Parkview), informed HDB that they had run into financial difficulties, and works at the five sites ceased on 20 August 2021.¹³ HDB’s annual report records that, despite financial assistance from HDB, the contractors were unable to complete the projects.¹⁶ The companies went into liquidation; WongPartnership, which advised on the liquidation, notes that the group’s projects also included a crematorium complex for NEA and a bus depot for LTA.¹⁷

Lessons for private owners:

• Check financial capacity proportionate to the job. A CRS grade means the firm met BCA’s financial thresholds when registered; for a larger contract, also ask for recent accounts or a bank reference.
• Do not prepay. Keep payments in line with work done and materials delivered to site.
• Use security where justified. A bond, retention or parent guarantee for larger contracts.
• Watch for early signs. Unpaid subcontractors, slowing labour, missing deliveries and requests for advance payment are warnings.
• Keep records. A current programme, photographs and valuations make it much faster to bring in a replacement.

Other licences that may apply

Where a PE or QP is needed, appoint them directly. The engineer certifies the contractor’s work, so the engineer should owe duties to you, not to the firm being certified.

Comparing quotations like for like

Licence and registration checks tell you whether a contractor may do the work. Comparing quotations tells you whether the prices describe the same work. Most disputes about “extras” begin with two quotations that looked comparable and were not.

Two habits help. First, send every bidder the same package: the drawings or scope, the landlord’s rules, the required dates and a list of the documents you want back. Second, ask each bidder to list cost-risk items, the things that could change the price, rather than leaving them to emerge on site. The guide on variation orders and provisional sums explains how to contract against the most common surprises, and cheap quote versus delay economics shows why the lowest number is not always the lowest cost.

Checking the people, not only the company

A licence is held by a company, but the work is done by people. BCA’s licensing scheme requires an Approved Person who takes charge of and directs the management of building works, and a Technical Controller who oversees their execution.¹ Ask who those people are for your job and how often they will be on site.

Useful questions:

• Who is the project manager or site supervisor, and are they full time on this job?
• Which trades are done by the contractor’s own workers and which by subcontractors? Who are the subcontractors for the critical trades?
• Who is the Licensed Electrical Worker for electrical works,¹⁸ and who is the QP or PE where one is needed?
• Who prepares the risk assessment and method statement, and who briefs workers on them?
• Who is the single point of contact for the landlord or managing agent?

Talking to referees

References are only useful if you ask specific questions. Ask for two or three projects of similar type, size and building environment completed in the last few years, then ask the referee:

• Was the job finished on the agreed date? If not, why, and how was the delay handled?
• Were there variations, and were they priced and agreed before work proceeded?
• How did the contractor deal with the landlord or managing agent and the building’s rules?
• Were defects at handover few and quickly closed?
• Were subcontractors and suppliers paid on time, as far as you know?
• Would you use them again for the same kind of work?

The answers to the first and last questions usually tell you most of what you need.

Red flags

A practical verification sequence

Summary

Licences, registrations, safety status and insurance are public and checkable, and should be checked for every job. Know whether your works need a licensed builder; read CRS grades as public-tender capacity rather than quality; confirm bizSAFE and insurance dates; and structure payments so you are never far ahead of the work. Greatearth showed that even established contractors can fail mid-project; the owners best placed to recover are those with up-to-date records, payments aligned to progress and security in hand. For definitions of the terms used here, see the glossary.