This guide is the checklist behind a Singapore government bid: each registration, document and certificate, grouped by the point in a procurement when it is asked for, with who can lawfully do it. For how Singapore procurement works overall (the Government Procurement Act, thresholds, Tender Lite, evaluation, challenges and payment), see How to bid for government contracts in Singapore, and for the screens themselves, How to register on GeBIZ, step by step.
Before you bid
Your logins
1. Corppass, Singapore’s corporate digital identity. GeBIZ is reached only through Corppass, and every Corppass user is tied to their own Singpass, so nothing here can be done with someone else’s login.
- Companies with a UEN: your Registered Officer or Admin sets up Corppass with their own Singpass and gives the GeBIZ e-service to named staff.
- Overseas companies without a UEN: a foreign-entity account. The registration pack (your home registration document, a certified English translation and the admin’s identity document) can be prepared for you; your own admin submits it, entering the details exactly as they appear on the home document, and activates the one-time password of their Singpass Foreign user Account (SFA).
- Time: 5 to 10 working days for a foreign entity.
- Who does it: only your Corppass Admin creates users and assigns the GeBIZ and Vendors@Gov e-services. You may have up to 2 Admins.
2. GeBIZ Trading Partner registration and the Authorised Representative. Registration on GeBIZ, the single portal for government quotations and tenders, names an Authorised Representative (AR) who represents your company in every GeBIZ transaction.
- Cost: the first AR account is free; each further AR account costs S$280 a year including GST, and a Non-Bidding Representative account S$70 a year. Paid accounts renew automatically.
- Time: immediate on submission.
- Who does it: the company details and procurement categories can be mapped for you; your AR logs in with their own Corppass and submits. The AR must be at least 18 and have authority to represent the company, and the account can move only within the same company.
- From abroad: the same, through the Corppass foreign-entity account; you don’t need a separate GeBIZ ID.
3. The Supplier File Repository (optional). A store on GeBIZ for your standard documents, such as company profile, certificates and track record, which can be attached automatically to responses for all agencies or for up to 15 you choose. Stored files may be up to 100 MB each, against 35 MB for files attached directly to a response. It is free. A bid writer prepares the set; your AR uploads it while logged in.
Your business identity
4. ACRA registration and the UEN (only where needed). Registering a local company or a foreign-company branch with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority gives you a Unique Entity Number and a business profile on BizFile. Most overseas firms bidding on GeBIZ don’t need one, but BCA construction registration and InvoiceNow do.
- Valid: ongoing, with annual filings.
- Who does it: a registered corporate service provider files on BizFile under its own filing-agent account. You appoint the directors or authorised representatives and sign the consents.
- From abroad: ACRA requires every foreign business to engage a corporate service provider to register a branch or subsidiary.
5. Certified English translations. Any document not in English, starting with the home registration document for Corppass, needs an English translation certified by the issuing country’s embassy or notarised by a notary in Singapore or in the issuing country. A translator prepares it and the notary or embassy certifies it.
6. Apostilles. Singapore has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 16 September 2021, so where a tender or BCA wants authenticated documents, a public document from another party can carry an apostille instead of being legalised. It is done in your home country by a notary or competent authority, and you sign before the notary where needed.
Your finances
7. Government Supplier Registration (GSR) financial grade, when a tender asks. An optional grade, S2 to S10, that some tenders set as a minimum.
- Cost: S$43.60 including GST, or S$56.68 for express, paid within 7 days.
- Time: usually 3 working days; express 1 working day.
- Valid: 1.5 or 3 years; renew within 3 months before expiry.
- Who does it: your AR applies online in GeBIZ and pays; your public accountant supplies the audited financial statements, or a certified profit and loss account and balance sheet. Applications are processed by RMA Contracts Pte Ltd for the Ministry of Finance.
- From abroad: home-country financial statements in English are accepted.
- Changes: from 1 October 2026 tenders refer only to the financial grade, and from 1 January 2027 supply heads and the paid-up capital requirement for S9 and S10 go. The tendering capacity shown with a grade is a reference, not a cap.
8. Audited financial statements. Needed for GSR grading, for BCA grades (accounts no older than 12 months, except for the C3 and L1 single grade) and often for a tender’s financial evaluation. A public accountant audits or certifies them; you provide the books and sign the management representations. Foreign companies use home-country audited accounts in English, with a certified translation if they aren’t.
For construction and regulated services
9. BCA Contractors Registration System (CRS). Mandatory for public-sector construction as a main contractor or first-level subcontractor and, since 1 June 2025, for any firm employing construction Work Permit or S Pass holders. Grades set your tendering limits.
- Cost: S$562 to S$4,492 per workhead, including GST.
- Time: about 2 weeks; longer for overseas documents.
- What goes in: a BizFile profile no more than 1 month old, audited accounts, personnel records (CPF Form 90), track-record forms and certifications.
- Who does it: a corporate service provider and an accountant help assemble the file; your firm submits on eBACS under its own Corppass and signs the Declaration of Technical Personnel.
- From abroad: you need an ACRA-registered Singapore entity. BCA may visit an overseas head office at your cost, and technical staff for the A1 and A2 grades must be full-time and based in Singapore.
10. Builder’s licence. Building work under the CW01 and CW02 workheads also needs a BCA general or specialist builder’s licence. You appoint the approved person or technical controller and submit; a Singapore entity is required.
11. bizSAFE and ISO certificates. bizSAFE Level 3 or Star, and ISO 45001, 9001 or 14001, are required by BCA workhead rules and are often scored in construction, cleaning and maintenance tenders. A Workplace Safety and Health Council-approved auditor or an accredited certification body certifies you after you implement the system; ISO certificates last 3 years, bizSAFE according to its level. IAF-accredited foreign ISO certificates are generally accepted, but bizSAFE exists only in Singapore.
12. Cyber Essentials or Cyber Trust. The Cyber Security Agency’s marks, assessed by appointed certification bodies, which IT and data-handling tenders may ask for as evidence of baseline security.
13. CPF and work-pass records. BCA and many manpower-heavy tenders ask for CPF Form 90 for local staff and SGWorkpass records for foreign staff. Your HR or payroll team extracts them under your own Corppass. A Ministry of Manpower safety debarment is also a GeBIZ debarment ground.
With your bid
Documents and questions. ITQ and ITT documents download only after login, so your AR downloads them, or forwards them to your bid writer, and posts the clarification questions drafted for you through GeBIZ messaging.
The response. Bids go in online only, and each one is a binding offer.
| What | When it’s asked | Who prepares it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response against the critical criteria, technical and price proposals, compliance matrix | Every ITQ and ITT | A bid writer | Your AR reviews and submits under their own Corppass and 2FA |
| Two separate envelopes | Where the ITT requires them | A bid writer | Approve both |
| Alternative offer | When you want to deviate from the stated terms | A bid writer, separately from the base offer | Decide to offer it |
| Integrity declarations | Every response | — | Confirm them; you answer for the truth of the whole submission |
| Financial grade or audited accounts | When the tender asks | Your public accountant | Apply for the grade through your AR |
| Certificates (bizSAFE, ISO, Cyber Essentials or Cyber Trust, CRS grade) | When the tender asks | The certification bodies; BCA | Hold them and keep them current |
| The price | Every response | — | Set it yourself |
Responses can be amended until closing, late bids are rejected, and the offer stays valid for the period the ITT sets. Submitting is free.
If you’re in line for award
| Certificate or proof | Issued by | Cost and time | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security deposit or performance guarantee | A bank or insurer, in favour of the agency, on the agency’s form | — | As the ITT specifies | Apply and provide the collateral or premium |
| Progressive Wage Mark | Singapore Business Federation, which administers it for MOM | — | For the contract period | Pay Progressive Wage-compliant wages and the Local Qualifying Salary; apply under your own Corppass |
| Vendors@Gov vendor record | Accountant-General’s Department | Free | — | Enter and certify your bank details |
| GST registration, if your business must or chooses to register | IRAS, through your tax agent | — | Until deregistration | Your Corppass Admin authorises the tax agent and assigns the IRAS e-services |
Security deposit. Some ITTs require one, usually a banker’s or insurance guarantee on the agency’s form. Tender Lite contracts up to S$1 million and Innovative Procurement Partnership pilots have none. A foreign bidder’s guarantee usually has to be issued or confirmed by a Singapore bank or insurer; check the ITT.
Progressive Wage Mark. Eligible firms awarded government contracts must be accredited for the whole contract period, and so must their subcontractors: on tenders called from 1 March 2023 and quotations from 1 March 2024. It covers firms employing Singaporean or PR workers under sectoral or occupational Progressive Wages, such as cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, retail, food and beverage, administration and driving. The evidence can be prepared for you; you apply through GoBusiness or the SBF.
Vendors@Gov. Ministries and statutory boards pay through Vendors@Gov, and your vendor record, with bank details, must show “Approved”. A user with the Vendors@Gov e-service creates it. InvoiceNow, Singapore’s Peppol e-invoicing, is becoming the default for UEN businesses; a foreign company without a UEN logs in with its SFA under “Foreign Company/Organisation without UEN” and keys its invoices into Vendors@Gov.
GST. Bids show prices with or without GST as the ITT specifies. A tax agent acts for you in the myTax Portal under Corppass third-party authorisation, logging in with its own staff’s Singpass. Overseas suppliers without a Singapore presence usually aren’t GST-registered, and Singapore withholding tax may apply to some payments to non-residents.
Debriefs and challenges. Agencies must explain an unsuccessful bid if you ask. For covered procurement, a supplier from a covered trade-agreement party can challenge at the Government Procurement Adjudication Tribunal within 15 days, with a S$500 fee and a S$5,000 deposit; a lawyer prepares and files it on your instructions, and you sign.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Corppass (local or foreign entity) | Registration pack prepared for you | Your admin registers with their own Singpass, passport or ID and activates the SFA |
| Corppass users and e-services | Nobody else | Your Corppass Admin creates users and assigns GeBIZ and Vendors@Gov |
| GeBIZ Trading Partner and AR | Categories mapped for you | Your AR signs up under their own Corppass |
| Supplier File Repository | A bid writer prepares the files | Your AR uploads them |
| ACRA registration | A corporate service provider | Appoint directors or authorised representatives; sign consents |
| Translations | A translator; a notary or embassy certifies | — |
| Apostilles | A home-country notary or competent authority | Sign before the notary |
| GSR grade | A public accountant supplies the statements | Your AR applies and pays |
| Audited accounts | A public accountant | Provide the books; sign management representations |
| BCA CRS and builder’s licence | Prepared with a corporate service provider and an accountant | Submit on eBACS; sign the Declaration of Technical Personnel; appoint the approved person or technical controller |
| bizSAFE, ISO, Cyber Essentials or Cyber Trust | Certification bodies and assessors | Implement the system and be audited |
| CPF and work-pass records | — | Extract them under your own Corppass |
| Documents and clarifications | Questions drafted for you | Your AR downloads and posts |
| Response and submission | A bid writer | Your AR reviews and submits; confirm the declarations |
| Security deposit | A bank or insurer | Apply; provide collateral or premium |
| Progressive Wage Mark | Evidence prepared for you | Pay compliant wages; apply under your own Corppass |
| GST | A tax agent under Corppass third-party authorisation | Your Corppass Admin authorises the agent |
| Vendors@Gov | — | Create the vendor record; certify bank details |
| GPAT challenge | A lawyer | Instruct and sign |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate service provider or company secretary | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) | Register a foreign-company branch or incorporate a Singapore subsidiary; file ACRA lodgements and keep the business profile current for BCA registration; act as company secretary, or provide a local resident director, where you have none |
| Public accountant or chartered accountant | ACRA (Public Accountants Oversight Committee); Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants | Audit or certify the financial statements for GSR grading and BCA grades; prepare GST and corporate tax filings as tax agent; prepare CPF and payroll evidence for BCA and Progressive Wage Mark applications |
| Advocate and solicitor | Law Society of Singapore; Supreme Court and the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (Ministry of Law) | Review contract conditions, alternative offers and consortium agreements; advise on and file GPAT challenges; draft powers of attorney and corporate authorisations |
| Notary public | Singapore Academy of Law (notaries and apostilles) | Notarise English translations of foreign registration documents for Corppass; notarise documents for use abroad |
| Translator | — | Translate non-English registration documents for Corppass and GeBIZ, for certification by an embassy or notary |
| Tender consultant or bid writer | — | Prepare technical and price proposals, compliance matrices against the critical criteria and alternative offers; keep the Supplier File Repository set up to date |
| Certification bodies | Singapore Accreditation Council; Workplace Safety and Health Council; Cyber Security Agency; Singapore Business Federation | Certify ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 and bizSAFE levels; certify Cyber Essentials and Cyber Trust; accredit firms under the Progressive Wage Mark |
| Banks and insurers | Monetary Authority of Singapore | Issue banker’s or insurance guarantees for security deposits; provide work injury compensation and public liability insurance |
| Professional engineer or registered technical personnel | Professional Engineers Board; BCA | Provide the technical personnel and declarations counted for BCA workhead grades |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Singapore entity to register on GeBIZ and bid, except for public construction, where BCA registration requires an ACRA-registered Singapore company. Who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for government contracts in Singapore. For the paperwork:
Use the Corppass foreign-entity route, with details exactly as on your home registration document, and sign up on GeBIZ through it; no separate GeBIZ ID is needed. Non-English documents need certified English translations, and authenticated documents can carry an apostille from your home country. For a GSR grade or a tender’s financial check, use home-country audited accounts in English. IAF-accredited ISO certificates from abroad are generally accepted; bizSAFE is Singapore-only. Expect a security deposit, where one applies, to be issued or confirmed by a Singapore bank or insurer. The Progressive Wage Mark concerns only firms with Singaporean or PR workers covered by Progressive Wages. To be paid, log in to Vendors@Gov with your SFA as a foreign company without a UEN. Only suppliers from covered trade-agreement parties can use the GPAT.
Pitfalls
- Never share a Corppass or Singpass login. They are personal; advisers work from files you upload and submit.
- Keep the AR in-house. The AR must have authority to represent the company, and the account can’t be transferred outside it.
- Your bid is binding. Withdrawing a tender after closing and before award is a ground for debarment of 1 to 5 years.
- No nominal prices. Don’t enter token prices such as $1; put deviations in a separate alternative offer.
- Integrity is policed. False information, corruption, bid-rigging, unauthorised subcontracting and novation are debarment grounds, for 1 to 5 years across all GeBIZ tenders. Never let pricing pass between competing bidders.
- Construction needs a Singapore entity. Without one, BCA registration, and so public construction work, is closed to you.
- Watch expiry dates. Renew a GSR grade within 3 months before it expires; BCA wants accounts no older than 12 months.
- Certify every translation. Corppass needs English translations certified by the issuing country’s embassy or notarised.
Doing it with askTender
In Singapore, the GeBIZ Authorised Representative must be someone who can represent your company, so you log in and press submit yourself, in a guided session with askTender; everything before that is prepared for you. You sign only what the law reserves to you: setting up Corppass and assigning access, the AR’s submission and declarations, the BCA declaration of technical personnel and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the response, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a corporate service provider, a public accountant, an advocate and solicitor, a notary or a translator, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Who can submit a bid on GeBIZ for my company?
Your GeBIZ Authorised Representative: a person aged at least 18 with authority to represent the company, logging in under their own Corppass with two-factor authentication. AR accounts can’t be transferred outside the company, and Corppass and Singpass logins are personal, so advisers prepare the response and your AR submits it.
How much do GeBIZ accounts cost?
The first Authorised Representative account is free. Each additional AR account costs S$280 a year including GST, and a Non-Bidding Representative account S$70 a year; paid accounts renew automatically each year. Submitting a quotation or tender costs nothing.
What does a foreign company need for Corppass?
Its home-country registration document, an English translation certified by the issuing country’s embassy or notarised in Singapore or the issuing country if the original isn’t in English, and an identity document for the admin. Up to 2 Corppass Admins are allowed, processing takes 5 to 10 working days, and an admin without an NRIC or FIN receives a Singpass Foreign user Account to activate.
How much does GSR financial grading cost and how long is it valid?
S$43.60 including GST, or S$56.68 for express processing, paid within 7 days. It usually takes 3 working days, or 1 working day express, and a grade lasts 1.5 or 3 years; renew within 3 months before it expires. Your public accountant supplies the audited statements and your Authorised Representative applies in GeBIZ.
Do I need BCA registration to bid for Singapore construction work?
Yes, as a main contractor or first-level subcontractor on public construction, and only an ACRA-registered Singapore entity can register. It costs S$562 to S$4,492 per workhead including GST and takes about 2 weeks, longer when overseas documents must be checked. Your firm submits on eBACS under its own Corppass.
Is there a bid bond on Singapore government tenders?
Only where the ITT requires a security deposit, usually as a banker’s or insurance guarantee on the agency’s form. Tender Lite contracts up to S$1 million and Innovative Procurement Partnership pilots have none. A foreign bidder’s guarantee usually has to be issued or confirmed by a Singapore bank or insurer, so check the ITT.
Sources
- GeBIZ: frequently asked questions
- GeBIZ: detailed supplier guide
- GeBIZ: Supplier File Repository guide (2025)
- IRAS: Corppass step-by-step guide for foreign entities
- Ministry of Finance: government procurement processes
- ACRA: registering a foreign company
- BCA: Contractors Registration System
- Ministry of Manpower: Progressive Wage Mark
- Cyber Security Agency of Singapore: Cyber Essentials
- HCCH: Apostille Convention status table
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.