Every registered business in Singapore has a UEN. Most sales teams treat it as an admin detail that belongs on invoices. It's actually one of the most useful pieces of data you can have about a prospect.
What is a UEN?
The Unique Entity Number (UEN) is the standard identification number for entities registered in Singapore. It has been in use since 2009. Businesses, companies, limited liability partnerships, societies and other registered entities each get one, and they use it when dealing with government agencies.
It stays with the entity for life. A company can change its name, move office or change its directors, and the UEN stays the same.
How to read a UEN
UENs come in three formats. Each ends with a check letter.
| Entity type | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses registered with ACRA (for example, sole proprietorships) | 8 digits + letter | 53123456K |
| Local companies registered with ACRA | Year + 5 digits + letter | 201512345A |
| Other entities, including LLPs | Prefix + year + type code + 4 digits + letter | T24LL0230H |
Two formats tell you more than you might expect:
- For local companies, the first four digits are the year of incorporation.
201512345Awas registered in 2015. - For other entities, the prefix and type code carry meaning. Take
T24LL0230H, the UEN of TSID LLP, which runs SG Best Leads.Tmeans the 2000s,24means 2024, andLLmeans limited liability partnership.
Where to look one up
- uen.gov.sg lets you search by UEN or entity name for free, and shows the entity's basic details and status.
- ACRA's BizFile+ sells fuller business profiles, including officers, shareholders and registered address.
Why UENs matter in sales
1. They prove a company is real and trading
Before you invest hours in an account, check that it exists and is still live. A company that has been struck off or dissolved won't sign a contract. Checking status takes seconds and saves you chasing ghosts.
2. They tell you how established a company is
Company age is a strong qualifying signal. A two-year-old startup and a twenty-year-old family firm need different pitches, different pricing and different proof. For most local companies you can read the incorporation year straight off the UEN.
3. They're the best way to de-duplicate your CRM
Company names are messy. The same business turns up as:
- ABC Logistics Pte Ltd
- ABC Logistics Pte. Ltd.
- A.B.C. Logistics Private Limited
- abc logistics
Four records, one company. Reps call the same account twice, reports double-count, and nobody trusts the data.
A UEN has none of this ambiguity. If two records share a UEN, they're the same company. Make UEN the primary key for accounts in your CRM, and merge on it.
4. They make list matching reliable
When you enrich a list, merge two sources, or upload an event attendee list, matching on company name is guesswork. Matching on UEN is exact. If you have UENs, use them first. Fall back to website domain, then to the company name.
5. They speed up vendor and customer onboarding
Finance and procurement teams ask for UENs on invoices, contracts and supplier forms. Having it ready, and checked, removes friction at the end of the sale, where delays hurt most.
A few caveats
- A UEN identifies an entity, not a person. It tells you nothing about who makes decisions there.
- One group can have several UENs. A holding company, its subsidiaries and a foreign branch may each have their own. Decide whether you're selling to the group or the individual entity.
- Trading names can differ from registered names. The brand on the shopfront may not match the legal name. The UEN connects them.
How SG Best Leads uses UENs
Every company in SG Best Leads is tied to its UEN, so you know the business is real. You can filter by incorporation date to find companies of the right age.
When you upload a list for enrichment, we match on UEN first, then website domain, then the company name. You'll see how many rows matched, and how confidently, before you spend a credit.