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Signal library · Licensing

New regulated licence

A business has appeared on a regulator's public register, such as CEA's estate agent register or MOM's employment agency directory. New licensees have set-up and compliance needs.

Updated 8 October 2026
Illustration of an official stamp beside a certificate with a seal and a check mark

In short: Pick the one register that matches your customers, compare dated copies monthly and write to new licensees within two to four weeks. For estate agencies, deduplicating CEA's free salesperson data by licence number gave 1,017 agencies on 8 October 2026.

Intent
Medium
Act within
2 to 4 weeks
Where to find it
CEA: Public Register of estate agents and salespersons (Free), data.gov.sg: CEA Salesperson Information (Free), MOM: Employment Agencies Directory (Free), BCA Directory (licensed builders) (Free)

What this signal means

In regulated industries, a business needs a licence before it can trade. When a new name appears on a regulator’s public register, the business has cleared that step and can start operating. Singapore has many such registers. This page covers three that we checked are public and free to search: estate agencies, employment agencies and licensed builders. Financial institutions have their own page on MAS licences.

Why it predicts a purchase

A newly licensed business has to run to the regulator’s standards from day one, while also building a customer base. That tends to create a burst of purchases: industry software, insurance, training, document templates, office or shop set-up, a website, marketing and early hires.

Newly licensed firms are also often small and founder-led, so the person who reads your message is usually the person who decides. We rate the signal medium intent: the need is real, but many founders arrange the basics before the licence arrives.

Where to find it in Singapore

  • CEA Public Register. Free. The Council for Estate Agencies describes two search categories: salespersons, the individuals who do estate agency work, and estate agents, the estate agency businesses. Agency profile pages include enforcement details.
  • CEA Salesperson Information on data.gov.sg. Free under the Open Data Licence and updated daily. Columns are salesperson name, registration number, registration start and end dates, estate agent name and estate agent licence number. For B2B use, the agency columns matter: a licence number you have not seen before usually means a new agency.
  • MOM Employment Agencies Directory. Free and available 24 hours. MOM says you can search for employment agencies for foreign workers, foreign domestic workers and local workers, and its FAQ says the directory lists licensed employment agencies and registered personnel. A separate tab lists agencies under revocation, suspension or surveillance.
  • BCA Directory. Free. Alongside registered contractors, it covers licensed builders, split into general builders and specialist builders. See our page on BCA contractor registration for the contractor side.

How to monitor it

  1. Pick the register that matches your customers. Do not try to watch them all.
  2. Use the dataset where one exists. For estate agencies, download the CEA Salesperson Information CSV, list the distinct agency licence numbers, and compare with your last copy each month.
  3. Search the directory by hand where there is no dataset. For employment agencies and licensed builders, set a monthly reminder to search your categories and note names you have not seen before.
  4. Check each new business on the register and on its website, and confirm it is a business you can serve.
  5. Keep a record of the register, the date you saw the entry and a link, so your message is accurate.

How to get a list of licensed estate agencies and other new licensees

  1. Download CEA Salesperson Information from data.gov.sg as a CSV. It is free under the Open Data Licence, and the listing says it covers active salespersons and is updated three times a day.
  2. Keep only the Estate Agent Name and Estate Agent License No columns and remove duplicates. When we did this on 8 October 2026, 38,647 salesperson rows reduced to 1,017 agency licence numbers. Agencies with no active salespersons will not appear.
  3. Save the list with the date and compare it with your next copy. A licence number you have not seen before is a candidate new agency.
  4. Confirm each new agency on the CEA Public Register before you write.
  5. For employment agencies and licensed builders, we did not find a downloadable dataset. Search the MOM Employment Agencies Directory and the licensed builders section of the BCA Directory for your categories each month and note new names by hand, rather than copying the directories in bulk.

The CEA file’s columns are salesperson name, registration number, registration start and end dates, estate agent name and estate agent licence number.

Most of the file is about individuals. Use only the agency columns to build a business list, and read B2B outreach in Singapore: what PDPA and the Do Not Call rules allow before contacting anyone.

How fast to act

Within two to four weeks of spotting the new entry. New licensees make many set-up decisions in the first months of trading. If the entry is already months old when you find it, write anyway, but lead with something useful rather than congratulations.

Example first message

Illustrative example:

Subject: Setting up Bluewater Homes’ listings workflow

Hi Kelvin, I saw Bluewater Homes is now listed as a licensed estate agent on CEA’s Public Register. Congratulations on the new agency. Small agencies often struggle to keep listings and client paperwork consistent as agents join. We set up simple shared templates and checklists for agencies with under 20 agents. Would an example pack be useful?

Regards, Shu Fen

Pitfalls and rules

  • New agency name is not always a new business. It may be a rebrand or a restructured group. Check the register and website.
  • Salespersons are individuals. The CEA dataset lists individual property agents. Use it to find agencies, not to send unsolicited messages to every agent, and read B2B outreach in Singapore: what PDPA and the Do Not Call rules allow.
  • Do not imply regulator approval of your product, or tell licensees what the regulator requires unless you are qualified to.
  • Check status before writing. Avoid firms shown as suspended or under revocation.

FYAdvisers can watch the registers that matter to your customers through our signal-based lead generation service.

Frequently asked questions

Which Singapore licence registers are public?

Several regulators publish searchable registers. Examples include CEA's Public Register of estate agents and salespersons, MOM's Employment Agencies Directory and BCA's Directory, which includes licensed builders. Each is free to search.

Can I download a list of property agencies?

CEA publishes the CEA Salesperson Information dataset on data.gov.sg, updated daily. It lists registered salespersons with their estate agent's name and licence number, so a new agency name appearing in the data is a useful prompt to check the register.

Is this signal useful for every seller?

No. It suits sellers whose products help a newly licensed business operate: software, compliance and training, insurance, office set-up, marketing and recruitment. Pick the one or two registers that match your customers.

Where can I get a list of licensed estate agencies in Singapore?

Download the free CEA Salesperson Information CSV from data.gov.sg and remove duplicates from the estate agent name and licence number columns. That gives every agency with at least one active salesperson; confirm details on CEA's Public Register.