How to Check a Recruitment Agency in Singapore

Whether you are looking for a job or hiring staff, a recruitment agency in Singapore is not something you have to take on trust: the Ministry of Manpower licenses every employment agency and publishes the register. The one check that matters before you sign with an agency or pay it anything is that it holds a live MOM licence — and you can confirm that yourself in a minute. This page explains that check, what MOM's published figures on an agency mean, and the fee protection MOM gives a job seeker.

The one check that matters: the licence

Any business that places workers in jobs in Singapore needs an employment-agency licence from MOM. As of 2026-09-24 the register lists 4,763 licensed agencies — 4,756 live and 7 suspended. Each has a licence number in the form of a code such as 21C0807.

Before you pay a fee or sign a service agreement, look that number up in MOM's Employment Agency Directory at mom.gov.sg/eadirectory and confirm the status reads live. An agency that cannot give you a licence number, or whose number does not resolve, is the one hard stop on this page.

Licence classes, and what they signal

MOM issues employment-agency licences in two classes. As of 2026-09-24 the register holds 3,721 Comprehensive licences and 1,042 Select licences. The class governs which kinds of workers an agency may place, so it is worth checking that an agency's class covers the kind of role you are dealing with. MOM sets out what each class permits; the register states the class, and MOM's directory is where you confirm it.

What the register shows about an agency's work

For each agency, MOM publishes how many workers it placed by pass type over a rolling window. As of 2026-09-24 the register shows placement activity for 1,064 agencies on Employment Pass roles, 991 on S Pass roles, and 1,486 on Work Permit roles. An agency with no figure for a pass type simply did not report placements of that type in the window — it is not a mark against the agency, and this page does not read it as one.

These are activity counts MOM publishes, reproduced as MOM publishes them. They tell you what an agency actually does, not how well it will do it for you.

Fee protection if you are the job seeker

If you are a person looking for work, MOM limits what a licensed agency may charge you. The cap is tied to your salary and the length of the job it places you in, and it is a rule the agency must follow — not a matter of negotiation. Before you pay, confirm the current cap and how it applies to your situation on MOM's own site, and get a receipt for anything you pay. An agency charging a job seeker more than MOM allows is breaching its licence conditions.

Demerit points, and what they are not

MOM runs a demerit-point system for employment agencies and publishes each agency's total. As of 2026-09-24, 62 of the 4,763 agencies carry points above zero; every other agency is printed at zero, which is MOM's figure and not an assumption. A demerit point records that MOM took a compliance action — it is not a score of how good an agency is, and it cannot be inverted into one. We report the count in aggregate rather than naming agencies that carry a point or two; where MOM has acted formally, the agency appears in the enforcement list below.

MOM's current enforcement list

Separately from demerit points, MOM publishes a list of agencies it has taken formal action against, as a public alert. As of 2026-09-24 it names 15 agencies: 6 with a revoked licence, 7 suspended, and 2 under surveillance. These are reproduced below exactly as MOM lists them. Presence here is MOM's finding, published by MOM.

How to check an agency yourself

1. Ask the agency for its MOM employment-agency licence number.
2. Look it up in MOM's Employment Agency Directory at mom.gov.sg/eadirectory.
3. Confirm the status reads live and the licence class covers your kind of role.
4. If you are the job seeker, confirm MOM's fee cap before you pay anything, and get a receipt.
5. Check the enforcement alerts for the agency's name before you commit.

What this page cannot tell you

• It cannot tell you which agency to use. A licence is permission to operate, and the placement figures are activity counts over a past window — neither is a promise about your job or your hire.
• These figures were read from MOM's register on 2026-09-24. MOM updates them, so confirm the current figure and the current fee cap on MOM's own directory before you act.
• A closed agency stops appearing on the register rather than being marked closed, so a name absent today may have left for any reason.