Under Section 35 of the Fire Safety Act 1993, the owner or occupier of any public building such as offices, hospitals, shopping complexes, industrial buildings and private residential buildings that fall within the following criteria is required to apply and obtain a Fire Certificate (FC).
The FC Scheme ensures the proper maintenance and good working condition of fire safety systems. These systems should be tested in accordance with the relevant codes of practice.
The Section 35 of the Fire Safety Act 1993 contains the following definitions:
- Public Building1 (except for a residential building) that has an occupant load of more than 200 persons, other than
- a serviced apartment with external corridors that comply with the requirements specified in Chapter 2 of the Fire Code;
- a standalone carpark that complies with the requirements specified in Chapter 2 of the Fire Code; and
- a hawker centre or wet market that is not fully enclosed on all sides.
- An industrial building that
- Has an occupant load of 1,000 persons or more;
- Has a floor area or site area of 5,000 square metres or more; or
- Has a habitable height of more than 24 metres.
- A foreign dormitory that
- Has an occupant load of 1,000 persons or more;
- Has a floor area or site area of 5,000 square metres or more; or
- Has a habitable height of more than 24 metres.
- A Hospital
- A residential building that
- Has a habitable height of more than 24 metres;
- Is installed with
- An automatic fire alarm system;
- A sprinkler system; or
- A wet riser system; and
- Is not used or intended to be used as an HDB flat
- An engineered timber building (except a building that is used or intended to be used as an HDB flat) that is installed with any of the following:
- An automatic fire alarm system;
- An automatic sprinkler system;
- An automatic smoke control system;
- Any other automatic fire detection or suppression system intended to detect or control a fire automatically.
- A fully automated mechanized car park that is installed with a fire protection system and meets any of the following conditions:
- The total floor area of the car parking decks in the fully automated mechanized car park is more than 200 square metres;
- The cubical extent of the fully automated mechanized car park (calculated in the manner prescribed in Chapter 9 of the Fire Code) is more than 1,400 cubic metres;
- The parking height of the fully automated mechanized car park above ground (measured in the manner prescribed in Chapter 9 of the Fire Code) is more than 10 metres;
- Where any part of the parking levels is below ground, the total parking height of the fully automated mechanized car park (measured in the manner prescribed in Chapter 9 of the Fire Code) is more than 14 metres;
- There are more than 2 parking levels below ground.
1"Public Building" means a building to which the public or a section of the public has access as of right, or by virtue of express or implied permission with or without payment of a fee.
The application for the issuance of the Fire Certificate (FC) must be submitted within twelve (12) months from the date of the Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) or Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP), whichever comes first.
Please refer to the below circular for details on the 3-year FC regime with effect from 1 April 2026.
For new FC applications, owners or occupiers must complete the following items and submit them directly via the GoBusiness Portal:
- Building Information
- Fire Certificate Application Form (new form with effect from 1 April 2026)
For premises renewing their FC, applications must be submitted at least two months before the existing FC expires.
To download the FC submission guide or access the e-services portal for electronic submission, please refer to the provided links below.
- Guide to submit the first Fire Certificate application via the GoBusiness Portal
- Guide to submit the Fire Certificate renewal application via the GoBusiness Portal
For premises submitting the annual FC Form during FC non-renewal years as required under the three-year FC regime:
- Guide to submit PE Inspection using FC Form during FC non-renewal years via the GoBusiness Portal (Guide to be provided nearer to date)
For technical difficulties in GoBusiness, please contact 6336 3373 or email askgobiz@crimsonlogic.com.sg during the specified helpdesk operating hours.
For technical difficulties in CorpPass, please contact 6335 3530 or 6031 3197 or email support@corppass.gov.sg during the specified helpdesk operating hours.
Applicants may access the GoBusiness Dashboard to check the FC status and update contact, address, and point of contact information after the FC has been approved.
Please be informed that the outcome of the application will be notified within 3 business days (subject to complete application).
Validity
The FC is valid for a period of 12 months, unless otherwise stated.
For FCs with validity start date from 1 April 2026 and after, the validity is for a period of 36 months unless otherwise stated, with revised application fees payable once every three years when all the FC requirements have been complied with.
Fee
| Type of Premises | Fee per storey ($) | Revised fee per storey ($) with effect from 1 April 2026 onwards |
| Non-Residential | 33 | 36 |
| Residential | 11 | 11 |
- Revised fee (with effect from 1 April 2026 onwards):
- Non residential $36 / storey
The owner or occupier must engage a Professional Engineer and contractor to inspect the fire safety systems of the premises. SCDF will select premises for auditing and notify the owner or occupier to submit the inspection schedule. Subsequently, SCDF will conduct selective audits of the premises.
Categories of Professional Engineers for Fire Protection Systems
Please refer to this document for more information.
Building Inspections
Every building has to be inspected annually to maintain the integrity of its fire protection systems. Examples of the items to be inspected are:
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Stages of Site Inspections
The site inspection is conducted in three stages:
- Stage 1
System operation test during a simulated fire alarm activation - Stage 2
System operation test under secondary power supply by generator. - Stage 3
Testing of individual installations or fire protection systems throughout the building.
If the fire protection systems are in order, the fire certificate will be issued to the applicant. If non-compliances were observed, the fire safety systems that are affected shall be rectified prior to obtaining the fire certificate. Please click here to go to fire certificate download page for reference to fire safety systems checklist.
The building owner or occupier may render themselves liable to prosecution for occupying a designated building without a valid fire certificate if the building fire certificate lapsed and not renewed on time.
Revocation
The Commissioner of SCDF may revoke any Fire Certificate where there is:
- a breach of any of the terms and conditions of the certificate;
- any misrepresentation of a material fact in the application for the fire certificate or accompanying plans or documents upon the basis of which the certificate was issued or renewed; or
- knowledge that the fire hazards within the building or part thereof, for which the fire certificate was issued or renewed, have increased without adequate fire safety measures being taken to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.
Penalty
Under the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations, any person who
- without lawful excuse refuses or neglects to do anything which he is required to do;
- without lawful excuse fails to comply with the requirements of any notice served on him under these Regulations; or
- without lawful excuse acts in contravention of any provision of these Regulations,
- shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.