The register of employees
This is the one that matters. The Category I licensing conditions require the licensee to maintain a register of employees, kept at the licensed establishment, and to submit it to the Police or Licensing Officer for inspection as and when required. Each employee's record must be kept for at least one year after that employee's last day of employment.
The format set out in Appendix A uses these columns:
- Name
- Job title
- NRIC / FIN number
- Date of approval by the Licensing Officer
- Date of cessation of employment
- Remarks
First, the register lives at the establishment — a file on somebody's laptop at home is not it. Second, the retention runs from the employee's last day, not from the date of the entry, so a leaver's record is live for another twelve months.
Operating hours
0700 to 2230 daily, unless otherwise stipulated by the Licensing Officer. Worth checking against what your calendar actually allows people to book — if the system will take a 2300 appointment, somebody will eventually make one.
Category I or Category II?
| Category I (Provisional) | Category II (Provisional) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | HDB shophouses, shopping centres, hotels | Away from residential areas, schools and places of worship |
| Minimum floor area | 100 m² | 50 m² |
| Employees | Singapore citizens, PRs, and Malaysians with valid work passes | Same as Category I (Provisional) |
| Upgrade path | Full Category I also allows foreign nationals with valid work passes, and requires CaseTrust accreditation | Provisional first, then upgrade |
The applicant must be a fit and proper person, a responsible officer as defined in the Massage Establishments Act 2017, at least 21 years old at application, and hold a valid relevant work pass if a foreigner. Organisations appoint a co-licensee who is a responsible officer and meets the fit and proper criteria.
Where software helps, and where it doesn't
No system makes you compliant. What a system does is make the register easy to keep current and easy to produce — staff added and ceased with dates rather than a spreadsheet that drifts, and a printout in front of an officer in under a minute. FingerBooth's Manage Employee and Manage Leave modules hold the staff list and the dates; the Scribble Signatory System handles sign-in and time-out as a searchable cloud log you can export to Excel, and captures the PDPA do-not-call consent signature at the same time.
That is a real operational benefit. It is not the same claim as “required by the Police”, and we would rather be the people who told you the difference.
Note also that the regime is changing: the Police announced a tightening on 21 April 2026, to be implemented in the second half of the year, with licence tenure tied to compliance history.
- Singapore Police Force, “Licensing Conditions for Category I and Category I (Provisional) Licences” (PDF)
- Singapore Police Force, “Apply for Massage Establishment Licence”
- Singapore Police Force, “Singapore Police Force Tightens Massage Establishment Regulatory Regime”, 21 April 2026
Rules change. Check the primary source before you act on anything here — this is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.
Questions we get asked
What register is required?
A register of employees. The licensing conditions say the licensee shall maintain it, that it shall be maintained at the licensed establishment, that the licensee must submit it to the Police or Licensing Officer for inspection as and when required, and that an employee's record must be kept for at least one year after that employee's last day of employment.
What columns does the register need?
The format in Appendix A of the conditions uses: name, job title, NRIC or FIN number, date of approval by the Licensing Officer, date of cessation of employment, and remarks.
Is a customer sign-in book required?
Not by the Category I licensing conditions, which set out a register of employees. A patron sign-in log is good practice and useful evidence, but it is a different thing and should not be sold to you as a legal requirement.
What are the operating hours?
0700 to 2230 daily, unless otherwise stipulated by the Licensing Officer.
What is the difference between Category I and Category II?
Broadly, location and size. Category I (Provisional) covers HDB shophouses, shopping centres and hotels and requires at least 100 m². Category II (Provisional) covers areas away from residential areas, schools and places of worship and requires at least 50 m². Full Category I additionally requires CaseTrust accreditation and allows foreign nationals with valid work passes. You must obtain a provisional licence before upgrading to a full one.