What does the free UEN check show, and what does it not show?

The free UEN check shows the registered name, Live status, entity type, incorporation date, registered address, and SSIC business activity codes. It does not show directors, shareholders, charges, or credit standing. Those need the paid S$5.50 BizFile profile.

Is there a licence to check for aircon servicing in Singapore?

There is no single aircon licence to verify, so the written quote and warranty carry the weight. Check the UEN and GST registration, get model numbers and warranty terms in writing, and confirm who honours the warranty: the installer, the distributor, or the manufacturer.

What should an aircon quotation include?

Indoor and outdoor unit model numbers, piping and trunking scope, installation and disposal charges, warranty length for parts and labour, and the servicing contract price after year one. Verbal promises do not count unless they are in the signed quotation.

What is the biggest red flag before paying an aircon deposit?

A payee name that differs from the registered name, or a request to pay a personal account for a company invoice. Add pressure to pay today, a quotation with no model numbers, or a warranty promised in chat but missing from the signed contract, and walk away until the paper matches.

Oxaide Research • 14 November 2026

Check an Aircon Company Before Paying a Deposit in Singapore

Small ticket, same discipline

An aircon deposit is smaller than a renovation deposit, but the failure shape is the same: the buyer pays a company name, the warranty sits with a different name, and nobody answers when the unit leaks in month three. Ten minutes on the register prevents most of it.

Ask for the exact registered name, UEN, and registered address before you pay anything. Then run the checks below and keep the results with your quotation.

What the free data shows, and what it does not

The free UEN lookup shows the registered name, Live status, entity type, incorporation date, registered address, and SSIC business activity codes. The free GST check shows whether the name is GST registered. That is enough to catch the common failures: a struck-off entity, a lookalike trading name with a different UEN, or a GST charge from a business that is not GST registered.

The free snapshot does not show directors, shareholders, charges, or credit standing. Do not claim otherwise. If you need officers, ownership, or charges, that detail sits in the paid S$5.50 BizFile profile. A clean free result means the public register did not contradict the payment request on the day you checked. It never guarantees the firm will perform.

The ten-minute check before any deposit

Copy the UEN from the quotation and search it on ACRA BizFile or our free UEN lookup. Search by UEN, not by name.
Confirm status is Live, note the entity type and incorporation date, and check the registered address is a credible business address.
Compare the registered name and UEN against the quotation, the invoice, and the bank payee name. All three must match exactly.
If GST is charged, verify the GST name matches the ACRA name with the free GST check. A mismatch is a reason to pause, not a clerical detail.
Read the SSIC codes. They describe what the company said it does at registration. A code with no aircon or electrical activity deserves a question, not an assumption.
Save or print the profile page and keep it with the quotation, so any later name change is visible.

Aircon-specific checks

There is no single aircon licence to verify, so the written quote and warranty carry the weight. Get indoor and outdoor unit model numbers, piping and trunking scope, installation and disposal charges, and warranty length for parts and labour, all in the signed quotation.

Ask who honours the warranty: the installer, the distributor, or the manufacturer. A warranty from a company that is not the payee on your invoice is a warranty you may never be able to claim. For servicing contracts, agree the visit schedule, what each visit covers, and the price after the first year before you pay the deposit.

Model numbers: exact indoor and outdoor models, not “same capacity” or “equivalent brand”.
Warranty in writing: length, parts versus labour, and who honours it.
Staged payments: deposit, delivery, and a balance held until the unit is installed, tested, and cooling.
Reviews pattern: read negative reviews first and look for repeated complaints about leaks, gas top-ups, or silent after-sales service.

A fictional example, labelled fictional: a buyer in Jurong books a four-system replacement. The quotation names a well-known aircon brand, but the UEN belongs to a live sole proprietorship incorporated two months earlier, and the warranty card names a third company. The units may still be genuine, but the warranty and the payee sit with different persons. That mismatch is worth one email before payment, not a dispute after the first leak.

Red flags: pause or walk away

No UEN on the quotation, or a UEN that belongs to another name when searched.
Bank payee differs from the registered name, or large sums routed to a personal account.
A quotation with no model numbers, or a warranty promised in chat but missing from the signed contract.
GST charged while the GST name and the ACRA name do not align.
A heavy upfront deposit with no milestone schedule and no refund term.
Pressure to pay today for a discount that expires, or refusal to confirm the installation date in writing.
Repeated online complaints about deposits, gas top-ups, or silent after-sales service for the same entity.

One red flag can be clarified with a document. Two or more call for smaller tranches and verification of signatories. A cluster of money, identity, and pressure flags is often cheaper to walk away from than to investigate after payment.

For the full sequence, read the general guide to checking a Singapore company and the guide to what the ACRA profile contains.

Research, not advice. Figures from public records as cited; confirm specifics before acting.

Run an aircon, electrical, or plumbing firm? See the AI front desk for your trade

AI Desk answers your website visitors day and night, captures enquiries, and drafts quotations from your price list. Your team keeps the pricing and the close.