How do I check that my property agent is registered?

You can check any property agent on CEA's Public Register, which can be searched 4 ways: by name, registration number, contact number or agency name.

Reviewed by the Swee Homes data desk on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: CEA (www.cea.gov.sg/consumers/engaging-a-property-agent/dispute-resolution). Next check due 4 Jan 2027.

What registration means

A property agent must be registered with CEA through a licensed property agency. The agent's CEA registration card shows their registration details.

Every property agent holds a unique CEA registration number, for example R123456A (CEA's own example).

It is an offence for any individual to carry out estate agency work without valid registration. Estate agency work includes referring clients, introducing parties to transactions and negotiating property deals.

Property agent or property agency: the difference

The two terms are easy to mix up, and the register treats them as separate entries.

Under the Estate Agents Act, as CEA's Public Register explains it: 'salespersons' are individuals who perform estate agency work, commonly known as property agents; 'estate agents' are estate agency businesses (sole proprietors, partnerships and companies) who do estate agency work, commonly known as property agencies.

The agent is the person you meet. The agency is the business that agent is registered through, and it is the business that signs your agreement and collects the commission, as later sections explain. CEA says the Public Register lets the public check whether a person is a registered salesperson and whether a real estate agent is a licensed estate agent. Salespersons and estate agents must have a valid licence or registration granted by CEA before they are allowed to conduct estate agency work.

How to look an agent up

Go to CEA's Public Register. The register's salesperson search accepts the salesperson's name or business name, registration number, contact number, or the estate agent's (agency's) name. CEA's own note on the search form: to safeguard against scammers, search using the salesperson's contact number if available.

Search the CEA Public Register by entering the phone number of the person you are dealing with, or the phone number advertised.

The register has a separate tab listing suspended and revoked salespersons and estate agents.

If the search does not lead to a property agent's profile page, it means that the phone number is not registered with CEA.

The register is run by CEA, not by Swee Homes. Swee Homes does not list or recommend agents. This page only explains how to check one.

Step by step: from the number to the profile

Take the register one stage at a time.

Stage 1. Get the phone number from the advertisement, or from the person's own messages. Do not rely on a name or card they send you. The reason is in the red flags below.

Stage 2. Open the Salesperson tab of the register and use the contact number field. CEA's own note on the form favours the number over the other fields.

Stage 3. Look at what comes back: either a profile page or none. A name that appears on the register does not rescue a number that has no profile.

CEA says that if the phone number search does not lead to a property agent's profile page, it is likely a scam even though the property agent's name and registration number can be found on the CEA Public Register.

Stage 4. On the profile, compare the name and registration number with the advertisement or card. Then check the validity period.

CEA says the validity period of an estate agent's licence or a salesperson's registration is shown against the name of the estate agent or salesperson, and that licensing and registration information in the Public Register is updated daily.

Stage 5. Look at the Estate Agent tab for the agency named in the advertisement. Its licence number should match what the advertisement shows, as the matching section below sets out.

Stage 6. Read the disciplinary record, described next.

What the register shows

CEA says the Public Register shows whether the property agent has a valid registration, the residential property transactions they have facilitated and which parties they represented, their industry accolades and awards, and whether they have any disciplinary records. CEA's June 2026 update says the register shows licensing and registration details of any property agency and agent, and enforcement actions (Letters of Censure, Disciplinary Committee action and Court prosecution) on a rolling three-year history, from 10 June 2026.

What a disciplinary record looks like

Enforcement entries are published on a separate page as well as on profiles.

CEA's Past Enforcement Actions page sets out enforcement actions against salespersons for the past three years. For each entry it shows the salesperson's name and registration number, the enforcement action (Court Prosecution, Disciplinary Committee (DC) Action or Letter of Censure), the estate agent the salesperson is registered with now, the estate agent they were with when the offence or breach occurred, and the date of the action. It can be filtered by year of enforcement action.

CEA says enforcement actions (Letters of Censure, Disciplinary Committee action and Court prosecution) are attributed to the property agency the agent was registered with when the breaches were committed. A separate Key Enforcement Statistics page lists the number and type of actions against agents of each property agency over three years, with the agency's total number of registered agents, so agencies of different sizes can be compared. Each agency profile has an Enforcement Action(s) Taken tab.

What to match before you engage an agent

Check that the details in the advertisement match the register: the property agent's name, CEA registration number and phone number, and the property agency's name and CEA licence number.

That full match does not apply to every kind of ad.

Newspaper classifieds and text ads only need to show the agent's name and phone number.

Red flags CEA describes

These warning signs come from CEA's pages on scams and on engaging an agent. Any one is a reason to stop and check before you pay or sign.

The number is not on the register. This is the first test, and the earlier sections cover it.

Someone is using a real agent's details. CEA says scammers put up fake property listings online and impersonate registered property agents, using their credentials (for example a CEA registration number, business card, and photos or videos of the property), then pressure victims by WhatsApp to pay to secure a viewing or rental.

Someone asks for money to view. CEA says payment is not required to secure viewings or rental of a property, that you should not pay any deposit to view or rent a property without verifying the listing, and that you are strongly advised to view the property in person with the CEA-registered agent. All payments should go directly to the property owner, not the agent, using verifiable modes such as crossed cheques and bank transfers.

The number looks right but the person is not the agent. CEA describes scammers who spoofed a registered agent's genuine phone number when calling a victim, and who sent a screenshot of a fake CEA email saying an agent's new number would take 14 days to appear on the Public Register. CEA says it does not send such emails and that changes to an agent's contact number appear on the Public Register immediately.

The agent offers to hold your money. CEA says property agents should not handle transaction monies, and that it is an offence for agents to do so. For a sale and purchase this covers the option fee, option exercise fee, down payment, stamp duties, deposits and sale proceeds, and legal fees. Valuation fees and agent commissions are not considered transaction monies in general. CEA encourages paying the payee directly by verifiable means such as bank transfer, PayNow or crossed cheque.

The agent offers a moneylender. CEA says a property agent must not introduce, refer or recommend any moneylender's services to you.

Still unsure? CEA points to the ScamShield helpline, reachable 24 hours a day at 1799, for anyone unsure whether something is a scam.

One thing is not a red flag. Being asked for an identity document number is a normal part of an engagement.

CEA says property agencies and agents can ask to collect clients' NRIC, FIN or passport numbers for the purpose of facilitating property transactions, and can photograph or photocopy the documents when necessary. The information should not be used for other purposes or shared with parties not involved in the transaction. Agents also need a Customer's Particulars Form from clients, which CEA says is mandatory and supports anti-money-laundering checks.

Who the agent acts for, and what you pay

A property agent cannot be appointed by both buyer and seller, or tenant and landlord, for the same transaction. This is an offence. (CEA's page states this generally for property transactions, not only HDB resale.)

Commissions are not fixed, and you are free to negotiate the amount or rate.

CEA: discuss and document the agreed commission rate using one of CEA's Prescribed Estate Agency Agreements before entering into a contract. The agreement details the duties of the agency and agent, the agreed commission rate, and the requirement to declare any actual or potential conflict of interest.

CEA: you should only make payment to the property agency, and not to the property agent.

The estate agency agreement and the commission

The agreement is the document that sets out what the agency does for you and what you pay. The points below are worth knowing before you sign.

CEA says its Prescribed Estate Agency Agreement is a binding contract between you and the property agency. Ask the agent to go through the clauses before you sign, and sign only when you have understood all clauses, especially those on commission. Extra terms go in the space provided or on a separate pink sheet and cannot conflict with or vary from the prescribed terms.

The agreement can be exclusive or non-exclusive, and the difference changes when commission is owed.

CEA describes two kinds of agreement. Exclusive: you appoint only one agency for a validity period of up to three months; during that period you owe the appointed agency commission even if you sell, buy or lease through another agency or on your own; and for three months after the period you still owe commission if the property is transacted with a party the agency introduced during the period. Non-exclusive: you appoint more than one agency with no specified validity period, and pay commission to the agency that successfully completes the transaction.

On commission itself:

CEA says you will need to clarify whether GST is included or excluded in the commission, and that only GST-registered property agencies can charge GST. CEA also says there are no fixed commission rates nor prescribed guidelines on commission amounts, and that you should agree the amount and terms with the agent before the agent starts work.

CEA says a property agent can only act for one party and cannot collect commission from more than one party in the same transaction, which is an offence. An agent may help the other party with paperwork if you consent and the agent clearly states they are neither acting for nor collecting any fees from that party.

What a proper agent does for you in return is also set out by CEA.

CEA says an appointed property agent should seek your prior consent before advertising your property, declare any conflict of interest and referral fees received, update you on all offers and proposals, and explain all relevant documents.

If the agent is not registered, or you have a complaint

CEA says that if the search does not lead to a property agent's profile page, the phone number is not registered with CEA, and it is likely a scam.

CEA takes complaints against property agencies (licensed estate agents) and property agents.

You log in with Singpass to reach the complaint form. Saved drafts are kept for seven days.

Prepare your personal and contact details, general complaint details (property details and subject details), a chronology of events, and supporting documents and agent or agency details if you have them.

Property agencies must investigate complaints within two weeks and give CEA a report of the findings and actions taken.

CEA will inform you of the outcome once the investigation and assessment have concluded, or where disciplinary or prosecution action has commenced.

CEA cannot grant anonymity for a complaint, because it may need to share relevant details with the agency or agent concerned. Those wanting anonymity can submit feedback instead.

If you disagree with the agency over the agreement

A complaint to CEA, covered above, is about an agent's or agency's conduct. A dispute over the terms of your own agreement runs on a different route.

CEA encourages you to approach the property agent's property agency first to resolve a dispute. If you do not get a satisfactory resolution, you can use CEA's Dispute Resolution Scheme, which is relevant where you signed an estate agency agreement with a licensed property agency and the dispute arises from the terms of that agreement.

CEA's mediation route uses a neutral mediator, and the decision is made by you and the property agency, not the mediator. After you write to the agency to request mediation, you select a mediation centre within four weeks. The approved centres are the Consumers Association of Singapore, the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers and the Singapore Mediation Centre.

CEA says that in arbitration an arbitrator is appointed to make a binding decision. A dispute goes to arbitration if mediation fails, or if you choose not to mediate, fail to select a mediation centre, or the dispute is not resolved within six weeks of being told the date of the first mediation session. When the agency writes to ask about arbitration you reply within three weeks. The approved centres are the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers.

CEA says mediation and arbitration under the dispute resolution scheme are run by independent centres and presided over by independent mediators or arbitrators, and that CEA does not regulate these centres or oversee the proceedings.

Common questions

Where to go next

• CEA's Public Register. Address: eservices.cea.gov.sg/aceas/public-register

Related guides

• How does an HDB resale flat purchase run, step by step?
• Am I eligible for a resale flat, and which grants can I get?

About the data

Every figure on this page has its source and the date we checked it. We are not affiliated with any government body. General information, not financial advice.