FAQs - Singapore Statutes Online

A. General

A1.

Can I use the SSO Feedback Form to ask for legal advice/assistance?

No, the SSO Feedback Form is not for seeking legal advice/assistance.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore is the legal adviser to the Singapore Government and is not authorised to advise other/private organisations or individuals.

If you require legal advice/assistance, you should consult a lawyer. If you cannot afford to engage a lawyer, the Legal Aid Bureau or the free legal clinics run by the Singapore Law Society may be able to help you.

A2.

Can I use the SSO Feedback Form to report a criminal offence/activity?

No, the SSO Feedback Form is not for reporting criminal offences/activities. If you wish to report a criminal offence/activity, you may do so at the Singapore Police Force's e-Services or I-Witness.

A3.

Do I need permission to use/reproduce Singapore legislation?

The Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore (“AGC”) has granted permission to the users of SSO to use/reproduce any Singapore legislation for the purposes of any print or electronic material or platform (collectively, “the relevant material/platform”), subject to SSO’s Terms of Use and the following conditions:

(a)	the following information must be included in the relevant material/platform:
	(i)	that the Singapore legislation is subject to copyright of the Singapore Government and is used/reproduced for the purposes of the relevant material/platform with the permission of the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore;
	(ii)	that the users of the relevant material/platform may check Singapore Statutes Online for the latest version of the Singapore legislation;

(b)	the producers* of the relevant material/platform are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Singapore legislation used/reproduced for the purposes of the relevant material/platform;
	* “producers of the relevant material/platform” means —
	(a)	where the relevant material/platform is a printed or electronic material (such as a book) — the authors and publishers of the printed or electronic material; or
	(b)	where the relevant material/platform is an electronic platform — the owners and operators of the electronic platform.

(c)	the use/reproduction of the Singapore legislation for the purpose of the relevant material/platform —
	(i)	must not convey or create any suggestion that AGC or SSO is associated or affiliated in any manner with, or endorses, the relevant material/platform, the producers of the relevant material/platform or the producers’ affiliates or agents; and
	(ii)	must not disrupt or affect SSO's performance, cause any harm or damage to SSO, or breach or circumvent any of SSO's security measures;

(d)	in the case where the producers, or the producers’ affiliates or agents, intend to extract the Singapore legislation from SSO through automated means, such extraction of the Singapore legislation from SSO is subject to SSO’s Terms of Use and the following conditions:
	(i)	the extraction must only be carried out during the hours of 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. (Singapore Time);
	(ii)	the extraction must not be carried out in an abusive or intrusive, or a deceptive, manner;
	(iii)	the extraction must not disrupt or affect SSO’s performance, cause any harm or damage to SSO, or breach or circumvent any of SSO’s security measures.

A4.

Do I need permission to hyperlink to SSO?

The Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore ("AGC") has granted permission to the users of SSO to create hyperlinks to SSO in the users' websites/electronic platforms, subject to SSO's Terms of Use and the following conditions:

(a)	when SSO (or any of its contents) is accessed through a hyperlink provided in a user's website/electronic platform, the entire page of SSO (with SSO's banner and logo) must be displayed as it is;
(b)	the contents (or any part of it) or SSO (of any part of it) must not be embedded or framed within the user's website/electronic platform;
(c)	the hyperlinking must not create any suggestion that SSO or AGC is associated or affiliated in any manner with the user, the user's affiliates and/or the user's website/electronic platform.

A5.

How do I give feedback about SSO?

We welcome comments, feedback and suggestions on SSO. Please click here to give us your feedback.

A6.

Where can I purchase a hardcopy/printed copy of Singapore legislation?

Singapore legislation can be purchased from the Singapore Government Printer, Toppan Next Pte Ltd. Please visit Toppan's website for more information and their contact details.

B. SSO's Legislation Content

B1.

Is legislation on SSO authoritative? If not, where can I find the official text of Singapore legislation?

SSO does not contain the authoritative text of Singapore legislation. SSO consolidates and reproduces an unofficial version of Singapore legislation for the convenience of the general public. Please see clause (8) of SSO's Terms of Use.

The official text of Singapore legislation is the published version of the legislation in the Government Gazette. You can check the eGazette website or the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library (ref@nlb.gov.sg) for Government Gazette publications containing Singapore legislation.

The official text of Singapore legislation can also be purchased from the Singapore Government Printer, Toppan Next Pte Ltd. Please visit Toppan's website for more information and their contact details.

B2.

How do I find out whether I am viewing the current or a past version of a particular legislation on SSO?

The legislation timeline on the legislation page in SSO shows which version of the legislation is being viewed by the user.

The legislation timeline is best viewed for legislation found under the Acts and Subsidiary Legislation categories highlighted in Figure B2-1.

Figure B2-1

The legislation timeline highlights the version of the legislation that is being viewed by the user. See Figures B2-2 and B2-3.

Figure B2-2 — illustration shows user viewing latest version of the legislation

Figure B2-3 — illustration shows user viewing a past version of the legislation

B3.

I used Google to search for Singapore legislation and found an SSO legislation page in the search results. Can I assume that the legislation shown in the Google search results is valid?

The short answer is no.

Searching for legislation on SSO

First, to minimise the risk of errors and confusion, please do not search for legislation on SSO using Google or other Internet search engines . If you wish to search for legislation on SSO, please use only the dedicated search facility (basic search or advanced search) provided within SSO — see Figure B3-1.

Figure B3-1

Ascertaining status/version of legislation on SSO

If the status label on the legislation page in SSO states "Current version", that is an indication that the legislation version you are viewing in SSO is currently in-force. As an additional safeguard, please check the legislation timeline on the legislation page to ensure that you are viewing the correct version of the legislation (see also FAQ B2).

If the status label on the legislation page in SSO states anything other than "Current version" (e.g. "Not current version", "Published in Acts Supplement", etc.), that is an indication that the version you are viewing is not the current version. You should check the legislation timeline for the current status of the legislation and to ensure that you are viewing the correct version of the legislation — see Figures B3-2 and B3-3 below.

Figure B3-2 — illustration shows user viewing a past version of a legislation that has been revoked

Figure B3-3 — illustration shows user viewing a past version of a legislation (instead of the current version of the legislation)

As stated in SSO's Terms of Use, users should seek appropriate professional advice on the application, content and interpretation of legislation found in SSO.

B4.

When will a legislation (or amendments to the legislation) come into force?

SSO does not decide when a legislation (or amendments to the legislation) will come into force. SSO is an online repository that informally consolidates and reproduces (for the convenience of the general public) Singapore legislation published in the Government Gazette.

The public sector agency in charge of the legislation (“relevant public sector agency”*) decides when the legislation (or amendments to the legislation) will come into force. Please contact the relevant public sector agency if you require information.

* relevant public sector agency refers to —
(a)	in the case of an Act of Parliament — the Ministry in charge of the Act;
(b)	in the case of a Subsidiary Legislation — the Ministry or statutory body that makes or amends the Subsidiary Legislation.

B5.

How often is SSO updated?

Generally, SSO aims to make available new legislation and legislation amendments within 3 working days after they are published in the Government Gazette. If you need to access any new legislation or amendment legislation immediately upon its publication in the Government Gazette, you can find it on the eGazette website.

In the case of amendments to an existing Act, SSO aims to incorporate the amendments into the Act within 3 working days after publication of the commencement notification for those amendments in the Government Gazette. The amendments will be incorporated into the current version of the Act displayed on SSO only after the amendments have come into force. If the amendments to the Act mentioned in the commencement notification have not come into force yet, SSO will incorporate the amendments into a future version of the Act and display the future version in the timeline of the Act.

In the case of amendments to an existing Subsidiary Legislation, SSO aims to incorporate the amendments into the Subsidiary Legislation within 3 working days after publication of the amendments in the Government Gazette. The amendments will be incorporated into the current version of the Subsidiary Legislation displayed on SSO only after the amendments have come into force. If the amendments to the Subsidiary Legislation have not come into force yet, SSO will incorporate the amendments into a future version of the Subsidiary Legislation and display the future version in the timeline of the timeline of the Subsidiary Legislation.

If SSO cannot be updated within 3 working days due to technical issues, complexity of legislation or other constraints, announcements will be made on SSO.

B6.

Amendments to a legislation have been published. Why has the legislation in SSO not been updated with the amendments?

Amendments made to a legislation will be incorporated into and displayed in the current version of the legislation reproduced in SSO only after the amendments have come into force. Please also see FAQ B5.

If any amendment to a legislation has come into force but is not reflected in the current version of the legislation reproduced in SSO, please inform us by clicking here.

B7.

Does SSO provide any facility to check for legislation updates?

The 'New Legislation' and 'Amendments RSS Feed' features in SSO provide Singapore legislation updates.

The 'New Legislation' feature (located on the Home page of SSO) informs users of new legislation and Bills, and amendments to existing legislation, that are published in the Acts Supplement, Subsidiary Legislation Supplement and Bills Supplement of the Singapore Government Gazette. The 'New Legislation' feature also provides updates when new Revised Editions of Acts and Subsidiary Legislation are published in the Singapore Government Gazette.

The 'New Legislation' feature has a RSS Feed that users can use to keep track of updates provided by the 'New Legislation' feature ― see Figure B7-1.

Figure B7-1

The 'Amendments RSS Feed' feature helps users to keep track of amendments made to a specific legislation that is currently in force (i.e., a current Act or current Subsidiary Legislation). Users interested in a specific current legislation can access the 'Amendments RSS Feed' of that legislation on the Browse page displaying the title of that legislation or the page displaying that legislation ― see Figures B7-2 and B7-3.

Figure B7-2

Figure B7-3

A user who wishes to subscribe to any of SSO’s RSS Feeds would require a dedicated RSS Feed reader extension installed on the user’s browser to receive notifications when legislation updates are provided by the RSS Feed.

B8.

I think there is an error in a legislation displayed on SSO. Who should I notify of the error?

If there is an error in any legislation reproduced on SSO, please report the error here.

As explained in FAQ B1, the authoritative text of Singapore legislation is the legislation as published in the Government Gazette ("authoritative legislation"). SSO is an informal repository that aims to reproduce the authoritative legislation of Singapore online for the convenience of the general public. SSO does not determine the content of the legislation.

When we receive an error report, we will check the copy of the legislation reproduced on SSO against the authoritative legislation. If the SSO copy of the legislation did not accurately reproduce the authoritative legislation, we will correct the SSO copy of the legislation.

If the authoritative legislation is accurately reproduced on SSO, we are not authorised to make any changes to the SSO copy of the legislation. Any changes or improvements to the authoritative legislation can only be considered by the public sector agency (i.e., a Ministry/Statutory Body) in charge of that legislation.

B9.

I am looking for a historical version of a Singapore legislation but it is not available on SSO. Where can I find this historical version of the legislation?

SSO only displays pre-1998 historical versions of legislation where digital records of such instruments are available in its source database. If a historical version of any legislation you are looking for is not found on SSO, you could check whether the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library (ref@nlb.gov.sg) has a copy of the historical version. If you have access to a Law Library in Singapore, you could also seek assistance from that Law Library.

C. SSO's Functions and Features

C1.

Why is the ‘Compare Changes’ function sometimes not available on SSO?

The ‘Compare Changes’ function is only available in the desktop view of SSO. If you are unable to access ‘Compare Changes’ when using desktop view, please inform us by clicking here.

C2.

Why am I unable to view all the contents of the legislation I have selected?

To view the entire legislation, please click on the ‘Whole Document’ button located at the bottom of the table of contents on the left of the screen (refer to Figure C2-1).

Figure C2-1

If you are still unable to view the entire legislation, please inform us by clicking here.

C3.

I have printed legislation from SSO, but the print-out is messy or incomplete. How do I obtain a clear print-out of the legislation?

Please click on the printer icon on the top-right corner of the legislation navigation bar (refer to Figure C3-1). You can also obtain HTML, PDF and MS Word copies of the legislation through the printer icon.

Figure C3-1

C4.

SSO does not have a PDF copy of the legislation I am viewing. How do I obtain a PDF copy of the legislation?

SSO provides PDF copies of legislation where available. If PDF copy of a legislation is not available in SSO, users can use SSO's 'Print' function to generate a PDF version of the legislation. Please see the online guide for more information on SSO's 'Print' function.

C5.

I had earlier bookmarked legislation under ‘My Collections’ but my bookmarks have disappeared from ‘My Collections’. How did this happen?

This could be due to a number of reasons.

(a)	If you have relied on SSO’s use of cookies to bookmark legislation under the ‘My Collections’ feature, you may have refreshed or removed the cookies in or from your browser – when this happens, your bookmarks will also disappear from ‘My Collections’;
(b)	Your ‘My Collections’ profile on SSO will expire if there is no activity on your profile for 12 months – when this happens, your bookmarks under the ‘My Collections’ feature will be removed by the system.

D. Others

D1.

Which browsers support SSO?

SSO is generally designed to be compatible with a variety of browsers and operating systems. However, not every browser operates in the same way and this may impact on user experience with SSO's layout and functionalities in certain cases.

The following functions of SSO work best on the recommended browsers for those functions:

(a)	the recommended browsers for copying and pasting legislation text in SSO without losing format are Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
(b)	the recommended browsers for the Print to HTML function in SSO are Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

If you are not able to use any of the recommended browsers, you can obtain a MS Word version of the legislation by clicking on the printer icon on the top-right corner of the legislation navigation bar.

The above answer is not an endorsement of any particular browser and is provided only for the purpose of facilitating user experience with SSO.

D2.

Why do I get an error message when accessing legislation in SSO from a third party website?

The hyperlink provided in the third party website may be outdated. Please access the legislation from the Home page of SSO. Please also inform us of the outdated hyperlink in the third party website by clicking here.

E. 2020 Revised Edition

E1.

Why has the numbering of section/subsection/paragraph numbers in some Acts changed?

The 2020 Revised Edition renumbered certain provisions in Acts. Over the years, when Acts are amended to insert provisions between existing provisions in Acts, the provision numbers take on letters e.g. section 9A, 9AA, 9AB, etc. Renumbering is done to rationalise the numbering and close gaps for sections, subsections and paragraphs. Items in Schedules may also be renumbered.

E2.

Certain provisions in an Act seem to have been renumbered. How can I trace the former provision number?

If an Act has been renumbered at section or subsection level, there will be a comparative table appended at the end of the Act. The comparative table sets out the renumbered provisions of a 2020 Revised Edition against the former numbers of the corresponding provisions in the previous revised edition or enactment of that Act. Please note that the comparative table does not contain information on renumbering of paragraphs, sub-paragraphs or items in Schedules. – see Figure E2-1.

Figure E2-1

If a section in an Act has been renumbered, the former section number also appears in an open square bracket at the right-hand corner at the end of the section – see Figure E2-2.

Figure E2-2

To check if paragraphs, sub-paragraphs and items in the Schedule have been renumbered, you may refer to the version of the Act immediately prior to the 2020 Revised Edition and do a visual comparison of those provisions with the 2020 Revised Edition.

E3.

Why is it that an Act provision referenced in subsidiary legislation does not correspond with the provision number in the 2020 Revised Edition of that Act?

The Act may have undergone renumbering in the 2020 Revised Edition of Acts. However, the subsidiary legislation has not been updated yet so it continues to refer to the former provision number. It is not an error.

E4.

How should I read existing subsidiary legislation when it still refers to the pre-2020 Revised Edition numbering of an Act?

The references to the former numbers of sections/subsections/paragraphs and other provisions can be construed as references to the corresponding provisions (as renumbered) in the revised Acts. This is provided for in section 20(1) of the Revised Edition of the Laws Act 1983. This means that if the subsidiary legislation refers to “section 23(3)” of an Act, which has been renumbered as section 55(4) in the 2020 Revised Edition, the reference in the subsidiary legislation is now to be read as a reference to section 55(4) of the Act.

Please also see FAQ E2 on tracing former provision numbers in Acts.

E5.

When will the references in subsidiary legislation be changed to reflect the new numbering in the Act?

We are working on updating the numbering but it will take time due to the volume of subsidiary legislation involved.

For more information about the 2020 Revised Edition of Acts, please click here.