Apply for a Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA) licence if your company is managing and maintaining dormitory premises that can house 7 or more migrant workers. You must apply for a FEDA licence before you can start operating your dormitory and accepting residents.
Exemptions under FEDA
Housing premises that are exempted are commercial premises such as hotels, hostels, serviced apartments, and other premises such as vessels, nursing homes, social residential homes, embassy shelters, places of worship, HDB flats and private residential premises.
Operators starting new dormitories and existing operators renewing their licences
You are required to apply for a full FEDA licence through the GoBusiness licensing portal. For licence renewal, submit your applications at least 3 months before the current licence expiry to avoid late renewal fees. The processing time for dormitory approval applications is 30 working days.
FEDA application fee and licence fee
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The below fees will be applicable for all new and renewal FEDA applications submitted from 1 April 2026 onwards.
| FEDA application fee |
[Occupancy load of the dormitory (capped at 15,000) x $1.50 x 3 x 0.15] + base fee of $100 |
| FEDA licence fee |
[Occupancy load of the dormitory (capped at 15,000) x $1.50 x Licence validity in years] - [Occupancy load of the dormitory (capped at 15,000) x $1.50 x 3 x 0.15]*
*refers to amount collected during application
For licence validity for any fraction of a year less than 12 months, the quotient is obtained by dividing the number of days in any part of the term of a licence or renewed licence that is less than 12 months by 365.
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FEDA licence class framework and licence conditions
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| Occupancy load of the dormitory |
FEDA Licence Class |
Set of licence conditions applicable for dormitories that applied for approval to develop before 18 September 2021 |
Set of licence conditions applicable for dormitories that applied for approval to develop on or after 18 September 2021 |
| 7-99 |
1 |
A1 |
B1 |
| 100-299 |
2 |
A2 |
B2 |
| 300-999 |
3 |
A3 |
B3 |
| ≥1000 |
4 |
Please email us at Feedback and enquiries to receive the full set of requirements relating to the physical infrastructure of the dormitory. |
Dormitory operators are required to alert, notify, seek approval, and submit reports to MOM.
- Seek approval for change of licensee directors/partners, legal structure, name of licensee/dormitory.
- Notify MOM within 14 days if there is change of information submitted in the FEDA licence application form.
- Serious incident affecting the safety, security or well-being of residents: Manage the incident and if necessary, alert emergency response authorities. Alert MOM by emailing to MOM_ACE_Ops_Centre@mom.gov.sg within 3 hours from the discovery of the incident and submit an incident report to MOM within 24 hours from the discover of the incident.
- Notify MOM at least 21 days prior to evicting residents.
- Seek approval from MOM to organise, conduct or allow any religious, race-related or political based events in the dormitory premises.
Dormitory operators and dormitories applying for a FEDA licence will need to meet the eligibility criteria.
Dormitory operator:
- ACRA registered business entity.
- At least one Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident director.
- Directors are at least 18 years old.
- Directors are not undischarged bankrupts.
- Business entity and directors do not have outstanding arrears on foreign worker levy, salary payments due to employees or Medisave payable (self-employed persons).
- Business entity and directors do not have previous convictions for serious criminal offences.
- Business entity and directors do not have previous convictions for other offences in the past 5 years.
- Not disqualified due to previous FEDA licence revocation.
- Business entity has at least 2 years track record of operating a dormitory with occupancy load of 300 or above (For new applications for a licence Class 4 dormitory with occupancy load of 1,000 to 2,999).
- Business entity has at least 2 years track record of operating a dormitory with occupancy load of 1,000 or above (For new applications for a Class 4 dormitory with occupancy load of 3,000 or above).
Dormitory:
- Obtain the necessary building approvals from other government agencies e.g. URA Planning/Written Permission, SCDF Fire Safety Certificate (depending on the type of dormitory).
- Meet the FEDA licence conditions. Inspections of the dormitory may be conducted by MOM and other government agencies.
Dormitory operators are required to submit the appropriate licence application based on their operational status and any changes to the dormitory setup.
Submit a new application if you are applying under any of the following scenarios:
- New FEDA licence: For operators applying to operate a dormitory for the first time.
- Change of dormitory operator: For changes to the legal entity or operator responsible for managing the dormitory.
Submit a renewal application if you are applying under any of the following scenerios:
- Renewal of FEDA licence with no change in occupancy load: For operators who want to continue operating with the same approved occupancy load.
For further enquiries, you may refer to the FAQs.
For further queries on FEDA licence applications and requirements, you may refer to the FAQs.