Export Permit Singapore: 5 Checks Before Your Goods Leave
Updated: Oct 1
Updated 30 September 2026
The export permit Singapore requires is a Customs permit filed in TradeNet for goods that are leaving the country. Singapore Customs requires exporters to have that permit in hand before the goods leave. The goods are packed and your buyer is waiting, so the practical questions are what to file, by when and who does it. This guide gives you five checks to run before the shipment moves.
If you would rather hand the filing to a declaring agent, see our import and export permit service.
In this article |
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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In this article |
Key takeaways
Customs wants the export permit obtained before the goods are exported.
Per Customs' permit exemptions page, trade samples, gifts and specimens for testing or analysis worth S$400 or less in total, and goods exported by air (manifested or hand-carried) worth S$1,000 or less in total, can go without a permit unless they are dutiable or controlled. Goods under the Hand-Carried Exports Scheme are not exempt.
A typical export permit is valid for the approval date plus 9 working days.
Strategic goods under the Strategic Trade Scheme's Individual Permit must be submitted 5 working days before export.
New declarations in TradeNet come from declaring agents only. You can appoint one or register as one.
You and your declaring agent must each keep trade records for at least 5 years from the permit approval date.
Export permit Singapore: what it is and why you need one
Understanding export permits in Singapore
Every export permit application is submitted through TradeNet, which Customs describes as Singapore's National Single Window for trade declaration. Exporters must declare the FOB value and the country or region of origin accurately in the application.
The exporter is usually the party that invoices the overseas customer. A third party can also declare itself as the exporter. It must be involved in exporting the goods. It must also be willing to act as exporter for the invoicing party, or act as a consolidator for customers without a UEN.
Why do you need an export permit?
Customs requires it before you export, unless an exemption applies (Check 1 below). The responsibility also sits with your business. Customs' best-practice list for exporters opens with one line: the exporter carries responsibility for the export of the goods. The same list tells exporters to give their declaring agent complete and accurate supporting documents. It also tells them to make sure their freight forwarders understand and follow their instructions.
An agent can file it for you. The same checklist also tells exporters to know what is in each consignment.
Do these goods need a permit at all?
Check 1. Some goods can be exported without a permit. Customs' list on its permit exemptions page includes them, with one condition: unless they are dutiable or controlled.
Shipment | Permit needed? |
Parcel post | No, unless dutiable or controlled |
Documents | No, unless dutiable or controlled |
Trade samples, test or analysis specimens, and gifts worth S$400 or less in total | No, unless dutiable or controlled |
Air exports, whether manifested cargo or carried by hand, worth S$1,000 or less in total | No, unless dutiable or controlled |
Goods under the Hand-Carried Exports Scheme | Yes, whatever the value or quantity |
The same page also lists personal or household effects (except motor vehicles) that a passenger carries by hand or checks in, for personal use. Locally sourced stores put on a vessel or aircraft for use on board are on the list too. Anything dutiable or controlled needs a permit. If your goods travel by hand, see our hand carry permit service.
One point is worth knowing before you file: Customs says duty and GST do not apply to goods exported from Singapore.
Which export permit does your shipment need?
Check 2. Each application needs the right message type, declaration type and permit code. Which ones apply depends on where the goods come from and where they are going.
Your situation | Export permit in TradeNet |
Locally manufactured or GST-paid goods | Direct export (OUT-DRT), with or without a Certificate of Origin |
Goods stored in one Free Trade Zone and re-exported through a second | Direct export (OUT-DRT) |
Dutiable goods from a licensed warehouse, or goods from a Zero-GST warehouse, moving to a Free Trade Zone or foreign territory for export | Approved Premises / Schemes (OUT-APS) |
Goods brought in under the Temporary Import Scheme and going back out | Temporary consignment (OUT-TC), coded TCS, TCO or TCR by purpose |
Customs' list of exports that require a permit also includes goods under the Major Exporter Scheme and goods temporarily exported for re-import. Goods under the Major Exporter Scheme have their own service page: Major Exporter Scheme (MES). If your goods came in from abroad and are going back out, read Everything You Need to Know About Securing a Re-Export Permit in Singapore and Re-Export Permits Explained. You can also see our re-export permit service.
Is anything in the shipment controlled?
Check 3. If one or more Competent Authorities control your goods, their specific requirements have to be met when you prepare and submit the permit in TradeNet. Customs' best-practice list also tells exporters to check those requirements before export.
The first step is to classify the product under the correct Harmonised System (HS) code. Customs' HS/CA Product Code Checker helps with that first step. It identifies the HS code and shows whether the item is controlled. It also gives the CA product codes, the authority that controls the item and that authority's contact details.
Two rules from the same Customs page matter for the permit itself:
For an item on the product code pair list, both CA product codes go into the permit application. A missing or incomplete code can hold up the application or lead to its rejection.
Before you submit, review the authority's requirements, obtain the necessary approval where applicable and upload all required supporting documents.
Items regulated by the Strategic Goods (Control) Act require a Strategic Goods Export Permit. GoBusiness's Import, Export, and Transhipment Guide sets out the order: licences are step 3 and applying for the Customs permit is step 6.
A licence and a permit are two different documents. Our licence-versus-permit guide shows how to tell which one your goods need.
Need help with a permit or customs clearance? Talk to a Declaration Nexus declaring agent on WhatsApp for a quick answer. or call +65 6589 8122 · email enquiry@declarationnexus.com |
When must the permit be in hand, and how long does it last?
Check 4. Customs' standard rule is to submit before export. The table shows the timing for the common cases.
Goods | Timing |
All other goods (Customs' standard rule) | Submit before export. Customs recommends doing it before you lodge the cargo: with the sea port operator (gate-in) for sea exports, or with the air cargo ground handling agent for air exports |
Strategic goods covered by the Strategic Trade Scheme's Individual Permit | Submit 5 working days before export |
Goods under the Hand-Carried Exports Scheme, which Customs says the Comptroller of GST has exempted from advance submission | Before export |
Bulk petroleum products and chemicals (liquids loaded straight into an oil or chemical tanker, with no additional packing) that leave from a petroleum licensee berth after release from licensed premises | Within 10 working days after vessel departure |
The same liquids, without release from licensed premises | Within 3 working days after vessel departure |
Steel bars loaded straight into a carrier with no extra packing | Within 3 working days after vessel departure |
Customs sets the last four rows as special timelines for goods meeting the stated conditions. The full list is on the export procedures overview.
Customs says an OUT export permit is typically valid for the approval date plus 9 working days. If the goods are dutiable and come out of Customs licensed premises, the window is shorter: the approval date plus 2 working days. For dutiable sea stores it is the approval date plus 1 working day. If you cannot use the permit in time, you extend it in TradeNet before it expires.
TradeNet can go down without notice. When it does, Customs may tell exporters that cannot get an approved permit to clear cargo with a Letter of Undertaking (LOU) instead. The permit must then be obtained within 3 working days after TradeNet is back.
The validity period counts from the approval date, so check when the cargo will really move before you file. For how long approval itself takes, see our clearance time guide.
Who files the permit, and what do you keep?
Check 5. In TradeNet, new declarations, amendments, cancellations and refund applications can only be submitted by declaring agents. Customs gives exporters two routes:
hire a declaring agent to file permits for you; or
register your own company as a declaring agent, get a TradeNet user ID and file permits for your own shipments.
Customs adds that additional declaring agent service fees may apply.
Two guides help you weigh the two routes: file your own permits or use a declaring agent, and freight forwarder vs declaring agent.
Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent. We prepare and file the TradeNet permit. Read more on why exporters choose a trusted declaring agent.
What Customs asks you to keep
You and your declaring agent must each keep the paperwork for anything you buy, import, sell or export. Customs sets the minimum at 5 years from the date the permit is approved. Customs' list covers commercial invoices and packing lists, plus bills of lading or air waybills, certificates of origin, analysis and insurance, and books of accounts. Scanned images are allowed if they meet Customs' guidelines.
Some permit conditions ask for supporting documents within a set time. Condition Z02, for example, asks for invoices and transport documents inside 48 hours of approval. Read the conditions printed on each permit.
What Customs charges
On its fee page, Customs puts a typical TradeNet permit application at about S$3.19. That is a S$0.90 statutory fee plus S$2.29 in processing and messaging fees. A combined export permit and Certificate of Origin application typically costs about S$9.27.
Those fees are for traders who submit their own applications. Customs notes that they leave out any service fees a forwarder or other third-party provider may charge. For the full picture, see what customs clearance costs. If your buyer asks for a certificate of origin, read our guide to the electronic certificate of origin.
What if the permit has a wrong detail?
You can amend an approved permit in TradeNet while it is still valid, and Customs sets no limit on the number of amendments. Not every field can be amended. If the detail cannot be amended, you cancel the permit while it is still valid and apply for a new one. A cancelled export permit cannot be used to move cargo.
A permit that has already been used for cargo clearance, or has expired, cannot be amended. Our amend and cancel guide walks through the routes.
If TradeNet returns a DCS Error or a CA/SC Reject, fix the errors or omissions and submit a new export permit application. A new Unique Reference Number is issued. See what to do when a permit is rejected.
What Customs' own exporter checklist asks you to have ready
Customs' best-practice list for exporters is a useful pre-filing checklist for any business. It tells exporters to:
update your company's particulars so regulatory updates reach you;
know the export requirements and the conditions attached to each permit;
hand your declaring agent supporting documents that are complete and accurate;
brief your freight forwarders clearly and check they carry out your instructions;
know what is in every consignment, and check with the other parties if you are unsure;
keep your trade records for at least 5 years;
check the Competent Authorities' requirements for controlled items before you export;
declare product details, such as HS codes and quantities, correctly;
follow every condition printed on the permit;
make sure the driver has the permit ready for clearance when the permit requires it.
Getting the HS code right is its own task. Our guide to HS code declaration covers it. If you are also importing, read Everything You Need to Know About Import Permit Declarations in Singapore.
Questions about your export permit? Talk to us
Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent. We prepare and file the TradeNet permit.
Send us the product description, the HS code if you have one, and the supplier's invoice, and tell us what you're trying to work out. We'll tell you what we can do for you. We promise no clearance time and no approval, because both are Singapore Customs decisions.
Need help with a permit or customs clearance? Talk to a Declaration Nexus declaring agent on WhatsApp +65 8786 3987 or call +65 6589 8122. You can also contact Declaration Nexus, email the declaration desk, or send an enquiry.
Need a declaring agent in Singapore?
Speak to a Declaration Nexus declaring agent about your next permit or clearance. Call: +65 6589 8122 WhatsApp: +65 8786 3987 Email: enquiry@declarationnexus.com Office: 60 Paya Lebar Road, Unit 07-54 Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 |
Our Customs Permit Services
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 | Price: request a quote Permits for cargo transferred through Singapore between vessels or transport modes. |
 | Price: request a quote Permits and paperwork when cargo cannot be loaded onto its intended vessel. |
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 | Price: request a quote Permit support for businesses operating under the MES. |
Frequently asked questions
What is an export permit in Singapore?
It is a Customs permit for goods leaving Singapore, submitted through TradeNet. It asks for the goods' FOB value and their country or region of origin, and Customs says both have to be accurate.
How to apply for an export permit in Singapore
TradeNet is the only channel for export permit applications, and only declaring agents can submit them. Hire a declaring agent, or register your company as one, then file the application in TradeNet.
Do I need an export permit for samples?
Not if the trade samples, test or analysis specimens, or gifts are worth S$400 or less in total and are not dutiable or controlled. Customs lists this on its permit exemptions page. Anything dutiable or controlled needs a permit.
Is there duty or GST on exports from Singapore?
Customs says duty and GST do not apply to goods exported from Singapore. You still need the export permit before exporting, unless an exemption applies.
How long is an export permit valid?
A typical OUT export permit is valid for the approval date plus 9 working days. If you cannot use it in time, extend it in TradeNet before it expires.
Can I file the export permit after the goods have left?
Customs wants the permit obtained before the goods are exported, so file first (a few goods have special timelines, see Check 4).
Who can submit an export permit?
Declaring agents are the only ones who can submit new TradeNet declarations. You can appoint one or register your own company as one.
What does an export permit cost in government fees?
Customs puts a typical TradeNet permit application at about S$3.19, and a combined export permit and Certificate of Origin at about S$9.27. Customs notes that these fees leave out any service fees a forwarder or other third-party provider may charge. See what customs clearance costs.
Is a permit the same as a licence for controlled goods?
Not quite. A permit is the Customs filing for the shipment. A licence, where one applies, comes from a Competent Authority for controlled goods. See the licence-versus-permit guide.
This article summarises public guidance from Singapore Customs and GoBusiness as at the date above. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the treatment of your goods with Singapore Customs, or with us, before your next export permit goes in.
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PUBLISHED BY Declaration Nexus Team Declaring agent and customs broker at Paya Lebar Square, Singapore |
WRITTEN BY · SEO & GEO BY  SingRank Team Written by the SingRank Team together with the Declaration Nexus team. SEO & GEO by SingRank.com · singrank.agency |
Last updated 1 October 2026. Have a customs question? WhatsApp the Declaration Nexus team at +65 8786 3987. |
