What are the guidelines for names of a society?

Question

Accepted Answer

A society's proposed name should not be the same, or so nearly resembles, the name of any existing registered society or entity, in a manner likely to deceive or mislead the public or members of either society.
To check, you may refer to the Bizfile website.
Where the proposed name includes any of the words listed below, a letter of support from the relevant government agency is required.

Agency	Words
Ministry of Education (MOE) or Council for Private Education (CPE)	Academy, College, Institute (with exception of an alumni)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)	Asean
National Heritage Board (NHB)	Bras Basah.Bugis
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)	Bayfront, Marina Centre, Marina South, Marina East, Straits View, Greater Southern Waterfront, Downtown Core, Raffles Place, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Robertson Quay, Empress Place, Civic District, CBD, Orchard Road, Mount Sophia, Fort Canning, Emerald Hill, Kallang Riverside, Paya Lebar Central, Jurong Lake District, Lakeside, Jurong Gateway, Rail Corridor, Southern Ridges, Gillman Village, Round Island Route, Marina Bay, Singapore River, Kampong Glam
Singapore Tourism Board (STB)	Orchard, Tanglin, Somerset, Scotts, Sentosa, HarbourFront, Merlion
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB)	Little India, Chinatown, Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Pasoh, Ann Siang Hill, Duxton
Enterprise Singapore	Standards Board
Any relevant authority	Council, Government, Ministry, National, Republic, Registry, State, Temasek, Singapore

Use of the Word “Singapore"

The use of the word “Singapore”, in any languages, or its abbreviation, anywhere in a society’s name requires a letter of support from the relevant government authority.
An exception may be made for a society that is the Singapore chapter of an international parent organisation. In such cases, the society may use "(Singapore)" at the end of its name (e.g. Example Organisation (Singapore)), provided that it submits a letter of support from the international parent organisation.

Use of the Word “Foundation”

A society may use the word “Foundation” only if it:

Has a permanent fund dedicated to charitable, educational, religious, research or other benevolent purpose; and
Is financed by donations, or legacies or an endowment to support those purposes.

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