The company that owes me money has closed down. What now?

Step one: check the company on Bizfile

Search the company by name or UEN on ACRA's Bizfile. The search shows its status and registered address. For more detail, a Business Profile costs $5.50 and is available even for companies that are no longer live. "Closed down" can mean very different things, and each needs a different response.

If the company is being struck off

Striking off is meant for companies that have stopped trading and owe nothing. ACRA's criteria include having no unpaid debts and owning nothing and owing nothing. Applying without meeting them can count as a false declaration and lead to an investigation.

If the company still owes you money, object. For applications made on or after 20 October 2026, interested parties have 60 days from the First Gazette notice to object.

1. Submit the objection on BizfileAny interested person can do this while the status is not yet Struck Off. There is no fee.
2. Attach proofUpload recent supporting documents such as invoices, bank statements or court documents. PDF only, up to 3MB each, up to two files. Objections without documents may be rejected.
3. Wait for ACRAApproval takes up to 20 working days. ACRA then writes to the company at its registered office with your name and reason.
4. Resolve or let it lapseYou and the company have two months to resolve the objection. If it is not cleared, the striking off application lapses.

An objection does not collect the money by itself. It stops the company from quietly disappearing and gives you a reason to talk. If the company is already struck off, ACRA says it can be restored within six years by a Court Order. Speak to a lawyer about whether that is worth it for your debt.

If the company is being wound up

A company can be wound up voluntarily by its members or creditors, or by the High Court. Once it is in liquidation, the liquidator collects and sells the assets and decides creditors' claims. After a winding up order, no action can be started or continued against the company without the court's permission, so a fresh lawsuit is usually not the answer.

1. File a proof of debtLodge it with the liquidator. Where the Official Receiver is liquidator, online filing costs $5. For a private liquidator, contact them directly.
2. Attach supporting documentsInvoices, contracts, delivery orders and statements of account. A proof without documents may be rejected.
3. Watch for noticesIf you receive a notice to file a proof of debt and do not lodge within 14 days, you can be excluded from the dividend.
4. Appeal a rejection in timeIf the liquidator rejects your claim, appeal within 21 days of the notice or the rejection becomes final.

What an unsecured creditor can realistically expect

Money recovered in a liquidation goes first to the costs of the winding up. Next come preferential claims, which include employee wages, retrenchment benefits, CPF contributions and tax. Only then are ordinary unsecured creditors, such as trade suppliers, paid, and they share equally (pari passu). Shareholders get anything left over.

So the outcome depends entirely on what the company has left. If the assets do not cover costs and preferential claims, ordinary creditors receive nothing. Nobody can promise you a percentage in advance, and you should be wary of anyone who does.

Judicial management and schemes, in plain words

Judicial management is a rescue process for a company that is, or is likely to become, unable to pay its debts but may be saved. A judicial manager replaces the directors. From the date of the application there is a moratorium, and while the company is in judicial management no proceedings can be started or continued against it without the judicial manager's consent or the court's permission. Judicial management ends after 180 days unless the order says otherwise or the term is extended.

A scheme of arrangement is a deal between a struggling company and its creditors to restructure its debts. Management stays in place. If the required majority votes for it (a majority in number holding three fourths in value of those present and voting) and the court approves it, the scheme binds all creditors, including those who voted against it. Read the proposal carefully and vote.

Can I go after the directors?

Not just because the company failed. The IRDA gives specific routes:

• Fraudulent trading (s 238). If the business was carried on with intent to defraud creditors, the court can declare anyone who knowingly took part personally responsible for the company's debts. A liquidator, judicial manager, creditor or contributory can apply.
• Wrongful trading (s 239). A company trades wrongfully if, while insolvent, it takes on debts with no reasonable prospect of paying them in full. Creditors can apply, with permission from the liquidator, judicial manager or the court, for a declaration that a responsible person is personally liable.

These are court cases that need evidence and a lawyer. If a director signed a personal guarantee for your account, that is a separate claim against them under the guarantee.

Where Speedy can help

We are a debt collection company, not a law firm, and we cannot file claims, sue directors or give legal advice. We can check where the company stands, gather your invoices and correspondence into a file the liquidator or your lawyer can use, and keep pressing a debtor who is still trading. If the company is struggling but alive, early contact through our debt recovery service is often worth more than a dividend later. See also statutory demands and writing off a bad debt.

Sources

• ACRA: Striking off a local company
• ACRA: Submitting an objection against striking off
• ACRA: Buying a Business Profile via Bizfile
• Insolvency Office: About liquidation or winding up
• Insolvency Office: Information for creditors
• Judiciary: Company winding up
• SICC User Guides: schemes of arrangement and judicial management
• Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018
• Ministry of Law: Written reply on wrongful trading under the IRDA