How to Check an Aesthetic Clinic's Licence in Singapore

To check an aesthetic clinic in Singapore, search for it in the HealthHub directory of licensed healthcare services, then look up each doctor on the Singapore Medical Council register. Both are free and take about 2 minutes. If either search comes up empty, ask the clinic to explain before you book.

Step 1: Check the clinic is licensed

Search the clinic’s name in the HealthHub directory of licensed healthcare services.

• Listed: the clinic holds a healthcare licence from the Ministry of Health (MOH).
• Not listed: MOH’s advice is to be cautious. The clinic may trade under a different name from its licence, so ask for the licensed name and search again.

Aesthetic procedures done by licensed providers are regulated medical procedures under Singapore’s Healthcare Services Act 2020. A spa or beauty salon is not a licensed clinic.

Step 2: Check the doctor is registered

Search the doctor’s full name on the Singapore Medical Council register. The entry shows whether the doctor is registered to practise in Singapore.

For aesthetic treatments, two more things matter:

• Singapore’s Guidelines on Aesthetic Practices for Doctors list which procedures each type of doctor may perform. Specialists such as dermatologists and plastic surgeons are covered for set procedures. Other doctors generally need a Certificate of Competence for the procedure.
• Doctors with conditional registration may not practise aesthetic medicine.

Ask the clinic directly: “Is the doctor who will treat me accredited for this procedure?” A good clinic answers without hesitation.

Step 3: Check the product or device

Ask which product or device will be used, then check it on the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) registers:

• Medicines such as botulinum toxin: Register of Therapeutic Products
• Medical devices, including many fillers and energy devices: Singapore Medical Device Register

Ask to see the box or packaging before treatment. The brand on the box should match what you were quoted.

Warning signs

• Treatment offered at home, in a salon or at a “pop-up” event
• An influencer selling the treatment directly. In Singapore, only licensed providers may advertise licensable healthcare services, with fines of up to SGD 20,000, jail of up to 12 months, or both.
• No named doctor, or a doctor you cannot find on the SMC register
• Pressure to pay a deposit on the day

More in our red flags guide.

How to report a clinic

Contact MOH through its feedback form, or call 1800 225 4122 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm).

Next step

Prepare for your consultation with our questions to ask before any aesthetic treatment, or compare licence-checked clinics in Singapore.