Last updated 29 September 2026 — by Adrian Tan, SDM. Marketing guidance, not legal advice. References are to the Employment Agencies Act 1958, the Employment Agencies Rules 2011, MOM’s Employment Agency Licence Conditions and Guidelines for EAs placing FDWs as published on 29 September 2026, and MOM’s EA Alert of 28 September 2026 describing amendments that take effect on 1 October 2026. MOM says the revised licence conditions will be published on 1 October 2026; check the condition numbers against that text.
Most businesses advertise a product or a service. A maid agency advertises a service whose delivery depends on a person, and that is the problem Singapore’s rules are built around. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has spent more than a decade telling employment agencies, alert by alert, not to market domestic workers as if they were merchandise. From 1 October 2026, that message stops being guidance and becomes a licence condition.
That matters because in Singapore a breach of an employment agency licence condition is not a regulatory footnote. Under section 33(5) of the Employment Agencies Act 1958, it is a criminal offence, with a fine of up to $5,000, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both, per charge. It also earns demerit points that can end in suspension or revocation of the licence.
This guide sets out what every agency advertisement must carry, what you may and may not publish about a worker, which fee and “promotion” messages MOM has told agencies to stop, what the new conditions add, and how to build marketing that works within all of it. MOM now generally uses the term migrant domestic worker (MDW); its older documents say foreign domestic worker (FDW). We use both as the source does.
Four layers of rules
Agency advertising is governed by four sets of documents, and they carry different weight.
- The Employment Agencies Act 1958. It requires a licence, sets the offences and gives MOM the power to suspend or revoke.
- The Employment Agencies Rules 2011. They set, among other things, the cap on fees charged to workers.
- The Employment Agency Licence Conditions (EALC). These bind every licensee, and breaching them is an offence under section 33(5).
- MOM’s Guidelines for EAs placing FDWs, and its EA Alerts. The Guidelines say that a breach “constitutes an action detrimental to the interest of” clients and “may result in the imposition of demerit points and the suspension or revocation of the licence”.
The practical point is that there is no soft layer. Even the Guidelines carry licence consequences, and the most important of them are now being moved into the conditions themselves.
What every advertisement must carry
EALC condition 4(a) requires the full name and licence number of the employment agency on signboards, documents and “any advertisement publicising any work or activity for or in connection with the employment of persons”. MOM spells out that this includes websites, name cards, pamphlets and “publicity material published on any social media platform”, and, under 4(a)(iv), any advertisement “distributed to the public by any other person”.
That last limb is the one agencies overlook. An advertisement run by a marketing agency, a partner or a content creator on your behalf still needs your name and licence number.
Condition 4(b)(ii) adds a second requirement. If an advertisement “makes reference to any specific employment agency personnel”, it must contain “the full name and registration number of the employment agency personnel”. So a video featuring your senior consultant, or a post that says “WhatsApp Mei Ling for a free consultation”, needs her full name and her EA personnel registration number.
Placement in practice
- Social posts and reels: agency name and licence number in the caption and on screen.
- Consultant-led content: the consultant’s full name and registration number on screen whenever they appear or are named.
- Website: both in the footer of every page, and on every consultant profile.
- Paid ads: in the primary text, with the licence number repeated on the landing page.
If you advertise through WhatsApp broadcasts, the same content rules apply, alongside the messaging rules in our guide to WhatsApp marketing in Singapore.
What you may publish about a worker
This is the rule that shapes an agency’s website more than any other. EALC condition 17(a) says the licensee will not publicly disclose “any information or photograph of any FDW … (whether with consent or otherwise) on any platform”, except as allowed by Annex F.
Annex F allows six items only, and makes them subject to the Personal Data Protection Act:
- name;
- nationality;
- skills and experience;
- food handling preferences;
- previous employment history, as shown on MOM’s Work Pass Online; and
- language abilities.
Two things are missing from that list, and both are standard on agency websites. The first is the photograph. The second is everything else that biodata usually contains: age, height, weight, religion, marital status, number of children. None of it may be published publicly, and the words “whether with consent or otherwise” mean a signed consent form does not change that.
Condition 17(b) sets out the two routes by which fuller information can be shared. The agency may disclose “the full biodata and image of any FDW directly to an employer who has specifically requested” it, or through a platform “that has restricted access”. In marketing terms, that is the difference between a public profile gallery and a gated one.
Your marketing agency is inside the rule
Condition 17A requires the licensee to ensure that any third party it engages for advertising is compliant with condition 17. If you hire a digital agency, a listings platform or a freelancer, the duty to keep worker photos off public channels travels with the work, and so does your exposure if they get it wrong. Put it in the brief and the contract.
Consent is still needed for what you do share
MOM’s Guidelines separately say agencies should “obtain written consent from FDWs before posting their biodata online” and avoid presenting it “in a fashion that casts the FDWs in an undignified light”. Consent does not unlock more than Annex F, but it is still needed for what Annex F allows. For how consent and notification work under the PDPA generally, see our guide to the PDPA for marketers.
The dignity rule, and what changes on 1 October 2026
MOM’s Guidelines set the general standard: advertising “on shop fronts, print media and websites” should be “legal, decent, honest and truthful”, and agencies “should NOT post any forms of advertising … that casts FDWs in an undignified manner”. MOM has repeated this in EA Alerts issued in July 2014, November 2014, May 2015, November 2016, February 2018, September 2018, October 2018, July 2021 and September 2024.
From 1 October 2026, according to MOM’s alert of 28 September 2026, it becomes licence condition 17B. When referring and placing MDWs, the licensee “must not: publish or display any form of advertising that presents MDWs in an undignified manner; require MDWs to engage in activities that give the impression that they are on display”. MOM describes the change as formalising its past alerts. Because it is now a licence condition, a breach is directly an offence under section 33(5).
What MOM has said is unacceptable
| Practice | MOM source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mentioning fee amounts or payment modes (e.g. post-dated cheques) in ads | Guidelines | Avoid; give the full fee schedule on request instead |
| Emphasising “cheap fees, promotional rates, and/or discounts” | EA Alert, 18 Sep 2024 | Must be removed immediately |
| Likening workers to merchandise that can be purchased or replaced | Guidelines | Prohibited |
| Workers sitting outside agency premises | Guidelines | Prohibited |
| Training conducted so that workers appear to be on display | Guidelines; cond. 17B from 1 Oct 2026 | Prohibited |
| Attire that makes workers “walking advertisements” | Guidelines | Prohibited |
| Presenting workers in an undignified manner, any format | Cond. 17B from 1 Oct 2026 | Licence condition |
The 18 September 2024 alert is the one digital marketers most need to read. MOM said it had “received complaints on employment agencies advertising their agency fees online”, and that these advertisements “wrongly emphasise cheap fees, promotional rates, and/or discounts, which inadvertently give the impression that MDWs are marketed as merchandise”. It told agencies to “cease and remove any unacceptable advertisements immediately”, failing which they face “demerit points and/or fines”.
That rules out most of the performance-marketing toolkit as it is usually applied: flash sales, “$0 agency fee” hooks, festive discounts, countdown timers, and comparison tables that rank agencies on price. It also means your old posts matter. A 2023 Hari Raya promotion still sitting on your Facebook page is an advertisement that is still being published.
What MOM says you can advertise
The Guidelines give examples of acceptable content, and they are more useful than they look: “placement volume, transfer rates, or retention rates” and “types of training provided”. Those are performance claims about the agency, not about the worker, and they are exactly what an employer comparing agencies wants to know. They also have to be true and supportable, which our guide to misleading claims and trade descriptions covers.
The second new condition: MOM’s logo
The 28 September 2026 alert also introduces condition 6C. The licensee “must not use, reproduce or display MOM’s logo without explicit approval or represent or imply that the licensee is affiliated with MOM, in any form of advertising or promotional materials”. It follows a January 2025 alert that named “websites, brochures, social media posts and other marketing collaterals”.
Watch for the implied version as well as the logo itself. “MOM-approved agency”, “official MOM partner” and a government-style colour scheme around a licence badge can all imply an affiliation that a licence does not create. Being licensed by MOM is a fact you may state; being endorsed by MOM is not.
Talking about fees without advertising them
Agencies still have to be transparent about fees, and employers still want to know them. The rules separate transparency from promotion.
- The worker’s fee is capped by law. Rule 12(1)(a) of the Employment Agencies Rules 2011 caps the fee an agency may charge a worker at one month’s salary for each year of the work pass or contract, whichever is shorter, up to a maximum of two months’ salary. Overcharging is an offence under section 33(1).
- The employer’s refund is set by MOM. Since 1 June 2022, agencies must refund at least 50% of the service fee if the worker’s employment is terminated within the first six months, subject to exclusions, within 14 working days.
- Fee amounts do not belong in ads. The Guidelines say to avoid “any mention of amounts, or payment modes”, while allowing the full fee schedule to be given to prospects “upon their request”.
The workable pattern is a fee page that is informational, not promotional: a clear schedule, the refund policy stated as MOM sets it, and no discounts, strike-throughs or urgency. Reach it from a “request our fee schedule” button rather than a price in the ad. We found no MOM rule capping the employer’s service fee itself, so we have not suggested one.
Agencies that place other workers too
Many agencies place Work Permit, S Pass or local candidates as well as domestic workers. For those job advertisements, EALC condition 4A(c) applies: the licensee must “state the selection criteria clearly and not use any language that is discriminatory, including language that excludes Singaporeans, or indicates preference for non-Singaporeans”. Condition 4A does not apply to domestic worker placements. The broader rules on job-ad wording are in our guide to recruitment advertising in Singapore.
Unlicensed agents who advertise
Section 6 of the Act prohibits carrying on an employment agency, or doing “any work or activity … for or in connection with the employment of one or more persons”, without a licence. The penalty under section 6(4) is up to $80,000, two years’ imprisonment, or both, rising to $160,000 and four years for a repeat offence.
The Act never uses the word “advertise”. But its definition of an employment agency includes one “represented as being or intended to be carried on”, which reaches someone holding themselves out, and advertising is the usual evidence. MOM’s June 2026 alert on unlicensed agents describes two recent cases: an individual fined $28,000 in May 2026 whose activities included “advertising her services online”, and another fined $30,000 in November 2025 after sharing workers’ biodata over WhatsApp. For a marketer, the rule is simple: check the licence on MOM’s EA Directory before you take the brief.
The case that set the tone
In September 2018 an agency advertised 49 domestic workers on Carousell in a way MOM said “likened the FDWs to commodities”. Its licence was suspended that month. On 30 April 2019, MOM reported that the agency was fined $48,000 on 16 charges of breaching licence conditions, plus $30,000 on 29 other charges under the Act, and served with a notice of revocation. MOM said it “does not condone any offensive and insensitive advertising methods that portray FDWs in a negative light”.
Two lessons carry over. Charges are counted per breach, so a campaign with many listings becomes many charges. And a marketplace listing format, built to sell goods, was itself the problem: the medium made workers look like stock. In November 2023, answering a parliamentary question, MOM said it “takes a serious view of insensitive advertisements” and would continue to rely on guidelines and advisories. The new condition 17B shows where that position has now gone.
Marketing a maid agency within the rules
The constraints are real, but they point towards the marketing that tends to work best for a high-trust, high-stakes purchase anyway.
1. Sell the agency, not the worker
Placement volume, transfer rates, retention rates and training are the metrics MOM itself names as acceptable. Publish them, explain how you calculate them, and keep them current. An employer choosing an agency is buying process and accountability, and these numbers prove both.
2. Answer the employer’s real questions in content
First-time employers search for how the process works, what a work permit application involves, what the Settling-In Programme covers, what happens if a placement does not work out, and what the refund rules are. Clear, accurate guides to those questions build search traffic and trust at once. Treat MOM’s own pages as the source and link to them.
3. Gate the profiles
Keep the public site to Annex F information and route everything else through a request or a logged-in area, as condition 17(b) allows. Design this as a feature (“request full profiles from your consultant”) rather than a limitation.
4. Put your consultants forward, properly
People choose agencies through people. Consultant profiles, advice videos and named case explanations work, provided every appearance carries the consultant’s full name and registration number under condition 4(b)(ii).
5. Audit before 1 October, and keep auditing
Go through your website, every social account, marketplace listings and old posts. Remove worker photos from public pages, fee promotions, anything that reads like a sale, any MOM logo or affiliation claim, and any content without your licence number. Then brief every third party that advertises for you, because condition 17A makes their compliance yours. Our guide to legal requirements for a Singapore website covers the rest of what the site must carry.
Worked example: rewriting a typical agency post
| Before | Problem | After |
|---|---|---|
| “Raya promo! Agency fee only $X, pay by instalments” | Fee amount, payment mode and promotion (Guidelines; 2024 alert) | “Planning to hire before Raya? Ask for our fee schedule and refund policy” |
| Photo grid of workers with age, height, religion | Photos and non-Annex F data in public (cond. 17(a)) | Name, nationality, skills, languages; full profile on request |
| “Fresh arrivals this week, choose yours now” | Likens workers to stock (Guidelines; cond. 17B) | “New candidates available; speak to a consultant about your household’s needs” |
| “MOM-approved agency” with MOM logo | Logo and implied affiliation (cond. 6C) | “Licensed employment agency, licence no. [number]” |
| Consultant reel with first name only | Missing personnel particulars (cond. 4(b)(ii)) | Full name and EA personnel registration number on screen |
Every “after” is still a usable marketing message. What changes is who the message is about: the household and the agency’s process, rather than the worker.
Frequently asked questions
What must a maid agency show in its advertisements?
Under MOM licence condition 4(a), every advertisement, including social media posts and ads run by someone else for you, must show the agency’s full name and licence number. If an ad names or features a specific staff member, condition 4(b)(ii) requires their full name and EA personnel registration number.
Can a maid agency post domestic workers’ photos online?
Not publicly. Licence condition 17(a) bars public disclosure of any information or photograph of a worker, with or without consent, except six Annex F items: name, nationality, skills and experience, food handling preferences, employment history and language abilities. Full biodata and photos may go only to a requesting employer or through a restricted-access platform.
What changes for maid agency advertising on 1 October 2026?
According to MOM’s alert of 28 September 2026, new licence condition 17B bars advertising that presents migrant domestic workers in an undignified manner or makes them appear to be on display, and condition 6C bars use of MOM’s logo or implying affiliation with MOM. Breaching a licence condition is an offence under section 33(5) of the Employment Agencies Act.
Can a maid agency advertise discounts or promotions?
MOM has told agencies not to. Its 18 September 2024 alert said ads emphasising cheap fees, promotional rates or discounts give the impression that workers are marketed as merchandise, and must be removed. Its Guidelines also say to avoid mentioning fee amounts or payment modes in ads, while providing the fee schedule on request.
What is the penalty for breaching MOM’s advertising rules?
A breach of a licence condition is an offence carrying up to $5,000, six months’ jail, or both, per charge. MOM can also award demerit points, which raise the security deposit, trigger forfeitures and at 24 points lead to suspension or revocation, and it can suspend or revoke a licence directly.
Is a marketing agency responsible for a maid agency’s ads?
The licence duties fall on the employment agency, but condition 17A requires it to ensure any third party it engages for advertising complies with condition 17, and condition 4(a) covers ads distributed by any other person. In practice the maid agency carries the licence risk, so it should build these rules into every brief and contract.
The takeaway
From 1 October 2026, the rule that a domestic worker must never be marketed like a product is a licence condition, with a criminal offence behind it. For an agency, compliant marketing means the licence number everywhere, six permitted facts about a worker in public, no fee promotions, no MOM logo, and a marketing story built on the agency’s own track record. That is also, for a purchase this personal, the story most likely to win the employer’s trust.
If you run a licensed agency and want marketing that grows enquiries without putting the licence at risk, that is what our performance marketing team plans for. See our client case studies, read our guide to performance marketing in Singapore, and compare how other licensed trades handle mandatory disclosures in our guides to travel agent advertising and advertising pets for sale.
