Office Interior Design Firm in Singapore: What to Check First

Most guides tell you to compare three quotes and read some reviews. That covers half the job.

The facts that decide whether an office interior design firm finishes on time sit on public records. You can check them in about ten minutes, before anyone visits your unit. Is the company live? Who files the fire safety plans? Which registrations actually apply to office work?

This guide walks through those checks in the order we would do them, then shows how to read a quote and what to ask on the first site visit.

What should you check before hiring an office interior design firm in Singapore?

Quick Answer: Check five things before you sign. The company is live on ACRA's Bizfile. The portfolio shows working offices, not showrooms. A named Qualified Person handles the SCDF fire safety filing. Safety and insurance papers are current. The quote is itemised against a signed brief. A BCA grade matters less than most guides claim.

Notice what is not on that list: awards, years in business and the size of the logo wall. They are easy to polish and hard to verify.

An office is also not a home or a shop. It has a landlord's fit-out guide, building working hours, air-con and fire safety changes that need approval, and a lease date that does not move. A firm that plans for those rules from the first drawing behaves differently from one that learns them on site.

The five checks below are ordered by effort, cheapest first.

Check the company, not the brochure

Search the company name or its UEN on ACRA's Bizfile entity search. It shows whether the company is live and its registered address.

Two things to match. The company name on the quote and contract should be the registered name. And the address should be somewhere a real team sits, so ask to visit it.

If the firm trades under a new name, ask which projects the current team delivered. A fresh company can still have an experienced team. You just want to see their work, not the old brand's.

Read the portfolio like a tenant

A good portfolio answers one question: has this firm built an office like mine, in a building like mine?

Look for the unglamorous rooms. Call booths, pantries, glass fronts with frosted bands, ceilings with lights and air-con in the right places. These show planning. Hero shots of a reception desk show styling.

Be careful with mixed portfolios. Homes, restaurants and shops prove the firm can build, but nothing about the rules of an office tower.

A real example is our 78 Shenton Way project. The brief was a floor that could host client meetings and long stretches of calls at the same time. The plan puts two enclosed booths near the desks, full-height glass with frosted films on the meeting rooms, and carpet tiles to separate walkways from work areas.

Ask any firm for the same level of detail. Which building, which year, what problem did the plan solve, and can we walk a finished floor?

Ask who signs the fire safety submission

This is the question most owners never ask, and it can stop a project cold.

Under the Fire Safety Act 1993, SCDF requires plan approval before fire safety works begin. Per SCDF, that covers changes to fire protection systems, alterations that affect escape routes or fire compartments, and works involving air-conditioning or ventilation. Some minor works go through a Minor Additions and Alterations lodgement instead, and some are exempt.

The plans must be prepared and submitted by a Qualified Person, which SCDF defines as a registered architect or professional engineer. SCDF offers a free consultation if you are unsure which route your office falls under. The details are on the SCDF plans and consultations page.

So ask the firm four plain questions:

• Who is the Qualified Person on this job?
• Is their fee inside the quote or extra?
• Who chases the approval, and how many weeks does the schedule allow?
• What happens to the programme if SCDF has comments?

A firm that answers without hesitation has done this before. A firm that says "we will check later" is passing you the risk.

Know which registrations matter

Three papers get quoted at owners a lot. They mean different things.

BCA registration. BCA runs the Contractors Registration System, and anyone can look up a firm on the BCA e-Directory by workhead and grade. The grade sets how large a public sector project a firm can tender for. It is not a licence to renovate your office.

There is a catch. BCA's CRS page says that since 1 June 2025, firms that want to hire construction S Pass or Work Permit holders must register first. So a firm that builds with foreign construction workers should appear on the register. If it does not, ask why. Treat a missing entry as a question, not a verdict, and a high grade as a sign of size on public projects, not of good offices.

bizSAFE. This is a Workplace Safety and Health Council programme supported by MOM. Level 3 means the company has done risk assessments for its work activities, confirmed by an audit from a registered auditing organisation. The audit report is valid for three years, so ask for the certificate and read the expiry date. bizSAFE is not itself a legal requirement, but contracts and tenders often ask for it.

Insurance. MOM requires employers to insure all manual workers under work injury compensation, whatever their salary. Ask for the current policy and check it covers the people who will be on your site. Also ask what the firm carries for damage to the building, as your landlord's fit-out rules may ask for it.

Make the quote prove it

A quote is where good intentions become numbers. Three habits make comparison fair.

Itemise by trade. Partitions, ceilings, M&E, flooring, joinery, furniture, IT cabling. Put three quotes side by side. If one has no M&E line, it is not cheaper. It is shorter.

Find the lines nobody prices. Authority submissions and QP fees, reinstatement at lease end, loose furniture, a contingency for surprises behind the ceiling. Some firms include them, some leave them out, and neither is wrong as long as you can see which.

Get it in writing. BCA notes that the Security of Payment Act applies where parties have a written contract. Beyond that, a good contract names payment milestones, prices every change before it is built, and fixes the handover and defects process.

On price itself, expect a first range at the first call and a firmer number only after a site visit. Anyone quoting an exact figure over WhatsApp has not seen your unit. Our budget calculator shows the kind of range to plan with.

Choose the contract route early

Before you compare firms, decide whether one firm will design and build or whether you will tender a design. The choice changes who you are even comparing. We cover it fully in design and build vs design and tender.

If you pick one contract, look for a firm with one named project manager across design, approvals and build. Our design and build service works this way, and the designer who drew your layout stays involved during the build.

Eight questions for the first site visit

Bring these. A good firm will enjoy them.

1. Which office projects have you finished in this building or one like it?
2. Who is the Qualified Person, and is their fee in the quote?
3. Who will be my project manager, and will they be on site?
4. What does your quote leave out?
5. How do you price a change once work has started?
6. Which landlord rules and working hours will affect cost or timing here?
7. What do you need from me, and by which date?
8. Can I speak to a past client and walk a finished office?

Watch how the firm answers, not only what it says. Specific answers with building names and dates are a good sign. Vague answers and a rush to sign are not.

How Metadesign Interior answers these

We do offices only. Our team of designers, project managers and craftsmen handles fit-outs, renovations, design and build and reinstatement, from our studio at Tradehub 21 in Boon Lay, and most of our work is in the CBD and business parks.

Every project follows six steps: first call, site visit and brief, design, itemised quote, build and handover. The quote is matched to the approved design, and landlord and authority submissions are prepared as part of it. See what a typical office fit-out includes.

Ask us the same eight questions you ask everyone else. We would rather you compare us properly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose an office interior design firm in Singapore?

Check that the company is live on Bizfile, that its portfolio shows finished offices, and that a Qualified Person will handle fire safety submissions. Then compare itemised quotes by trade and visit a completed office before you sign.

Do office renovation contractors need to be BCA registered?

Not for every private job, but it is not simply optional either. BCA says that since 1 June 2025, firms hiring construction S Pass or Work Permit holders must register with CRS. Check any firm on the BCA CRS page and e-Directory and ask about any gap.

Who submits fire safety plans to SCDF for an office renovation?

A Qualified Person, meaning a registered architect or professional engineer, prepares and submits the plans when approval is needed. Some minor works go through a lodgement and some are exempt, so ask the firm which route applies.

How much does an office interior design firm charge?

It depends on floor area, the state of the unit and the finish level, so be wary of a fixed figure before a site visit. Ask for design, build, furniture and submission costs as separate lines, and use a range to plan.

Do interior designers work on offices?

Yes, but many firms focus on homes. Ask for finished office projects in comparable buildings, and for the person who will manage your job.

Check first, then choose

Five checks, ten minutes, and you know more about a firm than its brochure will tell you. Confirm the company is live, test the portfolio against your building, find the Qualified Person, read the papers properly and make the quote prove itself.

If you want to run the checks on us, send us your floor area, building and move-in date and we will come back with a first range and a timeline.

Reviewed and fact-checked by Bobby Dennie, Rezult