Company Stamp

[guitarnoise]

Are there any special requirements to consider when getting an official company stamp made? Can any place that makes rubber stamps make one? Lots of official forms ask for a company stamp, but of all the government websites I've looked at there is no mention of any specific requirements.

[sierra2469alpha]

Just get the stamp shop to make sure it's the offical "chop" - pretty much everywhere does them!

[Strong Eagle]

It should have your company name exactly as registered, for example, "Ajax Widgets Pte Ltd" plus company address or registered address. Phone number is desirable, not required, as is registration number, desirable, not required. Can be just a simple block letter stamp or you can add your company logo.

[guitarnoise]

Thanks. Those were pretty speedy replies and they cover everything I needed to know.

[QRM]

And always have them handy for some reason people are really anal about a rubber stamp. You can have passports and all sorts of ID that prove you own the company, but without the stamp half the things no can do.

Rubber stamping mentality

[Strong Eagle]

Rubber stamping mentality

Sorry, it is a "chop". Long history and highly important in Chinese culture. Many individuals still employ the chop; their own 'logo'/name that is applied to a document... at least as valuable as a signature, and usually more so.

To be able to chop a document is to demonstrate that you hold the stamp and therefore have the power.... perhaps somewhat naive in this day and age but derived from a time when the chop was an essential element of personal identification and trust.

[ksl]

Rubber stamping mentality

Sorry, it is a "chop". Long history and highly important in Chinese culture. Many individuals still employ the chop; their own 'logo'/name that is applied to a document... at least as valuable as a signature, and usually more so.

To be able to chop a document is to demonstrate that you hold the stamp and therefore have the power.... perhaps somewhat naive in this day and age but derived from a time when the chop was an essential element of personal identification and trust.

The chop is still very essential in Chinese commerce and much more accepted to a signature, because signatures vary considerably, Chinese people have Chinese names, which mostly stay with them for ever, however many people today have English names too, and they are liable to change, when they feel like it, hence the difficulty in the IRS tracking them down overseas.

In Taiwan I don't believe a chinese would be permitted to withdraw money from a bank, without a chop, it does serve a purpose and i myself have a Chinese name. It is not an easy task for Chinese to see the flaws of a signature, because it is not their way of officialdom.

This you can put to the test by asking a bank teller, if they are capable of identifying a forged signature. So the chop will never get the chop in my opinion. Chinese commerce would come to a standstill.

[saint73]

Are there any special requirements to consider when getting an official company stamp made? Can any place that makes rubber stamps make one? Lots of official forms ask for a company stamp, but of all the government websites I've looked at there is no mention of any specific requirements.

The company stamp is used when issue PO, DO, INVOICE as your company need to stamp to prove that all details are commit by this company including pricing, payment term delivery.

The stamp logo and your company name on the stamp...

You must be joking did not know about company stamp...

[hajamie]

It's the same in the UK I think. Seems a bit outdated to me.
J.

[redmanti]

Everyone needs a company stamp in Singapore. It's a bit of a relic, but that just adds character to doing business here compared to other countries.

[Winxkid]

Taiwan uses stamp as signature

[jpatokal]

Everyone needs a company stamp in Singapore. It's a bit of a relic, but that just adds character to doing business here compared to other countries.

YMMV, but I've been running my own (small) business in Singapore for over two years now, and I can't really recall any situations where I've actually needed it. This is not Japan/China, where the company actually registers the seal with the government and needs it for official transactions; here it's just more of a convenience/bonus.

Also, as far as I know, the only legal requirement is that it has the company name in full. (There's a section in the Companies Act about this, but I'm too lazy to go dig it up.) A previous employer of mine even dropped off the "Pte Ltd", just putting their logo in a circle instead, and nobody that I know of ever complained.

All that said, getting your chop made is easy and cheap. Most all neighborhood stationary shops can arrange them for under $10 a pop.

[manasicaje]

So --- I know this is super-old thread and I don't expect (but hope I do get!) some responses. But this topic fascinates me and I have some questions. I've been working in Singapore for three years now, and I guess I've gotten used to the "chop" but it did confuse and frustrate me for a while. It really does seem like an excuse for bureaucracy...

... but like I said I'm kinda used to it now. The only time it still has the potential to frustrate me is when I'm dealing with foreign vendors, and my local employer struggles to accept their official documents with just a signature and no "chop". That's actually how I found this thread, because I was trying to find a website that explains that not every country has this "chop" culture.



Anyway, my main question is --- it seems quite easy to get a "company stamp" --- I just googled it and it seems there are hundreds of places that will make a stamp for you. So, exactly how does the stamp hold so much value and importance? Isn't it just as easy to counterfeit as a signature? Couldn't I make a counterfeit stamp of my employers company and start "chopping" all my own documents and save the 15min trip to HR each time? [BTW --- I have no intention of doing this, it's just a hypothetical question to illustrate my point]. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[Mi Amigo]

^^^^ +1

I get why it's considered important in Singapore, but it's also rather an illogical concept from a security standpoint. When we had our chop made we just write down on a piece of paper the text and layout that we needed. There was no checking to see whether we were entitled to use those details - we could just as easily have written down Tesamek Hidings (Private) Limited (or a variation thereof) and the uncle in the shop would have probably still gone ahead and made the chop.

[jpatokal]

In places like Japan, where seals are very important, legally registered seals (jitsuin) are made by hand, which means it's possible to forensically differentiate an authentic stamp from a copy under magnification. They're thus arguably more secure than signatures. Companies and even most individuals will have different seals for different purposes, so the "I accept this couriered letter" seal is not the same as the "I just sold the company" seal.

Of course, the flip side is that anybody who can get their grubby hands on the real seal can seal anything they like in the owner's name, which why they're usually kept under lock and key...