Tourist Guide Licence Renewal 2026

Singapore's tourist-guide licence renewal framework uses LEARN + DO, a continuing-development model introduced by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for licensed tourist guides. A guide must complete learning activities and guiding assignments during each licence year, alongside other renewal conditions that may apply to the guide's status (STB Tourist Guide Licence, accessed 2 September 2026).

Who needs a tourist-guide licence

Under the Singapore Tourism Board Act 1963, a person who provides in-person guiding services to tourists for remuneration requires a valid tourist-guide licence. STB distinguishes guiding services from merely giving directions: guiding involves accompanying a tourist and providing information, descriptions or explanations about a place or point of interest in Singapore. The licensing question therefore turns on the activity and remuneration, not on whether the person calls the service a tour, walk or experience (STB Tourist Guide Licence, accessed 2 September 2026; STB Tourist Guide application guide, accessed 2 September 2026).

LEARN + DO renewal requirements

STB states that tourist guides renew their licences every three years, subject to completing 2 LEARN + 2 DO activities in every licence year. LEARN activities are continuing-learning activities, while DO activities apply learning through guiding work; the guide's STB dashboard is used to manage the requirements and the guidebook gives the applicable activity rules. Renewal also requires self-employed guides to fulfil MediSave contributions, guides aged 65 or above to submit a medical report, and work-pass holders to upload a valid work-pass document (STB Tourist Guide Licence, accessed 2 September 2026; STB LEARN + DO Guidebook, accessed 2 September 2026).

Transition from the previous framework

The transition is staged according to the licence-expiry period. The STB guidebook says licences expiring between March and August 2026 may use either the previous 21 professional-development-credit-hour requirement or 1 LEARN + 1 DO. Expiries from September to November 2026 require 1 LEARN + 1 DO; expiries from December 2026 to August 2027 require 2 LEARN + 2 DO; later periods progressively increase until the full 2 LEARN + 2 DO per licence year is reached from December 2028 onward (STB LEARN + DO Guidebook, accessed 2 September 2026). The applicable requirement is therefore determined by the relevant transition period and licence year, not by treating every 2026 renewal as identical.

Renewal and licensing boundaries

Tourist guides can start the renewal process up to six months before licence expiry, but the LEARN + DO activities are tracked by licence year. Renewal is made through STB's Travel Agents and Tourist Guides Licensing System (TRUST), and a licence that is not renewed by its expiry date automatically expires according to STB's application guidance (STB Tourist Guide Licence, accessed 2 September 2026; STB Tourist Guide application guide, accessed 2 September 2026). LEARN + DO is a renewal and capability framework; completing an activity does not itself grant a licence to an unlicensed person or remove the underlying licensing requirement.