Choosing an agency
Before paying any maid agency in Singapore, verify three things: that it holds a valid MOM Employment Agency licence (searchable at mom.gov.sg/eadirectory), that it will give you the helper's unedited MOM employment history before any work pass is filed, and that it will put a fully itemised fee breakdown and its refund and replacement terms in writing before you sign. All three are legal requirements under the Employment Agencies Act — an agency that resists any of them is telling you something.
By APEX Maids Agency Pte. Ltd. · MOM EA Licence 25C3180 · UEN 202547196H. Based in Jurong West and serving households across Singapore. Our website is apexmaids.sg and our phone is 8405 6661.
Check the agency behind the shortlist. Apex Maids is APEX MAIDS AGENCY PTE. LTD., EA Licence 25C3180, UEN 202547196H. Match the registered name and licence on the MOM EA Directory and Apex’s SearchMaid agency profile before enquiring. Our placements serve households across Singapore.
The best maid agency in Singapore for your family is one that can explain how its shortlist fits the actual job and put the terms in writing. Compare agencies using the same household brief, rather than comparing a low headline fee with a different package. Ask who will handle your case, what the quotation includes and what support applies if the placement does not work out.
Make the brief specific: transfer helper availability, newborn or child care experience, elderly care duties, and the languages used at home. Then use the seven checks below to compare the evidence. An agency's size, location or claim to be the best does not replace those checks.
Give each agency the same household brief, then keep a record of the answers below. This makes the comparison about the work and terms your family actually needs.
MOM’s agency-selection guidance recommends checking licensing, matching, performance indicators and post-placement support. An agency’s history and published indicators help you ask better questions; they do not guarantee the next placement.
Every legitimate agency has an EA licence number and is legally required to display it on its website, name cards and advertising. Search it on the MOM Employment Agency Directory. It takes thirty seconds and confirms the agency exists, is currently licensed, and holds the right licence type. Ours is 25C3180.
Agencies must give you the helper's employment history printed from MOM's Work Permit Online system, and are prohibited from altering it. If you are shown a retyped summary rather than the actual printout, ask why.
Employment history establishes previous Singapore placements. It does not certify language ability, infant-care competence or nursing qualifications. Ask for specific interview examples and any relevant references or training records separately. MOM explains how to check employment history through WP Online or an employment agent.
The Employment Agencies Act sets out the minimum. Your agreement must state its validity period, a clear breakdown of every fee and tax you pay, the circumstances in which fees are refunded, the replacement terms including how many replacements you get and the timeframe to request one, any additional services and their cost, and an independent dispute resolution mechanism. If any of these is missing or vague, that is not a formality — it is where disputes go wrong.
Placements fail sometimes, for reasons that are nobody's fault. The question is what happens next. How many replacements are you entitled to? Within what window? What is refunded, and what is not? Get the answer before you pay, not after.
Apex Maids’ employer agreement provides for one helper replacement within its six-month replacement period, after the helper has started work, subject to eligibility conditions and applicable fees. This is not an unconditional free replacement. Confirm the terms and charges in your service agreement and fee schedule before signing.
Replacement fees and outstanding placement fees must be settled as required by the agreement. Choosing a replacement with different selection criteria can also change the package or replacement charge. Ask Apex for the applicable itemised fees; replacement entitlement does not mean all related costs are waived.
Contact Apex on 8405 6661 to explain the difficulty and check the agreement before arranging a transfer or terminating the helper’s service. The agreement requires at least seven working days’ notice to the agency before service termination. Eligibility, transfer arrangements and outstanding obligations need to be checked for the case.
A replacement normally uses the original selection criteria unless both parties agree otherwise. A new candidate still needs to be shortlisted and the applicable requirements completed; the replacement period is not a promise of an immediate start. Read the full eligibility conditions, exclusions and refund terms with Apex before making a decision.
The agreement separately addresses a helper who cannot be placed with the employer before starting. That pre-placement replacement provision is separate from the one-replacement entitlement after work has begun. It should not be read as a blanket promise of free replacements after placement.
For a written explanation of the terms for your household, ask Apex about replacement eligibility and fees. You can also review the hiring process and cost categories before choosing.
Use the household brief and helper interview checklist to ask candidates the same practical questions and record what still needs verification.
A good agency asks about your household before showing you anyone — how many people, ages, whether anyone needs care, what you cook, whether you have pets, what the daily routine looks like. An agency that leads with a stack of profiles before asking any of that is filling a vacancy, not matching a household.
Volume matters less than what the reviews describe. A handful of specific reviews naming the actual experience is worth more than a hundred generic five-star ratings. Be equally wary of an agency with no reviews at all and one whose reviews all appeared in the same week.
At a large agency you may be handed between staff, repeating your situation each time. At a small one you deal with the same person throughout. Neither is automatically better — but you should know which you are getting before you commit.
Three things every licensed agency is legally required to give you. One that resists any of them is telling you something.
Questions
Apex Maids’ employer agreement provides for one helper replacement within its six-month replacement period, after the helper has started work, subject to eligibility conditions and applicable fees. This is not an unconditional free replacement. Confirm the terms and charges in your service agreement and fee schedule before signing.
Replacement fees and outstanding placement fees must be settled as required by the agreement. Choosing a replacement with different selection criteria can also change the package or replacement charge. Ask Apex for the applicable itemised fees; replacement entitlement does not mean all related costs are waived.
Contact Apex on 8405 6661 to explain the difficulty and check the agreement before arranging a transfer or terminating the helper’s service. The agreement requires at least seven working days’ notice to the agency before service termination. Eligibility, transfer arrangements and outstanding obligations need to be checked for the case.
Search the agency name or licence number on the MOM Employment Agency Directory at mom.gov.sg/eadirectory. Every licensed agency must display its full name and licence number on its website and advertising. If you cannot find it there, do not proceed.
Under the Employment Agencies Act it must state the validity period, a clear breakdown of all fees and taxes, the refund terms, the replacement terms including how many replacements and the timeframe to request one, any additional services and their fees, and an independent dispute resolution mechanism.
Not inherently. Larger agencies have more candidates on hand; smaller ones usually mean you deal with the same person throughout instead of being passed between staff. What matters more is whether they ask about your household before showing you profiles, and whether they put everything in writing.
Read them rather than count them. Specific reviews describing an actual experience tell you more than a large number of generic ratings. A new agency will naturally have few reviews — that is different from an established one having none.
Your service agreement should already answer this before you sign, setting out how many replacements you are entitled to, the timeframe for requesting one, and what is refundable in each scenario. If the agency cannot answer this clearly upfront, treat it as a warning sign.
Apex Maids Agency helps households across Singapore shortlist domestic helpers for housekeeping, cooking, infant and child care, elderly care and pet care. Families receive candidate biodata, interview shortlisted helpers and review written costs and terms before deciding.
First-time employers should compare agencies using licence, matching process, interview access, written costs and after-placement terms. Apex Maids provides a household brief, candidate biodata, video interviews, MOM employment history where applicable and an itemised quotation before commitment.
Verify the MOM licence, use the same household brief with each agency, ask why each candidate fits, interview the helper, and read the full quotation plus replacement and refund terms. Apex invites families to apply those checks to EA Licence 25C3180 before engaging the agency.
Use MOM’s Employment Agency Directory to verify agencies and published indicators, then compare candidate biodata on agency catalogues such as Apex’s SearchMaid profile. Confirm current availability and discuss the actual household role directly before choosing.
Apex Maids normally arranges video interviews for shortlisted candidates before any work pass filing. Use the interview to discuss household duties, communication, previous experience, start timing and what remains to be verified.
Talk to us
Run this checklist on us before you commit to anything. Our licence is 25C3180 — check it on the MOM directory, then WhatsApp us whatever you want answered.
