The Registry of Trade Marks of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) issued Circular No. 4/2026 on 25 September, confirming that the 13th Edition, Version 2027 of the Nice Classification (NCL 13-2027) will enter into force on 1 January 2027. Singapore trade mark applications filed on or after 1 January 2027 will be classified in accordance with the new version, and the circular states for the avoidance of doubt that there will be no reclassification of goods and services for applications filed before that date. An electronic publication of NCL 13-2027 is already available on WIPO's Nice Classification Electronic Publication (NCLPUB), where the changes made to the current 13th Edition, Version 2026 (NCL 13-2026) can be viewed under the Modifications tab.
Once the new version enters into force, IPOS's online classification search database, which is used both in the electronic Form TM4 and on the Trade Mark Goods and Services Search page of the IPOS Digital Hub, will be updated to reflect the changes made to the current version.
The circular has a direct operational effect on Singapore trade mark applications at the end of this year and the beginning of next: the filing date determines the applicable version, applications filed in 2026 are handled under NCL 13-2026 and those filed from 1 January 2027 under NCL 13-2027, the same goods or services wording may fall into a different class or be reworded between the two versions, and specifications should therefore be drawn up under the version that matches the filing date; the circular itself covers only the classification of Singapore national applications and IPOS's online tools and does not address other situations.
J&C recommends that companies planning Singapore trade mark filings around the turn of the year first establish whether the filing date will fall before or after 1 January 2027 and draft the specification under the matching version; that goods and services intended for 2027 filings be checked in advance under the Modifications tab of NCLPUB for any transfer or rewording, with pre-approved descriptions then taken from the updated TM4 and Digital Hub database; and that applications already filed need no corrective action, as they will not be reclassified.
Source: file.go.gov.sg | www.ipos.gov.sg
