Hiring · Guide

How to Choose an Electrician in Singapore

Electrician shaking hands with a homeowner

Five checks: (1) verify the EMA licence on ELISE, (2) insist on an itemised quote, (3) read reviews for how problems were handled, (4) ask about response time and workmanship warranty, (5) walk away from cash-only pressure or a hidden licence. The licence check is the one you never skip.

1. Verify the licence

Everything starts here. In Singapore electrical work must be done by an EMA Licensed Electrical Worker, and you can confirm any electrician on the public ELISE register in about two minutes. Sight the licence card too, photo, name, IC number, licence number. If someone will not give a licence number, the decision is already made.

2. Get an itemised quote

A good quote breaks out the call-out, labour, materials and any making-good, so you can see what you are paying for and compare fairly. A single lump sum hides where the money goes and makes comparison impossible. Our call-out fees guide and price guide show what fair ranges look like.

3. Read reviews for substance

Do not just count stars. The useful signal is how the electrician behaved when something went wrong, came back, honoured a warranty, explained the fix without fuss. Reviews describing a problem handled well tell you more about who will turn up for you than a page of generic five-star praise.

4. Ask about response and warranty

For anything urgent, response time matters, ask what it realistically is for your kind of job. And ask whether the workmanship is warranted, and for how long. An electrician confident in their work will put a warranty behind it; one who hedges is telling you something.

5. Know the red flags

No licence number or one absent from ELISE; cash-only with no receipt; pressure to decide on the spot or skip verification; a quote with no breakdown; no warranty. None of these guarantees a bad job on their own, but any of them unresolved is a reason to slow down. The goal is not the cheapest number; it is a licensed electrician whose work you can stand on.

Want a licensed electrician you can verify?

Get help now

Choosing an electrician: questions

How do I choose a good electrician in Singapore?

Run five checks: confirm the licence on EMA’s ELISE register, get an itemised quote rather than a lump sum, read reviews for how problems were handled, ask about response time and workmanship warranty, and watch for red flags like cash-only pressure or refusal to show a licence. The licence check is non-negotiable; the rest sorts good from great.

How do I know if an electrician is licensed?

Ask for the licence and verify it on the ELISE register at elise.ema.gov.sg by name or licence number, then sight the physical licence card, which shows a photo, name, IC number and licence number. It takes about two minutes and is the single most important check you can make.

What questions should I ask an electrician before hiring?

Are you EMA-licensed, and what is your licence number? Can you itemise the quote, call-out, labour, materials, making-good? What is your response time for my kind of job? Do you warranty the workmanship? Clear answers to these tell you a lot; evasive ones tell you more.

Is the cheapest electrician quote the best?

Rarely. The same-sounding job can hide very different work, and a low quote often leaves out making-good, uses an unlicensed worker, or under-scopes the fix. Compare like-for-like on scope and licensing first, then price. A number far below the market range is a prompt to ask what has been left out.

What are the red flags when hiring an electrician?

No licence number, or one that does not appear on ELISE; cash-only with no receipt; pressure to skip verification or decide on the spot; a quote with no breakdown; and no warranty on the work. Any one of these is a reason to slow down and ask questions before committing.

Do reviews matter when choosing an electrician?

They do, but read them for substance. A five-star average is less telling than how the electrician responded when something went wrong, did they come back, honour a warranty, explain the fix? Reviews that describe problems handled well are worth more than a wall of generic praise.