In this guide · 8 sections
- 01Do you need an HSA licence to sell supplements online?
- 02Ingredient rules: what supplements must not contain
- 03Label requirements for supplements sold in Singapore
- 04What your product page can and cannot claim
- 05Vitamin and mineral products may need an advertising permit
- 06AI-written product copy: why it is a risk here
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
No HSA licence or pre-market approval is needed for health supplements, but you must ensure they are safe, free of prohibited ingredients, properly labelled, and never claim to treat or prevent a disease. Vitamin and mineral-only products may also need an advertising permit.
Do you need an HSA licence to sell supplements online?
No. HSA says health supplements are not subject to approval and licensing for their import, manufacture and sale (HSA: Health supplements overview). Instead, the responsibility sits with you as a dealer, which covers importers, manufacturers, wholesalers and sellers. You must make sure products are not harmful and meet HSA's safety, quality and labelling guidelines before you supply them.
A company placing a supplement on the market may voluntarily notify HSA of the product. Either way, HSA expects you to hold supporting information on file and produce it when asked.
If you also sell medicines or medical devices, read our guide to pharmacies selling health products online, because those categories do need licences.
Ingredient rules: what supplements must not contain
HSA lists what an imported or sold health supplement must not contain. In short:
- Ingredients controlled under the Poisons Act and Misuse of Drugs Act, and those on the ASEAN negative list.
- Medicinal ingredients such as steroids, or actives with pharmacological properties used to treat or prevent disease.
- Active substances that are not declared on the label.
- Ingredients from human parts, or ingredients that can carry animal-transmissible diseases.
- Endangered species ingredients, unless a CITES import permit from NParks is obtained.
HSA also sets limits for toxic heavy metals (for example lead 10 ppm and mercury 0.5 ppm) and microbial counts, and maximum daily doses for vitamins and minerals for the general adult population. A few examples from HSA's tables:
| Nutrient | HSA maximum daily limit (adults) |
|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 1,000 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0.025 mg (1,000 IU) |
| Vitamin A (retinol) | 1.5 mg (5,000 IU) |
| Zinc | 15 mg |
| Iron | 15 mg (30 mg may be considered for pregnancy multivitamins) |
| Calcium | 1,200 mg |
This matters most when you import from overseas brands. A popular US or Australian product at 5,000 IU of vitamin D per capsule is above the Singapore limit for the general adult population. Ask your supplier for a certificate of analysis and compare the label against HSA's tables before you list it.
Label requirements for supplements sold in Singapore
HSA says the label must be prominent, adequate and truthful in English. Online, customers cannot hold the bottle, so show clear photos of the full label as well as typing the key details into the product page.
HSA label contents
If you import and resell, the local importer on the label is usually you. If a supplier's label lacks this, add a compliant sticker before sale.
What your product page can and cannot claim
This is where most online sellers slip. HSA treats anything on the label, ads, point-of-sale material and brochures as a claim, and in practice your product page, social posts and marketplace listing work the same way. Supplements may claim to support or maintain health or normal body functions. They must never be promoted for a medicinal purpose, including implied treatment or prevention of a disease (HSA: Health supplement claims).
Allowed (general or specific health claims)
- Supports good health and growth
- Supports the immune system
- Helps maintain healthy joints and joint mobility
- Relieves general tiredness or weakness
- Helps manage mild discomfort associated with menopause
Not allowed
- Lowers cholesterol or blood pressure
- Helps with diabetes, arthritis, eczema or hair loss
- Prevents colds and flu
- Improves memory, IQ or exam performance
- Anti-ageing, hormone balancing or blood sugar control
- Clinically proven, 100% safe, no side effects
HSA's general principles add more traps: avoid claims in slogans and headlines, do not use healthcare professionals' endorsements, do not suggest people need not see a doctor, do not use "natural" to imply safety, and avoid jargon such as "pharmaceutical grade". Every claim must be backed by good-quality evidence that you keep on file. Ads must also follow the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice.
Customer reviews count too. HSA allows endorsements from ordinary customers only if they are genuine, reflect typical experience, and you can prove who gave them. Remove reviews that claim the product cured a disease.
Vitamin and mineral products may need an advertising permit
HSA says advertisements for health supplements do not need a permit, except products classified as quasi-medicinal, such as products containing only vitamins and minerals. A simple multivitamin, vitamin C or zinc product may fall into that category, and then advertising and sales promotions need an HSA permit.
Use HSA's classification tool and its quasi-medicinal classification flowchart before you run ads or promotions for a vitamin-only or mineral-only product. If in doubt, ask HSA in writing and keep the reply.
AI-written product copy: why it is a risk here
AI writing tools are trained on global marketing copy, and much of it uses claims that are prohibited in Singapore: "boosts immunity against colds", "clinically proven", "supports healthy blood sugar", "anti-ageing". If you paste a supplier description into an AI tool and publish the result, you can end up with several prohibited claims on one page. AI tools also invent studies and numbers, as our guide on AI hallucinations as a business risk explains.
Give the AI the rules
Paste HSA's allowed claim examples and the prohibited list into your prompt, and tell it to use only support or maintain wording.
Remove disease words
Search the draft for disease names, "cure", "treat", "prevent", "clinically", "proven", "safe", "anti-ageing", "memory", "hormone" and "blood sugar".
Check every number
Doses, percentages and study results must match the label and evidence you hold. Delete any figure you cannot source.
Review the whole funnel
Check meta descriptions, image alt text, ad headlines, email campaigns and marketplace listings, not only the product page.
Keep a record
Save the evidence for each claim and the date the copy was reviewed, so you can answer HSA if asked.
For the basics of setting up the store itself, see what a Shopify store costs in Singapore, and for other permits check our list of licences to sell online in Singapore.
Do it yourself or get help?
The regulatory work is yours: checking ingredients and doses, holding evidence, labelling and deciding whether a product is quasi-medicinal. HSA's pages and classification tool are the place to start, and a regulatory consultant is worth it for your own formulations.
The store side is where we help. Our Shopify Store package (S$1,890) sets up product templates with label photos, ingredient tables and a claims-safe structure, and we can review existing product copy against the HSA lists above. For a brand site without a shop, our Business Website (S$1,490) is the starting point. This page is general information, not regulatory or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
No. HSA says health supplements are not subject to approval or licensing for import, manufacture or sale. The dealer is responsible for ensuring products are safe, contain no prohibited or medicinal ingredients, stay within HSA limits, are properly labelled and make only permitted claims. Companies may voluntarily notify HSA of their products and must keep supporting evidence.
You can claim that a supplement supports or maintains health, well-being or a normal body function, such as supporting the immune system or maintaining healthy joints. You cannot claim it treats or prevents any disease or disorder, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis, colds or eczema. Claims must be truthful and backed by evidence you keep on file.
No. HSA says terms such as clinically proven or proven by clinical trials should be avoided for health supplements, because they imply treatment of a medical condition or medicine-level testing. HSA also does not allow claims such as 100 percent safe or no side effects, or suggestions that a product is safe because it is natural.
Yes, but you take on the dealer's responsibility. Check each product's ingredients against HSA's prohibited list and its vitamin and mineral limits, ask the supplier for a certificate of analysis, make sure the label has the required details including a local importer, and rewrite the brand's marketing copy to remove claims that are not allowed in Singapore.
Most health supplement advertisements do not need a permit. The exception is products HSA classifies as quasi-medicinal, such as those containing only vitamins and minerals. Advertising and sales promotions for those need an HSA permit. Use HSA's classification tool and quasi-medicinal flowchart to check before running ads or promotions.