If you employ a helper in Singapore, the FDW eService is where most of your dealings with the Ministry of Manpower happen. Applying for her Work Permit, renewing it, cancelling it, checking her six-monthly medical examination and listing family members for the levy concession all run through the same online service, logged in with your Singpass.

Most employers only open it a few times a year, which is exactly why it feels unfamiliar each time. The menus are not difficult, but it helps to know what the service covers, what sits in a different MOM eService, and which small errors stop a transaction going through.

We use these systems every working day on behalf of the families we place helpers with, and the same handful of questions come up again and again. This guide answers them in one place.

Below we explain who can log in, what you can do, how to log in, the most common tasks in plain steps, the errors we see most often and when it makes sense to let your agency handle it. Screenshots go out of date quickly, so we describe each step in words. MOM may rename menus, so follow the on-screen labels if they differ.

What the FDW eService is

MOM’s official name for it is Work Permit transactions for domestic helpers and confinement nannies (FDW eService). It is MOM’s online service for employers and employment agencies to manage a helper’s Work Permit. You will still see “FDW”, for foreign domestic worker, in its name, even though MOM’s guidance now usually says migrant domestic worker, or MDW. Both mean the same thing.

The service is available 24 hours a day, except for scheduled maintenance every Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm. It works on phones, tablets and computers, and MOM lists Chrome 95, Firefox 93 or Safari 14 and above, with JavaScript enabled, as supported browsers.

Who can log in to the MOM FDW eService

Employers log in with their own Singpass. MOM is explicit that if you are not the owner of the Singpass, you must not log in and carry out transactions on the employer’s behalf.
An approved family member can act for you. Under MOM’s rules on notifying MOM of changes, the family member applies in the eService with a consent form signed by both of you, and approval takes up to 3 working days. Eligible relatives are a spouse, sibling, child, grandchild, niece or nephew, and their spouses. Each employer can appoint one family member, and each family member can act for up to two employers.
Employment agencies can transact for you only after you authorise them through the eService.
Employers without Singpass can use MOM’s paper application forms instead for a Work Permit application.

What you can do in the eService

MOM lists these transactions, with rough times to complete each one:

Apply for a Work Permit (about 10 minutes).
Ask for a Work Permit to be issued (about 3 minutes).
Renew a Work Permit (about 5 minutes).
Cancel a Work Permit (about 2 minutes).
Extend an in-principle approval, get a short Work Permit extension, or reinstate a Work Permit (about 2 minutes each).
Reprint your helper’s 6ME notification letter and check her 6ME status (about 1 minute).

The same login also lets you update your helper’s name, date of birth, marital status and passport details, update your own email address and mobile number, tell MOM about a salary reduction after getting her written consent, record the number of rest days she takes, and add household members for the levy concession. Before hiring, you can check a prospective helper’s employment history. For a direct transfer, the new employer requests consent and the current employer approves it here too.

What lives elsewhere

Two things are not in the eService. Levy bills, GIRO and levy waivers are handled in MOM’s Check and pay foreign worker levy eService. Checking the status of her Work Permit card, checking Settling-in Programme requirements and replacing a lost card are done in WP Online.

How to log in, step by step

Go to the eService page on the MOM website and choose to log in.
Select the option for employers, not the employment agency route.
Authenticate with your Singpass app or your Singpass login.
From your dashboard, select your helper, or start a new application if you are hiring.
Choose the transaction you need and follow the prompts. Pay any fee by Visa, Mastercard or PayNow.

Common eService tasks

Applying for a new Work Permit

First-time employers must complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme at least 2 working days before applying. MOM’s Work Permit application page lists a $35 application fee and a $35 issuance fee, with processing of about 1 week online. Our step by step work permit guide covers the full sequence.

Renewing a Work Permit

MOM sends a renewal letter about 8 weeks before the permit expires. Renewal costs $35, and you will need a new security bond and extended or new insurance. According to MOM’s renewal page, the renewed permit is usually valid for 2 years but cannot run past her 60th birthday. If you are unsure whether to renew at all, read our article on renewal or replacement.

Adding a household member for the levy concession

The levy concession is applied automatically once the conditions are met and the required steps are done. For most qualifying people, such as an elderly parent or a child who is not your own, that step is listing them as a household member in the eService; for a person with disabilities you also need a recommendation letter from AIC. If you are the parent of a qualifying young child, MOM applies the concession from the child’s birth. Menu labels change, so look for the household details section of your profile. The lower rate shows up within the next 2 levy bills and is backdated to when the steps were completed. Our guide to the maid levy and concessions explains who qualifies.

Checking the 6ME

Her previous 6ME date, the next due date and a reprintable form are all in the eService, along with whether the clinic has submitted her results. Missing the deadline puts her Work Permit at risk, so this is worth checking every few months.

Cancelling a Work Permit

Cancel within 1 week after her last day of work, after her salary and any outstanding employment issues are settled and her air ticket home is bought, with departure within 2 weeks of the cancellation. If she is still in Singapore, print the Special Pass and give it to her. MOM’s cancellation page sets out the steps. If she would like to keep working here, consider a transfer before cancelling.

Common errors and how to fix them

The page will not load or a button does nothing. Check your browser version and that JavaScript is enabled, and try again outside Wednesday 7pm to 10pm.
A PayNow QR code has expired. The amount on the code is fixed and cannot be edited. If it expires, MOM asks you to wait 30 minutes before generating a new one.
Your agency says it cannot see your case. You need to authorise the agency in the eService first.
A family member cannot transact for you. They need an approved request to act on your behalf. Logging in with your Singpass is not allowed.
The levy concession has not appeared. Check the household member has been added (plus the AIC letter for a person with disabilities), allow 2 bills, then use MOM’s checkers at go.gov.sg/check-lc-child or go.gov.sg/check-lc-elderly-pwd.
You have moved house. A change of address must be reported within 2 weeks. Singapore citizens and PRs do this through ICA rather than the eService.
You paid the wrong amount or paid twice. MOM does not refund admin fees, and refunds are given only for extra payments caused by MOM’s error, so double check before paying.

When to ask your agency

Plenty of employers handle renewals and cancellations themselves without trouble. It is worth involving your agency when the transaction depends on other things being right first: a transfer that needs consent, bond, insurance and timing to line up, a new application that depends on documents from her home country, or a situation you have not met before, such as a helper going missing. At Femme5 we handle these regularly for full-time helper placements, once you have authorised us in the eService.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse log in to the eService for me?

Not with your Singpass. MOM does not allow anyone other than the Singpass owner to log in and transact. Your spouse, or another eligible relative, can apply to act on your behalf with a consent form signed by both of you. Approval takes up to 3 working days.

Can I pay the maid levy in the eService?

Levy bills, GIRO applications and levy waivers are handled in MOM’s separate Check and pay foreign worker levy eService. Bills can be viewed from the 3rd working day of each month and are due on the 17th of the following month. Approved family members can also carry out levy transactions for you.

Is the eService available at night and on weekends?

Yes. MOM states it is available 24 hours a day. The exception is scheduled maintenance every Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm, when it is unavailable.

Where do I check my helper’s Work Permit card status?

Card status, delivery and replacement cards are handled in WP Online, not the eService. WP Online is also where you check her Settling-in Programme requirements.

Conclusion

The FDW eService is the single place for nearly everything to do with your helper’s Work Permit: applying, issuing, renewing and cancelling, plus her 6ME status and your household details for the levy concession. Levy payments and card matters sit in separate MOM services. Log in with your own Singpass, appoint a family member properly if someone else will help, and authorise your agency when you want them to act.

Most problems come from small things, such as an outdated browser, an expired QR code or a missing authorisation, rather than the rules themselves. Rules and menus do change, so treat this guide as a starting point and confirm current requirements on the MOM website before acting.

If you would like help with a renewal, a transfer or a first application, our consultants are happy to help. You can get in touch with the Femme5 team to discuss what you need, read more about how we work with employers, or explore what a good placement looks like. A short conversation now tends to prevent a longer one later.

The Femme5 Team
Maid placement specialists, Femme5 Maid Agency
Our consultants work with Singaporean and expatriate families on helper matching, contracts and MOM compliance, and we verify the regulatory guidance in our articles directly against the Ministry of Manpower’s published requirements.

Femme5 Placement Team

Written by the placement specialists at Femme5 Agency Pte Ltd (MOM Licence 19C9763), who match Singapore families with domestic helpers every day.

FDW eService Guide: What Employers Can Do Online With MOM