How to Search the MUIS Halal Database (and Why Imports Are Not In It)

A box of Malaysian biscuits with a JAKIM logo on a Singapore supermarket shelf will never appear in the MUIS halal database. Neither will Indonesian noodles, Australian lamb or Korean snacks, however well certified they are. That is not a gap in the database. It is the design.

MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) certifies two things: eating establishments in Singapore, and products made in Singapore. Everything imported is covered by a different mechanism, and shoppers who assume one search answers every question get a lot of false negatives. This guide explains both halves.

MUIS is a legal authority, not just a certifier

Under Singapore’s Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA), MUIS alone has the legal power to issue halal certificates in Singapore. Section 88A(5) makes it an offence to issue a halal certificate, or to use a specified halal certification mark, without MUIS approval. The penalty is a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 12 months in prison, or both.

Certification itself is voluntary. A restaurant does not have to be certified. But if it displays the MUIS mark, or says it is halal-certified, that claim is backed by law in a way that a UK “we use halal meat” sign is not. That is why the MUIS register is worth checking: being on it means something specific.

Step 1: Work out which register you need

MUIS keeps two separate searches.

You want to check	Which search	Where
Restaurant, café, hawker stall, caterer, food court stall, central kitchen	Halal-certified eating establishments and food preparation areas	MUIS halal consumer page, establishments search
A packaged product manufactured in Singapore	Halal-certified products	halal.muis.gov.sg products search
A packaged product made outside Singapore	Neither — see Step 4	MUIS list of recognised foreign certification bodies

Picking the wrong one is the commonest mistake. A Singapore-made sauce will not show up in the establishments search, and a restaurant will not show up in the products search.

Step 2: Search the establishment by name

Open the establishments search from MUIS’s halal consumer page and type the name of the outlet.

Three things to know when reading the result:

• Certification is per premises. A chain with twenty branches may have nineteen certified and one not. Search for the branch you are in, not the brand.
• Scope matters. A food court can be certified as a whole, or individual stalls can be certified while the court is not. The entry tells you which.
• No result means not certified, or not certified under that name. Try the company’s registered name if the trading name draws a blank, then treat it as uncertified.

Our Koufu halal guide is a worked example of what a mixed result looks like for a food-court operator.

Step 3: Search a Singapore-made product

For a packaged product, go to the separate products search at halal.muis.gov.sg. Type the product or brand name.

If the pack says it was manufactured in Singapore and the product is not there, it is not MUIS-certified. If the pack says it was manufactured anywhere else, the absence tells you nothing, because MUIS does not certify overseas production. Move to Step 4.

Step 4: For imports, check the foreign certifier against MUIS’s recognised list

MUIS states plainly that it does not certify food products manufactured overseas. Imported products rely on foreign halal certification bodies that MUIS recognises.

Recognition is not casual. A foreign body applies to MUIS, is assessed against the Singapore MUIS Halal Standards, and receives a recognition certificate valid for three years, with annual reporting required to keep it. MUIS publishes the recognised bodies and their certification marks on its website. The framework was tightened after MUIS’s 2020 investigation into its own recognition procedures, and an enhanced recognition framework took effect from 1 October 2025.

So for an imported product the check is:

1. Find the halal mark on the pack and identify the certifier.
2. Open MUIS’s list of recognised foreign halal certification bodies.
3. Confirm the certifier, and the mark, appear on it.

A recognised foreign certificate has the same legal effect in Singapore as a MUIS certificate, under AMLA section 88AA. An unrecognised one does not, regardless of how respected the body is at home. JAKIM’s own 21 August 2026 list of foreign bodies, which names MUIS as Singapore’s halal authority, works the same way in the other direction for Malaysian shoppers; our guide to JAKIM-recognised foreign bodies explains that side.

Three traps in the MUIS system

“Muslim-owned” is not certified. Many stalls display “Muslim-owned” signs. The sign is accurate but it is not a MUIS certificate, and the stall will not appear in the register.

“No pork, no lard” is not certified. This is a self-declaration. Several chains used it before obtaining certification. Paris Baguette Singapore is a recent example of a chain that moved from that wording to full MUIS certification across all outlets; others still use the wording and are not certified.

The certificate can lapse between your visits. MUIS certificates have expiry dates and can be suspended. A search result from last year is not evidence for today. Search again.

Summary

Question	Answer
Who can certify halal in Singapore?	Only MUIS, under AMLA; misuse of the mark is a criminal offence
Where do I check a restaurant or stall?	MUIS establishments search; certification is per premises
Where do I check a Singapore-made product?	halal.muis.gov.sg products search
Where do I check an imported product?	Not in MUIS’s database; check the foreign certifier against MUIS’s recognised list
How long does foreign recognition last?	Three years, with annual reporting
Does “Muslim-owned” or “no pork no lard” mean certified?	No

Look up any E-code from an imported product’s label in the E-codes database.

To scan a full ingredient list for halal status in seconds, use the ingredient scanner.

For the general three-check method that works in any country, see how to identify halal products; for the Singapore snack aisle specifically, our Singapore halal snacks guide.

How we reached this guide

We checked the following sources before publishing:

• MUIS — Halal: About (last updated 21 February 2025): sole legal power under AMLA; sections 88A(1) and 88A(5); certification is voluntary.
• MUIS — Halal: For consumers: links to the search for halal-certified eating establishments and food preparation areas, and the separate products search.
• MUIS — Foreign Halal Certification Bodies (page last updated 7 April 2026): “MUIS does not certify food products manufactured overseas”; recognition certificate valid for three years; annual reporting required to maintain recognition; recognised bodies and marks published on the MUIS website.
• MUIS media releases on the 2020 investigation into recognition procedures and the enhanced recognition framework effective 1 October 2025.
• AMLA section 88AA: a certificate from a recognised foreign body has the same effect and validity as a MUIS certificate.
• JAKIM — The Recognized Foreign Halal Certification Bodies & Authorities, effective 21 August 2026: names MUIS as Singapore’s halal authority.

No product verdict is given in this guide. Where a specific brand is mentioned, its verdict lives on its own page.