Registration requirements

Academic qualification

Applicant must possess any one of the following qualifications:

1. A TCM graduation certificate of the 7-year part-time or 5-year full-time undergraduate course conducted by one of the following local TCM institutions:

   • Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

   • Institute of Chinese Medical Studies

2. A 5-year full-time bachelor's degree in TCM (conducted in Chinese) from one of the following TCM institutions from the People's Republic of China:

   • Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

   • Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

   • Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine

   • Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine

   • Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine

   • Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

   • Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Other requirements

Besides academic qualification, applicants with foreign TCM qualifications must also fulfil any of the following requirements on practice experience:

1. Singaporeans with recognised foreign TCM qualifications

   1. Singaporeans with no valid foreign Registration Certificate and Practising Certificate:

      • Complete at least 1 year of clinical attachment, including at least 403 hours of structured TCM Clinical Training at an approved local TCM educational institution¹ before taking the Singapore TCM-physicians Registration Examination (STRE)

   2. Singaporeans with valid foreign Registration Certificate and Practising Certificate:

      • Hold valid Registration Certificate and Practising Certificate from the country of practice and current certificate of good standing (within 3 months from date of issue)

      • Complete at least 1 year of TCM clinical attachment under conditional registration at an approved local TCM establishment² before taking the STRE for full registration

2. Foreigners and Permanent Residents with recognised TCM qualifications

   • Hold valid Registration Certificate and Practising Certificate from the country of practice and current certificate of good standing (within 3 months from date of issue)

   • Show proof of potential employment as a TCM physician to practise TCM full-time in Singapore

   • Have sufficient TCM clinical experience at approved TCM establishments in the country of practice accepted by the Board³ and hold the appointment of "Deputy Chief Physician" (副主任医师) or higher

   • Complete at least 3 years of TCM practice in Singapore under conditional registration at an approved local TCM establishment² before taking the STRE for conversion to full registration

3. Foreigners with outstanding skills and expertise

   • Have outstanding TCM skills and expertise acceptable to the TCM Practitioners Board

   • Hold valid Registration Certificate and Practising Certificate from country of practice and current certificate of good standing (within 3 months from date of issue)

   • Show proof of potential employment as TCM physician to practise TCM full-time in Singapore

   • Have at least 15 years of TCM clinical experience at recognised TCM institution(s) in the country of practice, with at least 5 years as "Chief Physician" (主任医师); or specific considerations by the Board on a case-by-case basis based on the particular outstanding skills and expertise

Notes

¹Approved local TCM educational institution refers to the following:

• Singapore College of TCM

• Institute of Chinese Medical Studies

• Thong Chai Medical Institution

• Nanyang Technological University

²Approved local TCM establishment refers to a local TCM clinic with at least 3 TCM physicians on full registration and one of whom shall be the TCM physician-in-charge responsible for the supervision of TCM physician on conditional registration as follows:

1. The TCM physician-in-charge must have qualifications approved by the Board and has at least 15 years of local TCM practice experience; and

2. The TCM physician-in-charge shall supervise only one TCM physician on conditional registration at any one time. 

³TCM establishments in the country of practice accepted by the Board: e.g. for China, it refers to 三级甲等医院.

Qualifying examination for registration

All applicants meeting the above requirements are required to take and pass the STRE conducted by the TCM Practitioners Board before they can be considered for  registration. STRE is conducted in Chinese language once a year.

For applicants on conditional registration, only 1 attempt to take the first available STRE is allowed after completing 3 years of full-time practice under supervision in Singapore, with no adverse report(s) or complaints. Request for extension of conditional registration to continue practice till commencement of STRE will not be granted.

While the passing of the STRE is a pre-requisite for registration, it is not a guarantee of successful registration. Application for registration will be considered by the Board if they meet all the criteria for registration under the TCM Practitioners Act and Regulations. A person may only be granted registration as a TCM practitioner if he is, in the opinion of the Board, a fit and proper person to be granted full or conditional registration as a TCM practitioner.

Changes to Singapore TCM-physicians Registration Examination (STRE)

Phase 1: 2025 and 2026

Modified Singapore TCM-physicians Registration Examination (Modified STRE)

In phase 1, the qualifying examination papers will be on the following 5 papers to be taken in one sitting.

A new supplementary examination is implemented in April 2025 to allow candidates to re-attempt only the specific paper(s) they did not pass in the 2024 examination.  

For those who fail in the modified STRE in 2025 and 2026, a similar opportunity will be available in March 2026 and 2027, respectively. Candidates who choose not to take, or do not pass the supplementary examination in March 2027 would be required to take all components of the Clinical Competency Assessment in August/September 2027.      

Phase 2: Starting from 2027

Clinical Competency Assessment (CCA) 

From 2027 onwards, the Board will conduct the Clinical Competency Assessment which would be the new “qualifying examination” replacing the STRE. This CCA will adopt the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) format, in addition to retaining the two written papers on Ethical Code and Guidelines, and Skill in Medical Documentation / Case Notes Recording.

Candidates who do not pass the CCA would also have the chance to re-attempt the supplementary examination in the CCA format. 

For more details and information on the changes to the STRE, you may refer to this circular [PDF, 211 KB].

Changes to Singapore Acupuncturists Registration Examination (SARE)