SG Culture Pass

The SG Culture Pass is a Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) initiative designed to help Singapore Citizens discover and support local arts and heritage. Singapore Citizens aged 18 and above in 2025 received S$100 in credits from 1 September 2025. Credits can be used for eligible local arts, heritage and film programmes, plus approved physical Singapore Literature books, through authorised ticketing partners or participating bookstores; the scheme is a targeted citizen credit programme, not a general cash payout or a promise that every event is eligible (MCCY, updated 29 June 2026 and rechecked 4 October 2026; NAC, accessed 4 October 2026; MCCY, eligibility criteria, correct as at 24 June 2026; MCCY, 6 March 2026).

How the credits work

Eligible users access credits at the SG Culture Pass website by verifying their profile with Singpass. The National Arts Council (NAC) states that the S$100 credits are valid from 1 September 2025 to 31 December 2028. Unused credits cannot be transferred to a family member, but a holder may use their balance to buy tickets or books for friends and family; this is a permitted purchase, not a transfer of the credit itself. People without a mobile device can seek help from family or visit a ServiceSG Centre with identification and a valid Singpass account (NAC, accessed 4 October 2026; MCCY, 13 January 2026; SG Culture Pass official FAQ, accessed 4 October 2026). Current event listings, participating ticketing partners and redemption procedures should be checked on the official site because programme availability and operating details can change.

MCCY's eligibility criteria, correct as at 24 June 2026, require programmes to be open to the public and ticketed through an authorised SG Culture Pass partner. Arts and heritage programmes must involve Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents in key creative or production roles; the criteria generally expect at least about half of the relevant team to be local. From 7 November 2025, eligible local film screenings were added: the film must be directed, produced or written by a Citizen or Permanent Resident, or adapted from Singapore intellectual property; qualifying screenings are feature-length, usually at least 70 minutes. A Singapore venue alone does not make an event eligible (MCCY, SG Culture Pass eligibility criteria, correct as at 24 June 2026; MCCY, redemption-rates response, 14 January 2026).

Singapore Literature books

From 1 March 2026, the scheme expanded to include eligible physical Singapore Literature (Sing Lit) books at participating bookstores. MCCY describes eligible works as fiction, poetry, plays, and literary short essays in English, Chinese, Malay, or Tamil, authored by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident at the point of publication. The published criteria require physical hard-copy works and an ISBN; e-books and digital works are excluded. Cookbooks are not currently included: the criteria exclude cookbooks and other instructional guides, consistent with MCCY's 6 August 2026 statement that it does not intend to include culinary publications at the current stage, though it will review the scope in future. The Sing Lit expansion supports literary works within the existing Culture Pass rather than creating a separate annual Literary Pass (MCCY, 6 March 2026; MCCY, eligibility criteria, correct as at 24 June 2026; MCCY, 6 August 2026).

Scam and impersonation boundary

MCCY says eligible Citizens can expect an SMS from a gov.sg sender ID with information about SG Culture Pass, but SG Culture Pass will never send an SMS asking for personal information or banking details to claim credits. Access credits by visiting the official SG Culture Pass website and verifying the account through Singpass, rather than supplying details in response to an unsolicited message. MCCY also warns that government officials will never ask people to transfer money or disclose bank log-in details over a phone call. Check suspicious messages or calls with the ScamShield app or the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 (MCCY, SG Culture Pass, page last updated 29 June 2026 and rechecked 4 October 2026; SG Culture Pass official FAQ, accessed 4 October 2026).