# Opening a bank account

As a general guideline, all ministries will require Accountant-General’s Department (AGD) to either create a new imprest bank account or to update the purpose of an existing imprest bank account. For Statutory Boards, you do not need AGD approval if your project is self-funded. We recommend that agencies reach out to the Accountant-General’s Department (AGD) team to seek advice on whether approval is required if unclear.&#x20;

If you do not require AGD approval, please move on to the next page: [Set up with DBS](/phase-2-before-starting-out/setting-up-a-bank-account/set-up-with-dbs.md)

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## Opening an Imprest Bank Account

If your agency requires approval from AGD to create a new bank account, please refer to the following steps.

<details>

<summary>Step 1: Submit AGD application forms</summary>

You may write in an email to <lim_yu_may@agd.gov.sg>, <jillian_lim@agd.gov.sg>, <jessica_tan@agd.gov.sg>, <syah_raini_naida_hassan@agd.gov.sg> to obtain the relevant application forms.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Step 2: Get approval from AGD for above</summary>

Await approval from AGD once you have submitted the form.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Step 3: Get Director of Finance (DOF) to endorse the letter</summary>

Once you have approval from AGD, you may reach out to DBS to set-up your own bank account. DBS will provide you with a Letter to open a current account, that should be endorsed by your DOF.

</details>

Once above steps are completed, you may move on to the next page on setting up with DBS.

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## Using an existing Imprest Bank Account

If your agency requires approval from AGD to use an existing imprest bank account, please refer to the following steps.

<details>

<summary>Step 1: Update the purpose of the bank account</summary>

</details>

<details>

<summary>Step 2: Increase the imprest limit of the bank account (if required)</summary>

</details>

Once above steps are completed, you may move on to the next page on setting up with DBS.


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