Make the invitation your working checklist
Open the HDB Flat Portal through HDB’s website and read the invitation package for your application. Put the appointment date, time, location, requested documents and any action deadline in one note. Keep the flat list with that note so you are preparing for the correct exercise and flat type.
Use three columns: requirement in the invitation; person it concerns; action still needed. For example, a fictional couple might record one identity check as ready and one requested relationship document as unresolved. This is a way to organise preparation, not an official document list.
Check documents person by person
HDB’s buying guide identifies identity and relationship documents, with other records depending on the household. Do not assume every example applies to you, or that an example replaces a document requested in your invitation. Compare the package with the people and circumstances in your actual application.
For each requested item, check whose record it is, whether the details are correct and how HDB asks you to provide it. Resolve a missing or inconsistent record with HDB before the appointment. Do not upload identity records to Where To BTO or send them to someone offering unofficial appointment help.
Confirm attendance before the day
HDB’s booking instructions require personal attendance. Check the arrangements for your own application and allow time to reach the location stated in the invitation. Keep the official notice accessible rather than relying on a forwarded screenshot of another household’s appointment.
If you cannot attend, contact HDB and read its current instructions before making arrangements. This guide does not verify a representative’s paperwork or provide an authorisation form. Do not assume that sending someone else, changing the date or missing the appointment is automatically accepted.
Take a shortlist that can change
Recheck the official flat list and available choices near your appointment. Write down a few acceptable alternatives and the reasons you would reject a unit, such as a price beyond your confirmed funding. Discuss those limits with your co-applicant before a choice becomes urgent.
Use a simple record: unit reference; actual listed price; acceptable trade-off; question still open. A project starting price is not the price of every unit. Where To BTO can help revisit project-level location trade-offs, but it does not hold a unit or confirm live availability.
Prepare for the booking payment, then the later milestones
An option fee is due when booking and forms part of the downpayment. Check HDB’s current amount for the flat type and the payment instructions for your appointment. Confirm that you can make that payment using the required method; a combined cash-and-CPF balance does not establish this.
Keep separate lines for booking, signing the Agreement for Lease and collecting keys. The later payments and their dates depend on your own financing and applicable arrangements. Use the existing payment-timeline guide for planning, then reconcile its assumptions with your HDB or lender documents. Do not count an amount already paid twice.
HDB: option fee ↗ · HDB MyNiceHome: separate purchase milestones ↗
Leave with a clear record of what happens next
Before leaving, check the documents or acknowledgements you receive and note any outstanding action, deadline and official contact route. Keep an unresolved question marked unresolved until HDB answers it; the checklist itself is not evidence of eligibility or a completed purchase.
If the available choices no longer fit, ask HDB about the consequences for your own application before deciding not to select. Booking, cancelling after booking and missing an appointment are different situations. This preparation guide does not determine which rules or waivers apply to your household.