What Is HRD Corp Circular 2/2026?
On 7 May 2026, HRD Corp issued Employer Circular No. 2/2026 — Revisions to the Training Grant Application Requirement for Levy-Based Training Scheme, signed by Chief Executive Dato' Mohamed Shamir Abdul Aziz. The revised terms and conditions came into force on 15 June 2026.
The stated purpose: strengthen governance, streamline approval timelines, and give employers sufficient time to plan and execute training. In practice, it means tighter compliance discipline — five concrete rule changes that every HR manager, L&D lead, and training coordinator needs to know before submitting the next grant.
The revisions apply to four levy-based schemes:
- HRD Corp Claimable Courses (HCC)
- Skim Bantuan Latihan (SBL)
- Skim Latihan Bersama (SLB)
- Future Workers Training (FWT)
If your company funds training under any of these schemes, the new rules apply to you.
The Five Changes at a Glance
Here is a side-by-side view of what changed. Each item is expanded in detail below.
| Item | Before 15 June 2026 | From 15 June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grant Approval Lead Time | Submit at least 1 day before training. Training must commence within 6 months. | Approval must be obtained 14 calendar days before training. Training must commence 14 to 90 calendar days from the approval date. |
| 2. Query | No limit on queries. 30 days to respond. | One query only per application. Respond within 5 calendar days or the application expires. |
| 3. Grant Modification | Permitted between approval and claim submission. | Not permitted. Cancel the approved grant and submit a new application. |
| 4. Appeal | Allowed after training, case-by-case. | No appeals accepted. |
| 5. Verification | Case-by-case, local training only. | Mandatory for all physical and ROT training. E-learning, coaching/mentoring, and overseas training are excluded. |
Change 1 — The 14-Day Approval Rule
This is the most operationally significant change. Under the old rules, an employer could submit a grant application as little as one day before training and still be compliant. From 15 June 2026, the grant must be approved at least 14 calendar days before the training start date — not merely submitted.
HRD Corp's own service level agreement is 24 working hours to process an application (with applications submitted after 5pm or on non-working days starting the SLA the next working day). Allowing for queries, document amendments, and the new 14-day buffer, the realistic minimum lead time is now about 3 weeks between submission and training.
Day 0
~24hr SLA
Buffer
Mandatory
Start
Day 14+
Start
By Day 90
The 14-to-90-day window is calculated from the grant approval date to the training commencement date (start date). The training end date follows the duration specified in the course outline and is not capped at 90 days.
Compliant scenario
Grant submitted 30 June 2026 → approved 1 July 2026 → training commences 31 July 2026. The approval-to-commencement gap is 30 days, well within the 14-to-90-day window. Fully compliant.
Non-compliant scenario
Grant approved 1 July 2026 → training commences 10 July 2026 (only 9 days after approval). The 14-day buffer is not met. Training is non-compliant and not eligible for claim.
Also note: tentative training dates are no longer accepted at submission. The dates you submit must be the confirmed dates you intend to run the training on. This forces upstream alignment with venue bookings, trainer schedules, and trainee availability before the grant application goes in.
Change 2 — One Query, Five Days to Respond
Previously, HRD Corp could raise multiple queries on a grant application, and the employer had 30 days to address each one. From 15 June 2026, only one query is allowed per application, and the employer must respond within 5 calendar days — not working days.
Miss the 5-day window and the application is considered expired. HRD Corp will not process it further. The employer must submit a brand new grant application from scratch, which restarts the SLA clock and may push the training date out by weeks.
Practical implication: someone on the HR or L&D team needs to monitor the HRD Corp portal daily for queries during the approval window. Submitting a grant application and then waiting for an email notification is no longer safe.
Change 3 — No More Grant Modifications
Under the old rules, employers could modify approved grants — change dates, swap trainees, adjust trainer details — at any point between approval and claim submission. From 15 June 2026, no modifications are permitted on approved grants.
If anything needs to change after the grant is approved, the only option is to cancel the existing approved grant and submit a new application. The new application will then be subject to the revised 24-hour SLA and the 14-day approval-to-commencement requirement — meaning your training date could move.
The one exception is trainee details. Names, IC numbers, and positions of trainees can still be amended during claim submission (but not after the claim is submitted). All other approved details — training dates, trainer, venue, course content — must match the original grant exactly.
Change 4 — No More Appeals
HRD Corp will no longer accept any appeals once the revised circular takes effect. Previously, employers could submit appeals on a case-by-case basis if a grant was rejected, a deadline was missed, or training had to be conducted in a way that deviated from the approved grant. That door is now closed.
If a grant is rejected, the only remedy is to submit a fresh application addressing the rejection reason. There is no escalation path.
Change 5 — Mandatory Training Verification
HRD Corp has previously conducted verification of training sessions on a case-by-case basis. From 15 June 2026, verification becomes mandatory for all approved grants where training is delivered in one of two modes:
- Physical training (in-person, at a venue)
- Remote Online Training (ROT) — live virtual sessions
Three modes are excluded from mandatory verification:
- E-learning (self-paced)
- Coaching and mentoring
- Training conducted overseas
Verification confirms that the training was actually conducted in line with the approved grant — same dates, same content, same trainees, same trainer. Any deviation discovered during verification can result in a rejected claim.
What This Means for Your Training Planning
The combined effect of these five changes is a shift from "flexible and forgiving" to "plan upstream and lock it in." Here is what we are advising the HR teams we work with:
Build a 3-to-4 week lead time into your training calendar
Submit the grant 3 to 4 weeks before the intended training date — not days before. This gives buffer for query responses, the 24-hour SLA, and the mandatory 14-day approval-to-commencement gap.
Lock dates with the trainer and venue BEFORE applying
Tentative dates are no longer accepted. Confirm trainer availability, venue booking, and trainee attendance before the grant goes in. A date change after approval forces a full cancel-and-resubmit, which restarts the entire timeline.
Assign one person to monitor the HRD Corp portal daily
You have 5 calendar days — not working days — to respond to a query. Missing it means the application expires. Daily portal checks during the approval window are now essential.
Treat the approved grant as the immovable source of truth
Once approved, the training must run exactly as approved. Same trainer, same dates, same content. Verification (for physical and ROT modes) will check. If something changes, the only path is cancel and resubmit.
Work with a training provider who handles the paperwork end-to-end
The cost of an expired or rejected application has gone up significantly under these rules. Most companies do not have a dedicated HRDC administrator — choosing a training provider who prepares the documentation, monitors the portal, and responds to queries on your behalf removes the risk of missing a deadline.
Compliance Checklist — Do This / Avoid That
A quick at-a-glance reference for the team responsible for HRD Corp submissions:
- Submit grant at least 3 weeks before training
- Confirm dates with trainer & venue first
- Check the HRD Corp portal daily for queries
- Respond to any query within 5 calendar days
- Wait for approval + 14 days before training
- Run training exactly as approved (verification ready)
- Submitting 1 day before training
- Using tentative or "to be confirmed" dates
- Assuming you can modify the grant later
- Planning to appeal if something gets rejected
- Starting training while awaiting approval
- Running training on dates different from approved
Our Strategic Advice: Lock Your Training Calendar Early
The combined effect of the new rules is that last-minute training planning no longer works. Submit late, miss a query, or change a date after approval — the application expires, the training budget sits idle, and the team's calendar has to be rebuilt. The safer pattern is upstream: HR and L&D teams plan the year's training calendar earlier, confirm trainer and venue details before applying, and treat the 14-day approval buffer as the new baseline rather than the exception.
If you have an upcoming course already in your training plan and want to make sure the dates align safely with Circular 2/2026, share your training need and target dates using the enquiry form on this page. One of our consultants will come back within one business day with a recommended programme and a timeline that fits the new rules.
Our HRD Corp claimable AI training programmes include Microsoft Copilot Training, Generative AI for Business (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), AI Automation & Agentic AI, and AI for Managers & Leaders. For the full step-by-step claim process, see our HRD Corp SBL-Khas Guide 2026.
