Where to Sew Your IPPT Badge: Official Placement Guide
By Adrian Tan | Last updated: September 20, 2026
On No.1 Dress, your IPPT badge goes on the left shoulder sleeve, with the base of the lower badge sitting 15cm below the shoulder seam. It’s positioned below any Marksmanship, Sniper Marksmanship, or Fitness Specialist badge you already wear, and you can carry a maximum of two badges on that sleeve at once.
That’s the official spec for ceremonial dress. For your day-to-day No.4, the placement isn’t publicly published, and I’ll explain exactly why below, along with what to do about it.
Which IPPT Badges Actually Exist?
Only two IPPT badges exist: the IPPT Gold badge and the IPPT Silver badge. Both fall under the SAF’s Proficiency Badges category, awarded for demonstrated physical proficiency. There is no badge for Pass with Incentive or a plain Pass: those bands pay cash where applicable, but nothing goes on your uniform.
If you’re not sure which band your score falls into, the IPPT Award Guide covers all four bands and what each one pays.
Where Does the Badge Go on No.1 Dress?
This is the part I can give you with real precision, straight from the official dress instruction document:
- Position: left shoulder sleeve, centred to the shoulder board
- Spacing: the base of the lower badge sits 15cm below the shoulder seam
- Order: the IPPT badge is worn below the Marksmanship, Sniper Marksmanship, or Fitness Specialist badge, if you hold one
- Limit: a maximum of two badges on the left shoulder sleeve at any time
This spec applies to No.1 Dress: the ceremonial uniform you’d wear for parades, formal events, or official photographs. It’s a genuinely exact measurement, not an estimate, so if your unit tailor or PS men ask for the spacing, this is it.
What About No.4 (Daily) Uniform?
Here’s where I’ll be straight with you instead of guessing. The exact placement measurement for No.4 (the pixelised combat uniform you wear most days) isn’t published in any official document I could find. The 15cm spec above is specific to No.1 Dress.
What I’ve seen debated among NSmen, without a clear official resolution, is whether the badge on No.4 is sewn on or attached via velcro. Both practices exist across different units, and I’m not going to tell you one is correct when I can’t back it with a source.
What I do tell every trainee: check with your company clerk or CSM before you sew anything onto your No.4. Unit-level SOPs vary, and it’s a five-minute question that saves you from re-doing stitching.
Can You Wear Both Gold and Silver at the Same Time?
In practice, no: you earn one badge per IPPT window based on your best result that window, so you wouldn’t hold both a current Gold and Silver badge simultaneously. What the two-badge limit on the shoulder sleeve actually governs is how your IPPT badge sits alongside a different proficiency badge, such as Marksmanship, not two IPPT badges together.
What If You Haven’t Earned a Badge Yet?
A Pass or a Pass with Incentive doesn’t come with a badge, so there’s nothing to place yet. If you’re chasing Silver or Gold this window, the IPPT Cash Incentive Guide explains how retesting and the incremental top-up works if you improve your score partway through your window. And if the 51-versus-61 point distinction is still confusing you, Pass with Incentive vs Standard Pass Explained clears that up in full.
Check where your score currently stands using our IPPT Calculator before your next attempt.
Badge Placement FAQ
Adrian Tan – IPPT Trainer & Fitness Content Specialist
Sources: SAF Dress Instructions, ns.gov.sg and Singapore Army, army.gov.sg: official badge category and placement specification.
