Company Incorporation in South Africa
Registration of a South African company with the CIPC under the Companies Act 71 of 2008 — lodging the Notice of Incorporation (CoR14.1) with the directors' particulars (CoR14.1A) and the chosen Memorandum of Incorporation (CoR15.1) on the BizPortal or e-Services platform. A private company using the short standard MoI costs R175 including the compulsory R50 name reservation, or R125 if it registers under its registration number with no reserved name; the long standard MoI band is R475. A (Pty) Ltd may be formed and run by a single person as sole shareholder and sole director, with no residency requirement, which makes the wholly-owned subsidiary the standard foreign-entry vehicle; a foreign company trading here directly must instead register as an external company (branch) within 20 business days of beginning business. Beneficial ownership must be filed with CIPC within 10 business days of registration. Sole proprietorships and common-law partnerships are not registered at CIPC at all — they exist only through their SARS registrations.
1–5 business days
ZAR
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| Private Company (Pty) LtdThe default vehicle for almost every for-profit business, startup, SME and foreign-owned subsidiary — one shareholder and one director are enough, with 100% foreign shareholding permitted and no residency requirement | Public Company (Ltd)Businesses that will raise capital from the public or list on the JSE — a minimum of three directors and a mandatory audit of the annual financial statements | Personal Liability Company (Inc)Professional practices (attorneys, auditors, engineers) — the MoI must state it is a personal liability company, and directors and past directors are jointly and severally liable with the company for debts incurred during their terms of office | Non-Profit Company (NPC)Charities, foundations and NGOs — no shareholders, registrable with or without members, and a minimum of three directors; NPO registration with Social Development and PBO approval at SARS are separate downstream steps | External Company (Branch of a Foreign Company)A foreign parent operating a branch or project office rather than a local subsidiary — not a separate South African legal person, so liability rests with the foreign company, which must maintain a South African office and appointed representative | Sole ProprietorshipFreelancers, single-owner micro-businesses and informal traders testing an idea | PartnershipTwo or more persons (up to 20) carrying on a business together, e.g. professional or family firms without incorporation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Maximum owners | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | 1 | 20 |
| Minimum directors | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Liability | limited | limited | limitedlimited-with-director-joint-liability | limited | unlimitedparent-liability | unlimited | unlimited |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending verification | Yes | No | Pending verification |
| Tax treatment | Corporate income tax at 27% (SARS); a qualifying small business corporation is taxed on the progressive SBC scale instea… | Corporate income tax at 27% (SARS). | Corporate income tax at 27% (SARS). | May apply to SARS for approval as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) under Income Tax Act s.30 for income-tax exemption… | The South African branch is taxed on its South African-source income; the branch (non-resident company) rate is the same… | No separate entity; profits taxed in the individual's hands at personal income-tax (PIT) rates via the individual's ITR1… | Not a taxpayer itself and not a separate legal person; each partner is taxed on their share of partnership profit at the… |
| Audit required | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Audit threshold | A private company is NOT required to have its AFS audited unless (Companies Regulation 28 read with 26): it holds assets… | Mandatory audit. The CIPC Annual Returns FAQ states 'Public and State-Owned companies (SOC) must have audited AFS' - i.e… | Same regime as a private company (Companies Regulation 28 read with 26) - audit only where the R5m fiduciary-asset test,… | Not required to be audited unless: it holds unrelated-party assets in a fiduciary capacity above R5m; OR it was directly… | An external company must file annual returns and, per the CIPC Annual Returns FAQ, external companies fall under the pre… | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Annual compliance | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
| Typical use | Wholly-owned subsidiary of a foreign parent; funded local startup; owner-managed SME. | JSE-listed company, pre-IPO structure, large capital-raising vehicle. | Incorporated professional firm - law, audit, engineering practices. | Registered charity/NGO, often paired with NPO registration (Dept of Social Development) and PBO status at SARS. | Foreign parent operating a project office or branch in South Africa without forming a (Pty) Ltd. | Solo consultant or trader who registers for income tax (and VAT if over threshold) but forms no company. | Small professional or family business with 2-20 partners and no external investor. |
What we will need from you
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Notice of Incorporation (CoR14.1) with the directors' particulars (CoR14.1A)
Memorandum of Incorporation — CoR15.1A/B/C short standard form, CoR15.1D/E long standard form, or a custom MoI
The form chosen sets the fee: the CoR15.1A/B/C band is R175 and the CoR15.1D/E band is R475. A personal liability company's MoI must expressly designate it as one.
Certified ID or passport copy per incorporator, per director and per shareholder
Per person — one set where a person is more than one of these. CIPC accepts foreign identity documents, but a foreign director is captured with a passport number. The exact certification route (certification vs notarisation vs apostille vs consularisation) is not settled in our research and is confirmed at quote against the CIPC New Company Registration guide.
Proof of the registered-office address in South Africa
Reserved company name (CoR9.1) — optional, up to four alternatives in order of preference
A reserved name is valid for six months from confirmation and may be extended for R30 (CoR9.3). A company may instead register with no name and use its registration number.
For a foreign corporate shareholder: certificate of incorporation, constitutional documents and the resolution appointing its representative
An external company lodges CoR20.1 with a certified copy of the foreign company's constitutional documents, its directors' particulars and the details of its South African representative and registered office. Foreign constitutional documents typically need notarisation/apostille or consularisation; the exact CIPC requirement, and any translation requirement, is confirmed at quote.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Private company registration, short standard MoI (CoR15.1A) — including name reservationone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the CIPC Company Forms & Fees page: 'CoR 15.1 A, B & C = R175 (subject to allowed reduction)'. R175 is the combined figure — R125 registration plus the R50 name reservation. The same R175 standard-MoI band covers a public company and a personal liability company using a standard MoI; a custom or long-form MoI moves to the R475 band. | ZAR 175Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Company registration WITHOUT a reserved name (registered under its registration number)one line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the CIPC Company Forms & Fees page: where no name is reserved the R50 name-reservation component falls away and only the R125 registration fee applies. The page states company registration 'may vary between R125 and R475'. | ZAR 125Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Name reservation (CoR9.1) — electronic submissionone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the CIPC Name Reservation page: 'R50 for electronic submissions and R75 for manual submissions'. Non-refundable — it is a filing fee, not an administrative fee. Extending a reserved name (CoR9.3) is R30. | ZAR 50Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Name reservation (CoR9.1) — manual submissionVERIFIED on the CIPC Name Reservation page (same page as the R50 electronic fee). | ZAR 75Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Long standard MoI band (CoR15.1D / CoR15.1E) — e.g. an NPC using the long standard MoIone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the CIPC Company Forms & Fees page: 'CoR 15.1 D & E = R475 (subject to allowed reduction)'. CoR15.1D is the long standard MoI without members and CoR15.1E with members; an NPC using the short standard MoI (CoR15.1C) without members pays R175 instead. | ZAR 475Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Registration of an external company (branch) — CoR20.1only if it appliesThe CoR20.1 fee line did not render on the CIPC Company Forms & Fees page we read, so no amount is published here rather than a guessed one. Confirm it on the CIPC Company Forms & Fees table at cipc.co.za/?page_id=3804. The registration itself must be lodged within 20 business days of the foreign company beginning to conduct business in South Africa (Companies Act s.23). | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
These are the authority’s published lines. Which of them apply depends on your filing — a schedule by headcount, capital or entity type is one line, not all of them — and the applicable line is confirmed before payment, at cost.
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Reserve company name (CoR9.1)
Optional name reservation via BizPortal or e-Services — R50 electronic, valid six months, up to four alternatives in order of preference. A company may instead register under its registration number with no name.
File Notice of Incorporation (CoR14.1) with the MoI (CoR15.1)
Incorporation is effected by lodging the Notice of Incorporation together with the chosen Memorandum of Incorporation and the directors' particulars (CoR14.1A) on the CIPC platform.
Receive registration certificate (CoR14.3) and enterprise number
CIPC issues the registration confirmation and the company's enterprise number; private-company registrations via BizPortal are described as processed the same day.
File the Beneficial Ownership declaration
Beneficial ownership information must be filed with CIPC within 10 business days of registration, and thereafter whenever it changes and at least annually with the annual return.
SARS income-tax registration
On successful CIPC registration a company is registered for income tax with SARS and issued a tax reference number (BizPortal integrates this step). Confirmed at quote against sars.gov.za rather than promised as a guarantee.
Ready to start?
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Verified September 2026
Requirements and statutory fees are set by Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) — via BizPortal / e-Services and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.