How to Register a Company in South Africa (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)

Registering a company in South Africa is more straightforward than most people think. This 2026 guide walks you through exactly how to register a Private Company (Pty Ltd) with the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission), what it costs, how long it takes, and what documents you need.

Step 1: Reserve your company name

You can reserve a company name with CIPC for R50 per name. You may submit up to four proposed names. If you’re in a hurry, you can also register with a generated name (your registration number) and change the name later.

Step 2: Prepare your documents

• Certified copy of a valid SA ID, passport or asylum document for each director
• Proof of residential address not older than 3 months
• Email address and cell number for each director

Step 3: Register with CIPC

Company registration costs R125 online (or R175 for manual filing) plus the R50 name reservation. Once submitted, registration usually takes 3–5 business days, and sometimes 24–48 hours in urgent cases.

Step 4: Receive your company documents

When your registration is approved you’ll receive:

• Your company registration number (format 2026/123456/07)
• The CoR 14.3 registration certificate
• Your Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI)
• An automatically generated SARS income tax number
• Share certificates and a B-BBEE affidavit

Step 5: The next steps to start trading

After registration, most businesses need to: activate their SARS eFiling profile, open a business bank account, register on the CSD for tenders, and get a BEE affidavit. We can handle all of these for you.

How much does it cost in total?

The CIPC state fees are low (around R175 including a name), but doing it correctly and bundling tax, banking, CSD and BEE is where a registration service saves you time and rejections. Contact us for our current package pricing.

Independent business support service — not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the CIPC.

How to register a company – let us help

Wondering how to register a company in South Africa? Now you know how to register a company, we can do it all for you. See our company registration service, add SARS tax registration, or get everything in our full tender package.