How much does company registration cost in South Africa in 2026?
CIPC charges R125 to register a private company on BizPortal without a name, or R175 including a name. ProperSA registers your company for R790 with those CIPC fees included; the balance pays for the paperwork, the follow up and the documents. Any other government fee we pay for you is charged at cost.
Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company, not CIPC. Everything on this page can be done by you directly on BizPortal for the CIPC fee alone. We are paid for doing it properly on your behalf.
Do it yourself on BizPortal or let ProperSA do it: the two routes side by side
Both routes end at the same place, a private company registered at CIPC. The difference is who does the work, what lands in your inbox at the end, and what happens when something goes wrong.
| What you are comparing | Do it yourself on BizPortal | ProperSA, R790 |
|---|---|---|
| CIPC registration fee | R125 for a private company, paid by you to CIPC. | Included in the R790. We pay CIPC on your behalf. |
| Name reservation | R50 for up to four names in order of preference, R175 in total with the registration. The R50 is a non refundable filing fee, paid whether the name is approved or not. | Included. Your first choice and backup names are submitted to CIPC. You can also register as a number company and add a name later. |
| Who completes the forms | You. BizPortal is paperless and built for South African ID holders, so you type every director, address and shareholding detail yourself. | We do. You complete one online form in your portal; we prepare the CIPC filing and tell you what will be public before we submit. |
| Share certificates | Not part of the CIPC registration. You draw them up yourself after registration. | Included. A share certificate for each shareholder, delivered to your portal with the Memorandum of Incorporation. |
| Beneficial ownership filing | Not part of the registration. It is a separate CIPC filing due within 10 business days of incorporation, and you do it yourself. | Not included in the R790. The next steps sheet explains it, and we can file it for you as a separate service or in the Startup bundle at R1 490. |
| Tax number | BizPortal says every company is automatically registered with SARS for tax. | Included. We confirm the income tax number SARS allocates to the company and put the confirmation in your file. |
| Time you spend | An hour or more at the screen, plus your own time if CIPC queries a director detail or a name. | Ten to fifteen minutes on our form. Typical delivery is 48 to 72 hours from your completed form to the registration certificate. |
| When CIPC rejects a name | If every proposed name fails, BizPortal registers the company under its registration number. A new name application later carries its own R50 fee. | We submit backup names with the first application and handle the resubmission if CIPC turns them all down. |
| Support afterwards | CIPC’s call centre and the BizPortal FAQ. | A next steps sheet on banking, beneficial ownership and annual returns, and a written answer to any question within one business day. |
| Refund rule | CIPC fees are filing fees and are not refunded if an application fails. | If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what the service page describes, we refund our service fee. A refusal by CIPC, or a delay caused by missing information from you, is not refundable. Full refund terms. |
When doing it yourself is the right call
Be honest with yourself about three things. If you are the only director, you hold a South African ID, and you have an hour to sit with BizPortal and a simple name that is unlikely to clash with anything on the register, then BizPortal at R175 is a sensible choice and we would say so. You will still need to draw up your own share certificate and file beneficial ownership within 10 business days, but a single owner with time can manage both.
The R790 earns its keep when there is more than one shareholder and the shareholding has to be right the first time, when a director is not South African and BizPortal cannot be used at all, when the name matters to you and you want someone else chasing CIPC if it is declined, or when you simply do not have the hours. In those cases the service fee is cheaper than a mistake that needs a CIPC amendment to fix.
What the R790 covers
The price is fixed and the standard CIPC fees are inside it. Your company file in the portal contains:
- Name reservation confirmation, with your first choice plus backup names submitted to CIPC.
- CIPC registration certificate (CoR14.3), the document a bank asks for first.
- Memorandum of Incorporation, the standard form prepared and filed with the registration.
- Share certificate for each shareholder.
- SARS income tax number confirmation.
- B-BBEE affidavit guide for EMEs, with the wording, so a business under R10 million turnover walks into the police station or commissioner of oaths prepared.
- Next steps sheet covering banking, beneficial ownership and annual returns.
Typical timing is 48 to 72 hours from your completed form to the registration certificate, depending on CIPC volumes. We prepare the filing, tell you what will be public, submit it and follow up if CIPC queries anything.
A director without a South African identity number cannot use this service or BizPortal; CIPC routes those applications through e-Services and its foreigner assurance process instead. The service page explains that route.
Frequently asked questions
How much does CIPC charge to register a company?
CIPC charges R125 to register a private company on BizPortal without a name, and R175 including a name. A name reservation on its own costs R50 and is a non refundable filing fee, so it is paid whether the name is approved or declined.
Why does ProperSA charge R790 when CIPC charges R175?
The R790 includes the CIPC fees. The balance pays for us to prepare the filing, submit it, deal with CIPC when it queries something, and deliver the registration certificate, Memorandum of Incorporation, share certificates, tax number confirmation and a next steps sheet to your portal, usually within 48 to 72 hours.
Can I register a company without a name?
Yes. On BizPortal the registration number becomes the company name until you reserve one later. If every proposed name is rejected, BizPortal registers the company under its number anyway. ProperSA offers the same choice: reserve a name, or register as a number company and add a name later for R50 plus a name change filing.
What is not included in the R790?
The beneficial ownership filing, which is due within 10 business days of incorporation. The next steps sheet explains it, and we can file it for you as a separate service or as part of the Startup bundle at R1 490. A B-BBEE affidavit is not a certificate; it is sworn free at any police station or commissioner of oaths, and we include the wording and the guide.
Ready to register?
Pay online or by EFT invoice, complete one form, and your company file arrives in your portal.
Sources, read on 15 October 2026: the BizPortal home page at bizportal.gov.za (R125 without a name, R175 including a name, automatic SARS tax registration, free B-BBEE certificate for Exempted Micro Enterprises, free UIF and Compensation Fund registration for companies with employees, .co.za domain at R94.75, business bank account with the big four banks); the BizPortal name options page at bizportal.gov.za/company_reg_name_options.aspx (registration under the registration number when every name fails); the CIPC fee and process page at cipc.co.za/?page_id=4200 (R125 for a private company, R50 name reservation); and the CIPC name reservation page at cipc.co.za/?page_id=10102 (R50 non refundable filing fee, up to four names per application, a new fee for each new application). CIPC fees change from time to time; confirm with CIPC before relying on a figure. ProperSA is a private company and not affiliated with CIPC.