PAIA annual report
Every private body in South Africa must tell the Information Regulator once a year how it handled requests for access to its records, even when the answer is that nobody asked. The window is 1 May to 30 June, the Regulator takes no late reports, and most small businesses have never heard of it. We prepare the section 32 report from your records and submit it on the Regulator’s portal. Fixed price, in writing.
Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company, not the Information Regulator. Your information officer can complete the report on the Regulator’s eServices portal at no charge. Our fee pays for pulling the year’s request records together, completing the report correctly and submitting it inside the window.
What is included
- Your information officer registration with the Regulator checked, because the report can only be submitted from a registered profile
- The year’s requests for access to records collected from you and recorded the way the report asks: received, granted in full, granted in part, refused, transferred, and the grounds and fees
- The section 32 report completed on the Regulator’s eServices portal and submitted inside the 1 May to 30 June window
- The submission confirmation saved in your client portal, with a copy of what was reported
- A request register template so next year’s report is a five minute job
- A reminder before the next window opens
Who must file, and when
The Promotion of Access to Information Act, section 32 read with section 83(4), requires the head of every private body to submit an annual report to the Information Regulator on the requests for access to records the body received. A private body includes every company and close corporation, whatever its size. The Regulator calls on heads of private bodies and their deputy information officers to submit, and the report is due even if no requests were received.
The Regulator opens its portal on 1 May and closes it on 30 June, covering the year that ended on 31 March. For the 2026 cycle the Regulator stated that no extensions would be granted. The report is submitted only on the Regulator’s eServices portal, from the information officer’s registered profile, and not by email or post.
Ordered after 30 June? We prepare the report now, keep it on file, and submit it on the day the next window opens, so the business is not caught twice.
How ordering works
- Order online and answer the short questionnaire on the requests your business received this year, if any.
- We confirm the information officer registration, complete the report and send you the summary to confirm within 3 business days.
- We submit it on the Regulator’s portal inside the window and place the confirmation in your client portal.
Not sure this is the right one for you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day.
What we will need from you
Short list. The Regulator wants numbers and outcomes, not documents.
- Your information officer registration details with the Regulator, or tell us it has not been done and we add information officer registration first.
- The business name and registration number, and the head of the private body by name.
- Every request for access to records received between 1 April and 31 March: what was requested, when, whether it was granted, granted in part, refused or transferred, the section relied on for any refusal, and any fee charged. If there were none, say so; a nil report is still filed.
- Access to the eServices portal granted by the information officer, or their attendance for the ten minutes the submission takes. We do not keep anyone’s password.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small private company really have to submit a PAIA annual report?
Yes. Section 32 read with section 83(4) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act requires the head of every private body, which includes every company, to submit an annual report to the Information Regulator on the requests for access to records it received. The Regulator calls on heads of private bodies and deputy information officers to submit each year, and the report is due even if you received no requests at all. A nil report is still a report.
When is it due?
The Regulator opens its submission portal on 1 May and closes it on 30 June each year, covering the reporting period that ended on 31 March. The Regulator stated for the 2026 cycle that no extensions would be granted. If you order after 30 June we prepare the report now and submit it the day the next window opens, so nothing is missed twice.
What do you need from me?
Your information officer registration with the Regulator, which we can do first if it has not been done, and a note of any requests for access to records the business received during the year: how many, what was asked for, whether they were granted, refused or transferred, and any fees charged. Most small businesses received none, and we record that.
Where is it submitted?
On the Information Regulator’s eServices portal, using the information officer’s registered profile. The Regulator does not accept the report by email or post. We submit it through the portal with your authority and save the confirmation in your client portal.
Keep exploring
- POPIA information officer registration, R390
- POPIA compliance pack, R1 890, which includes your PAIA manual
- POPIA checklist for small business
This is an administrative service performed with the information officer’s authority on the Regulator’s portal. ProperSA does not give legal advice on whether a particular request should have been granted or refused; where a matter needs an attorney, we say so. The filing window and the legal basis are as published by the Information Regulator at the date of writing; confirm anything you rely on with the Regulator.