SA Company Registration Number: What It Is and How to Get One.

A South African company registration number is a unique code given to your business by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) when you register it. You will see it on your CoR14.3 registration certificate, and it stays with your company for its entire life. If you want to get one for a new business, you must submit your company registration documents to the CIPC.

What does a South African company registration number look like?

Older companies have a registration number that looks like a date, usually starting with the year of registration, followed by a slash, and then a set of numbers and letters. For example, you might see something like 2010/123456/07. The last two digits tell you the type of company, like 07 for a private company or 23 for a non-profit company.

Newer companies registered under the current Companies Act get a number that starts with the year, followed by a slash, and then a long string of numbers. The ending might just be a string of digits without the old letter codes. No matter what it looks like, it is the official proof that your company exists in the eyes of the law.

It is important to know that a sole proprietorship or a partnership does not have a company registration number. If you are trading under your own name, you are not a registered company. You will use your personal ID number for your business banking and tax. To get a company registration number, you must register a private company, a personal liability company, or a non-profit company.

How to get your own company registration number

To get a registration number, you have to register a company with the CIPC. You can do this yourself on the CIPC website, or you can use a service provider to do it for you. If you do it yourself, you will need to follow a specific sequence of steps.

1. Create an account on the CIPC website.
2. Reserve a company name or use a default name.
3. File the Notice of Incorporation, which gives the CIPC details about your company like its address and directors.
4. File the Memorandum of Incorporation, which sets out the rules for how your organisation will be run.
5. Submit certified copies of the ID documents of the directors.

If you want to save time and avoid the paperwork, KAGO offers a Registration Basic service for R995. We handle the CIPC submission for you so you can focus on planning your business. Either way, once the CIPC approves your application, they issue your registration certificate, which has your new company registration number on it.

How to check if a company registration number is real

If you are doing business with someone and want to check if their company is real, you can do a company search on the CIPC website. You will need to create a CIPC account to use the search function. You can also pay a small fee to get a full company disclosure document, which shows the directors and the registration details.

Another way to check is to ask the business for their CoR14.3 certificate. If they cannot produce it, or if the number on the certificate does not match the number on their invoices, you should be careful. Scammers often use fake numbers to trick people into paying for goods or services.

You can also check the status of the company. A company search will tell you if the company is active, if it is in business rescue, or if it is in the process of being deregistered. You do not want to do business with a company that is about to be shut down.

What you can do with your registration number

Your company registration number is not just a piece of paper. You need it to open a business bank account at any South African bank. You also need it to register for tax with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and get a tax clearance certificate.

When you apply for funding from places like the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) or the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), they will ask for your registration number. KAGO can help you put together a Complete Business Plan for R3,495 to make your application funding-ready, but remember that the funder always decides whether to approve your application.

You will also need your registration number to register on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) if you want to do business with the government. If you are in construction, you need it to register with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). Basically, every official step you take as a registered business will require this number.

Your registration number is also the first step to getting a B-BBEE certificate. If you want to supply large companies or government departments, you will need a B-BBEE certificate to show your empowerment level. You cannot get a B-BBEE certificate without a valid company registration number.

Keep your registration documents safe

Once you have your registration number, keep your CoR14.3 certificate and your memorandum of incorporation in a safe place. You will have to show these documents over and over again. If you lose them, you can order replacements from the CIPC, but it is easier to just keep digital copies backed up somewhere safe.

Remember that getting your registration number is just the beginning. You still need to register for income tax, VAT if your turnover is high enough, and pay-as-you-earn if you have employees. You also need to register with the Compensation Fund for occupational injuries and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). Your company registration number is the key that unlocks all these other registrations.

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