Turning an idea into a registered Private Company (Pty Ltd) in South Africa is done through the CIPC — the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission — and it's cheaper and faster than most people expect. Here's exactly what it costs, what you'll need, and what's still required once you're registered.
Snapshot as of September 2026 — confirm current fees and requirements at cipc.co.zaRegistering a company is a legal act, and South African company law requires directors and incorporators to be adults. If you're under 18, that doesn't mean you have to wait to start — it means a Pty Ltd isn't the right structure yet.
In the meantime you can trade as a sole proprietor: you run the business "in your personal capacity," with no CIPC registration needed and nothing stopping you from earning. The trade-off is that there's no legal separation between you and the business, so keep that in mind if you're taking on any real financial risk. Once you turn 18, everything below applies to you directly, or a parent or guardian could register the company now with you closely involved in running it.
Registering directly with CIPC won't cost you much at all. If someone's charging hundreds or thousands of rand just to "submit your registration," that's a fee for convenience, not for something you can't do yourself.
Optional. Reserve up to 4 proposed names, ranked in order of preference. Valid for 6 months.
R50 name reservation + R125 registration, done together on BizPortal in one application.
Skip naming and your registration number becomes your company's legal name (you can rename it later).
Got a South African ID? BizPortal is your fastest route — it checks your identity electronically against Home Affairs, so in most cases you won't need to upload or certify anything.
BizPortal (bizportal.gov.za) is CIPC's own one-stop platform for registering a company, and it's where most people should start. If you don't have a South African ID — for example you're a foreign national with a passport — use CIPC eServices instead; the older platform, but it accepts a wider range of identification.
You can register without reserving a name at all. CIPC will simply use your company's registration number as its legal name (format YYYY/XXXXXX/07), and you can apply to rename it later once you've picked something.
Getting your CoR14.3 certificate isn't the finish line — a few compliance steps still follow, and missing the first one can hold up everything else down the line.
CIPC's own rule is direct about the timing:
A declaration naming the real people who own or control the company — not just what's on the registration certificate. File it through CIPC's own e-services platform; the step-by-step CIPC guide is linked below.
Every registered company must file an annual return with CIPC in the month of its incorporation anniversary, confirming it's still trading. This is separate from a SARS tax return. Fees start small and rise the longer you leave it, and skipping annual returns for long enough starts deregistration proceedings — which can mean losing the company entirely.
File annual returns at CIPC ↗Registering directly with CIPC through BizPortal or eServices costs R125–R175 in total, plus R50 if you reserve a name — nothing more. Be wary of anyone offering to "fast-track" or "guarantee" your registration for a large fee; accountants and company secretaries do offer legitimate paid help with the paperwork and post-registration compliance, but registering a Pty Ltd yourself is genuinely simple enough that you don't need to pay someone just to click through the form. Only ever enter your ID number, OTP or banking details on the official cipc.co.za, bizportal.gov.za or eservices.cipc.co.za sites — never through a link sent to you by SMS, email or WhatsApp from someone claiming to be CIPC.