Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| ISO 3166-1 | ZA / ZAF |
| Registry | Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-04 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in South Africa and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Income Tax Reference Number | SARS (South African Revenue Service) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Registration Number | CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) |
Sector regulators
SARB · FSCA · NCR · ICASA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company | (Pty) Ltd | Closely-held share-capital company with limited liability; the default SME vehicle under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Shares are not freely transferable to the public. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Company | Ltd | Share-capital company whose shares may be offered to the public; eligible for JSE listing and requires at least three directors. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Personal Liability Company | Inc. | Share-capital company under the Companies Act where past and present directors are jointly and severally liable for debts; used by professional firms (attorneys, auditors). Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| State-Owned Company | SOC Ltd | Share-capital company owned by the national or provincial government, subject to the Companies Act and the Public Finance Management Act. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Close Corporation | CC | Member-based, limited-liability entity under the Close Corporations Act 69 of 1984; no shares, up to 10 members. No new CCs may be registered since May 2011, but existing CCs continue to operate. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| General Partnership | — | Unregistered contractual arrangement between two or more persons carrying on business for profit; all partners bear unlimited joint liability. Not a separate legal entity. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| En Commandite Partnership | — | Partnership in which one or more silent (en commandite) partners contribute capital and enjoy limited liability while at least one general partner bears unlimited liability. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership. |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | A single natural person trading in their own name or under a trade name; no separate legal entity and no CIPC registration required. The owner bears unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Co-operative | Co-op | Member-owned and -controlled entity incorporated under the Co-operatives Act 14 of 2005; profits distributed on a patronage basis rather than share capital. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Non-Profit Company | NPC | Company with no share capital that may not distribute income or assets to members; used by NGOs, charities, and religious bodies. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation (501(c)(3)). |
| External Company | — | Foreign company that conducts business or non-profit activities within South Africa and must register with CIPC; equivalent to a foreign branch or representative office. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Registration Certificate |
| Constitutive Documents | Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) |
| Tax Registration | Any one of: SARS Tax Reference · VAT Notice |
| Operating Permit | Municipal Business License |
| Ownership Records | All required: Memorandum of Incorporation + Securities Register |
| Governance Records | Any one of: CoR 39 · CoR 14.1A |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Letter of Good Standing |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Registration Certificate (CoR 14.3) | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) | Constitutive Documents, Ownership Records |
| SARS Tax Reference | Tax Registration |
| VAT Notice | Tax Registration |
| Municipal Business License | Operating Permit |
| Securities Register | Ownership Records |
| CoR 39 (Notice of Change of Company Directors) | Governance Records |
| CoR 14.1A (Initial Directors — annexure to CoR 14.1 at incorporation) | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution (account opening) | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Letter of Good Standing (CIPC) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | SARB, FSCA, NCR, ICASA |
Collection notes
- Governance Records: CoR 14.1A is the Initial Directors annexure filed with the Notice of Incorporation (CoR 14.1) at registration; CoR 39 is the Notice of Change of Company Directors used for every subsequent appointment, resignation, or removal. Together they cover the historical and current director set under the Companies Act 71 of 2008.
- Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board member. Min 1 (Pty Ltd), 3 (Ltd). |
Notes
- Uses a single MOI — there is no separate Memorandum and Articles.
- B-BBEE is a procurement scorecard, not an operating license; do not gate onboarding on it.