A new company
Appropriate when you want to establish a new legal entity with its own incorporation history. We confirm the intended company type and identify any preparation that falls outside a standard registration.
COMPANY SERVICES · SOUTH AFRICA
Register your company with a clear starting point
Turn your business idea into a properly documented company registration. Vatco helps you prepare the required information, understand your registration choices and follow the application through to its outcome, with a clear distinction between incorporation and the registrations your business may need afterwards.
Your requirements · A clear scope · Your next step
YOUR SERVICE GUIDE
Company registration
Company registration
01
Choose your setupConfirm your company, name and ownership requirements.
02
Prepare and submitReview the information and supporting documents.
03
Receive and organiseCheck the registration outcome and plan your next steps.
Start with the details that matter.
A clear place to start.Tell us what your business needs.
BEFORE INCORPORATION
Make the decisions that shape your company
A company registration should reflect how the business will actually operate. Before an application is prepared, decide who will manage the company, who will own its shares and which address will be used for official records. A director and a shareholder perform different roles; recording someone as a director does not, by itself, give that person ownership.
- Agree the roles early: Clear management and ownership decisions help avoid corrections once a bank, customer or investor starts asking for supporting documents.
- Standard MOI: A standard Memorandum of Incorporation may suit a straightforward private company, depending on the arrangement the owners intend to put in place.
- Special arrangements: Multiple investor groups, special voting rights or transfer restrictions may require a different approach. Discuss these before treating standard registration as a complete ownership solution.
START WITH YOUR SITUATION
Which registration situation describes you?
Starting a South African company
Agree the directors, shareholders, address and naming route before choosing the registration scope. Eligible automated routes can be paperless; confirm your route before arranging certified copies.
Foreign-national directors
Tell us which identity documents the proposed directors hold. CIPC foreigner assurance may be needed before registration, with a passport or foreign identity document and compliant certification.
An existing overseas company
Explain whether you want a new South African subsidiary or registration of an existing foreign entity. An external-company application has its own documents and is not the standard Pty Ltd package.
COST AND INCLUSIONS
Understand the registration cost before you commit
Swipe across to compare all columns.
| Cost item | Amount or pricing basis | What this covers |
|---|---|---|
| Vatco registration service | Quoted after the directors, naming choice and document route are reviewed | Application preparation, agreed submission support and handover. Initial share records and follow-up registrations must be specified. |
| CIPC standard private-company registration | R125 without a reserved name | Authority filing charge only. It is not Vatco’s full service price and does not include later registrations. |
| Optional CIPC name reservation | R50; R175 combined with the R125 registration | One name-reservation application. Repeated applications and any later name amendment need separate scope confirmation. |
| Foreign-document or customised work | Quoted for the work actually required | Translation, authentication, foreigner-assurance support and customised MOI drafting are conditional and separately identified. |
| Ongoing company administration | Quoted separately by the applicable service | Annual returns, ownership updates, bookkeeping and tax work are continuing responsibilities, not part of the authority incorporation charge. |
Vatco’s professional fee is confirmed in your written quotation. The total depends on the agreed work; any VAT treatment should be stated in the quote.
YOUR PREPARATION
Prepare the records for your registration route
Start with accurate details and confirm the document route before paying for certification. BizPortal describes its eligible automated registration route as paperless. Other routes and foreign-national verification can require supporting documents. The list below separates the application facts from documents needed only in particular circumstances.
- All proposed directorsDirector identity and contact details
Provide exact legal names, identity numbers and current contact details. Supply identity copies only through the agreed submission process and with certification where the selected route requires it.
- Every applicationRegistered address and contact record
Confirm the address to appear in company records and the person who will receive correspondence. Flag differences between registered, residential and trading addresses before the application is prepared.
- Where applicableAuthority and signing documents
Identify the authorised coordinator. Provide the applicable mandate, representative authority or signed application documents requested for your route, especially if a company or trust is an incorporator.
- If a name is requestedName choices or reservation confirmation
Provide preferred names in order or the existing reservation evidence. Explain if registration without a reserved name is preferred; a company-name reservation is separate from trade mark clearance.
- Ownership preparationShareholder and share-allocation schedule
List intended holders and shares separately from directors. Ask whether preparation of the initial securities register and share certificates is included, especially where special rights or corporate holders are involved.
- Foreign-national directorsPassport and assurance evidence
For the applicable foreign-national route, provide a clear passport or accepted foreign identity document with compliant certification and any required English translation. Confirm whether foreigner assurance is needed.
- Useful briefing informationBusiness activity and deadline brief
Explain planned staff, regulated activities, imports, tenders or VAT requirements, together with the proof and deadline a third party has requested. These identify additional work outside incorporation.
DETAILS THAT CAN HOLD UP AN APPLICATION
Check the certification route before collecting stamps
A certified copy confirms a copy against an original; an affidavit records a sworn statement. Neither should be substituted for the other. Notarisation or an apostille can be relevant to documents prepared abroad, but do not assume every director needs every form of authentication. Confirm the filing route and where the document will be certified first.
- South African certification: Where CIPC requires a certified copy, use a Commissioner of Oaths with a legible name, surname, signature, designation, physical address and certification date.
- Foreigner assurance: CIPC’s guidance requires certification, notarisation or apostille dating no more than three months earlier. That filing rule should not be applied to every business document.
- Passport detail: Capture names, document numbers and expiry dates exactly as shown. An unclear scan, missing detail or mismatched entry can lead to a rejected assurance application.
- English evidence: CIPC requires the certification or authentication in English, with a translation if it is in another language. Foreign-issued supporting documents need their applicable translation requirements checked.
- Documents prepared abroad: Confirm the accepted authentication for the country and document. CIPC recognises notarial certification with the relevant seal or certificate; a simple informal stamp is not equivalent.
HOW IT WORKS
From your instructions to a checked registration pack
We start by confirming what you are registering and what the quoted work covers. You receive a request for the information needed for that scope, rather than being asked to purchase every possible business service. Incomplete ownership decisions or an unresolved naming issue should be addressed before an application is treated as ready to submit.
- 01
Prepare the application
The proposed details are organised for your review. Check spelling, identity numbers, addresses and the intended director appointments carefully. A correction after submission may require a separate amendment rather than a simple change to a draft.
- 02
Submit and follow up
Once the information and required authorisations are ready, the application follows the applicable CIPC process. Queries, verification requirements and name outcomes can affect progress. Submission is a milestone, not a promise that registration has already been approved.
- 03
Check the outcome
The final handover should identify the registration documents received and any items still outstanding. Keep the registration certificate and applicable MOI together, check the company particulars, and retain the application correspondence so that your first business records are easy to trace.
THE NEXT STAGE
A registered company still needs an operating setup
Incorporation creates the company, but it does not complete every requirement for trading. A bank will apply its own account-opening checks. A customer may request tax-compliance evidence, and a particular industry may require an additional registration or licence. These requests should be assessed against what your company actually does instead of being bundled into a vague promise of “full compliance”.
SARS explains that companies registered through CIPC are automatically registered for Corporate Income Tax through the interface between the two organisations. The useful next step is to verify the tax reference and arrange the appropriate access and representative details, rather than automatically paying for a duplicate registration. VAT and employer registrations are separate questions.
Keep your company records
Organise the MOI, director records, ownership register, share certificates where applicable and important resolutions. Decide who will maintain them when a person or address changes.
Set a recurring calendar
Company annual returns, beneficial ownership updates, accounting records and tax submissions serve different purposes. Identify the applicable responsibilities and who will handle each one before the first deadline arrives.
COSTS AND TIMING
Know what your registration quote includes
Ask for a scope that separates the registration work from optional preparation and later services. Name reservation, customised constitutional documents, ownership records and additional registrations may involve distinct tasks or charges. A useful quote states what is included, what you must supply, any official charges and what would require a separate instruction.
- Completion estimate: Confirm the estimated period when your information is reviewed. Document readiness, verification, the chosen registration route and CIPC processing affect progress.
- Your deadline: Share the actual tender, lease or customer date and the exact proof required so that the dependencies can be explained before work starts.
- Separate outcomes: Incorporation alone does not guarantee a bank account, contract or approval. Any additional preparation or registration should appear clearly in the agreed scope.
CONNECT THE NEXT PIECE.
Related support
for your business.
YOUR QUESTIONS. A CLEARER NEXT STEP.
Company registration:
frequently asked questions.
01Can one person register a private company?
A private company can have one director, and the same person may also be its shareholder. The records must still distinguish management from ownership. Tell us if you expect another person to join shortly after registration so that the initial setup and any later ownership work can be scoped sensibly.
02Do I need an approved company name before I start?
Not necessarily for a for-profit company. CIPC provides a route to register without a reserved name, with the registration number used in the prescribed company-name format. If having a particular name from the outset matters to your launch, discuss the reservation step first. Name approval is separate from trade mark protection.
03Will company registration include VAT registration?
VAT registration is a separate service and depends on the business’s circumstances and supporting evidence. A newly incorporated company should not be described as VAT registered unless its VAT status has actually been confirmed. Include your expected activities and why you need VAT registration in the enquiry so that the right route can be assessed.
04What documents should I receive afterwards?
The handover should include the incorporation documents applicable to your registration, including the registration certificate and MOI. Other records, such as initial share certificates or a securities register, depend on the agreed service scope. Review the document list in the quote so that you know what is being prepared and what remains your responsibility.
05Does registering a company protect my brand?
Company registration, name reservation, domain registration and trade mark registration address different things. A company-name approval does not establish that a brand is free of conflicting trade mark rights. If the business will invest in a distinctive name or logo, consider a separate trade mark assessment before committing to packaging, signage or an expensive launch.
06Can I enquire before deciding on directors and shareholders?
Yes. Tell us which decisions are still open and what the business is intended to do. An initial discussion can identify the information needed to move forward. The application should only proceed once the relevant people, roles and instructions are clear; a disputed or uncertain ownership arrangement needs resolution rather than assumptions in a registration form.
Have a question about your situation?
USEFUL INFORMATION, CLOSE TO HAND.
Resources for
your next step.
Go deeper with guidance from the relevant authorities.
OFFICIAL RESOURCE
CIPC: private company with standard MOI
Read the official private-company registration guidance.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC: name reservation
Understand name reservation and registration naming options.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCESARS: registering a business
Read how company registration connects with tax registration.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC: foreigner-assurance certification checks
Read the official guidance relevant to this part of the service.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC: foreigner assurance and translations
Read the official guidance relevant to this part of the service.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC: external-company document and certification guidance
Read the official guidance relevant to this part of the service.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC: incorporation document requirements
Read the official guidance relevant to this part of the service.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCECIPC BizPortal: standard company-registration charges
Read the official guidance relevant to this part of the service.
Open the resourceLET’S FIND YOUR NEXT STEP.
Ready to discuss
company registration?
Share your requirements with Vatco.
Confirm the scope, documents and fees before proceeding.