Search the South Africa Company Register by Name
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)
Search the CIPC
Search Company Records in South Africa
Free basic search · no sign-up required.
How do I search the CIPC company registry?
Start with CIPC for South Africa. Use the legal name or supported identifier, compare the exact entity and inspect available fields. Company registration and VAT checks are separate tasks; coverage and official access requirements vary.
- Registry
- CIPC
- Coverage
- Depends on the register, entity type and available integration; a missing result is not proof of non-registration
- Cost
- LemReveal basic lookup is free where supported; official services have separate access and fee rules
- Data freshness
- Our mirror of this register was last refreshed 2026-07-04
South Africa company records
Every record below has its own page with the registered name, registration number, registered address, legal form and status, plus free change monitoring. Records are mirrored from public open data (GLEIF LEI, CC0), which sources them from the national register.
South Africa: choosing and checking the right record
- Choose the correct source
- Use CIPC for company registration information. Identify the official company record before interpreting a trading name, and follow the portal's current access or document-request process where further particulars are required.
- Confirm the entity
- Keep the full company registration number, including its separators and suffix, with the legal name. A company number and a tax reference are different identifiers.
- When the search returns nothing
- Ask for the registration number and legal contracting name. A sole proprietor or trading name should not be assumed to be a registered company; an inaccessible portal is not proof of non-registration.
- What the record cannot establish
- Basic search, disclosure documents and director information can have different access requirements. Registration status does not confirm VAT status, a licence, financial health or beneficial ownership.
Check current access and document options on the official CIPC site. Keep the exact entity identifier, source URL and retrieval date with your evidence. A LemReveal record PDF is not a government-certified extract.
Step-by-step guides for South Africa
Free how-to walkthroughs — search by name, check directors, get an official extract.
Searches people run for South Africa
Each one answers a different question — free, no account needed.
South Africa — by the numbers
- Records indexed
- 1,002
- Last updated
- 2026-07-04
- Top entity type
- GENERAL
- Cost
- Free
730 records
No signup required
About CIPC company search
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) registers every South African company and close corporation. A free CIPC company search returns the registered name, registration number (formatted YYYY/NNNNNN/NN), enterprise type (Pty Ltd, NPC, Inc, CC), registration date, registered address, directors and whether the entity is in business, deregistered or in business rescue. Search by name or registration number — no CIPC customer code needed.
CIPC at a glance
- What it publishes
- Registration number, Company name, Type
- What it costs
- Searching here is free
- How current it is
- Our mirror of this register was last refreshed 2026-07-04
- Can we monitor it
- Not currently offered for this source; lookup availability does not imply change monitoring
Access South African company data from CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission). Search by company name or registration number.
Get the full South Africa list — free
Sign in with Google to save records, keep your search history, and watch supported CIPC companies for changes.
2M+
Active Companies
#33 Global
GDP Rank
Stock Exchange
Africa's Largest
Partial Free
Data Access
Registry Overview
South Africa's CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) maintains the register of all South African companies. Every company receives a registration number. South Africa is the continent's most industrialized economy and the gateway to African markets.
Entity Types
- •(Pty) Ltd (Private Company)
- •Ltd (Public Company)
- •Personal Liability Company (Inc.)
- •Non-Profit Company (NPC)
- •Close Corporation (CC - legacy)
- •External Company
Data Available
- ✓Registration number
- ✓Company name
- ✓Type
- ✓Status
- ✓Registration date
- ✓Financial year end
- ✓Directors
- ✓Registered address
Free tools for South Africa
How to search the CIPC
- 1
Register on the CIPC eServices Portal
Unlike many registries, full searches require a user account. Navigate to the CIPC eServices website and create a profile.
- 2
Deposit Funds for Disclosures
Detailed disclosures (COR39 or COR14.3 certificates) typically require a small credit balance. Payments are made via EFT using your customer code as a reference.
- 3
Perform an Enterprise Search
Use the 'Enterprise Search' tool using either the Enterprise Name or the Registration Number (formatted as YYYY/000000/00).
- 4
Download or Email Certificates
Select the required disclosure type. Records including director details and registered addresses are emailed to the registered user's address.
Who uses this data
Due diligence teams, procurement officers vetting vendors, legal professionals conducting KYC (Know Your Customer) checks under FICA regulations, and cross-border investors targeting the SADC region.
Access, fees & notes
South Africa utilizes a specific registration number format that indicates the year of incorporation and the entity type (e.g., /07 for private companies). Close Corporations (CC) are legacy entities; no new ones can be registered, but many remain active.
Cost & access
Basic search functionality is generally free once registered; official disclosure certificates cost approximately R30 per document.
Local-language glossary
- Proprietary Limited ((Pty) Ltd)
- A private company, the most common entity for small to medium businesses.
- Close Corporation (CC)
- A simplified corporate entity type replaced by the Companies Act of 2008.
- Personal Liability Company (Inc.)
- An entity where directors are jointly and severally liable for company debts, common in legal and medical professions.
- Non-Profit Company (NPC)
- An entity incorporated for public benefit or other objects relating to cultural or social activities.
- FICA
- Financial Intelligence Centre Act, the South African equivalent of AML/KYC legislation.
Common mistakes to avoid
✗ Using solely the BizPortal for deep due diligence.
✓ BizPortal is for registration; the official eServices or CIPC mobile app should be used for retrieving comprehensive disclosure certificates.
✗ Neglecting the company status code.
✓ Ensure a company is 'In Business'. Entities marked 'Annual Return Non-Compliance' are at risk of deregistration and may be high-risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a (Pty) Ltd?▾
Pty Ltd (Proprietary Limited) is South Africa's private company, equivalent to a Ltd. It restricts the transfer of shares and limits the number of shareholders to 50. There's no minimum capital requirement. It's the most common company type in South Africa.
How do I search CIPC?▾
CIPC offers a free online search at eservices.cipc.co.za. You can search by company name or registration number. Basic information is free; detailed company reports cost R30–R80.
What is a Close Corporation?▾
Close Corporations (CC) were a popular small business entity in South Africa. Since 2011, no new CCs can be formed (existing ones can continue operating). They've been replaced by the simpler (Pty) Ltd under the new Companies Act.
What is B-BBEE?▾
B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) is South Africa's policy framework for economic transformation. Companies are scored on ownership, management, skills development, and enterprise development. B-BBEE status significantly affects government procurement eligibility.
How do I search for a company in South Africa by name?▾
Use the available lookup or the linked official CIPC service. Start with the legal name, then compare the exact CIPC number and available identity fields. Name matches are candidates; source coverage and partial-name support vary.
Is the South Africa company register free to search?▾
Basic company lookup is free on LemReveal. The official South Africa register has independent access rules and may require an account or charge for searches, extracts or particular documents. Check the source's current terms.
Can I search South Africa companies by registration number?▾
Where the source supports it, use the exact CIPC number together with its register or jurisdiction. Preserve prefixes and leading zeros and compare the returned legal name. A number alone does not guarantee coverage or a successful lookup.
How do I check whether a company is registered in South Africa?▾
Search the exact CIPC number or legal name above, then confirm the entity's identifier and source. An empty result can reflect coverage limits, a source outage, spelling or a different jurisdiction; it does not prove the business is unregistered. A fuzzy candidate is not a confirmed identity.
How can I tell if a South Africa company is still active?▾
Read the status and effective date where the CIPC supplies them. Active registration does not establish trading or financial health. Monitoring is available only for supported sources and confirmed records; verify the actual watch state.
How do I find a company's CIPC number?▾
Identify the legal entity using the available lookup or official CIPC route. Record the CIPC only where supplied, with its source and jurisdiction. Do not infer missing identifiers from a similar name.
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What is this number?
Paste any business identifier — VAT, LEI, company number, DUNS, ABN, CNPJ, CIN, CIK — and we will tell you what it is and who issues it. Where this decoder supports the identifier's check digit, it also validates it; other results are clearly marked as format-only matches.
Nothing leaves your browser — the check runs locally.
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Recently indexed from the South Africa register
Related Intelligence
Decision-makers indexed across South Africa companies
Platform-wide: 5,926 decision-makers indexed across 734 companies. Distribution by seniority:
- C-Suite331 · 6%
- VP31 · 1%
- Director173 · 3%
- Manager18 · 0%
- Individual Contributor4,474 · 75%
- Other899 · 15%
Aggregate counts only — no personal information is shown. Data refreshed 2026-07-04.
Get alerted when a South Africa company record changes
You just looked one up. Add it to a watchlist and we’ll re-check the CIPC on a schedule, then email you the exact fields that changed.
Cite this record
LemReveal. (2026). South Africa — CIPC Dataset. Source: CIPC. Retrieved October 27, 2026, from https://lemreveal.com/data/south-africa
Related to South Africa
Other country registries
Measured registry access
- South Africa registry access: 19/100
19.3% of 1,453 measured searches returned a record
- Full Registry Access Index
- Live registry status