A CIPC disclosure certificate is an extract from the companies register showing a company's current details — registered name and number, company status, registered address, financial year end and the directors currently on record. Unlike the CoR14.3 registration certificate, which shows the position at incorporation and never changes, a disclosure certificate reflects the position today. It is what banks, tender portals and counterparties actually need when they ask you to prove who runs the company.
Half the delays in supplier onboarding come from someone sending a fifteen-year-old registration certificate when a disclosure certificate was what was wanted.
What it shows
Registered company name and registration number
Company status — whether the company is in business, in deregistration process, deregistered, or in liquidation
Registered address
Financial year end
Company type — (Pty) Ltd, NPC, Inc, and so on
Date of registration
The directors currently on record, with their status and dates of appointment
What it does not show
Shareholders. Private company shareholding is not on the public CIPC register — it sits in the company's own securities register
Financial information — no turnover, profit or balance sheet
Tax compliance. Nothing from CIPC establishes your position with SARS
Beneficial ownership detail, which is filed with CIPC but is not part of the public disclosure extract
That last group is what people wrongly assume they are getting. A disclosure certificate proves the company exists, who its directors are, and what state it is in. It proves nothing about whether the company pays its taxes or is worth trading with.
Disclosure certificate vs CoR14.3
The single most useful distinction in this whole area.
| CoR14.3 registration certificate | Disclosure certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows | The position at incorporation | The position now |
| Changes over time? | Never | Every time the company changes |
| Current directors? | No — founding directors only | Yes |
| Company status? | No | Yes |
| Proves the company exists? | It existed once | It exists now |
| Typically wanted for | Proof of registration | Verification and due diligence |
A company deregistered three years ago still has a valid-looking CoR14.3. That is exactly why counterparties who know what they are doing ask for a disclosure certificate instead. See what is a CoR14.3.
When you will be asked for one
Bank account opening and FICA review. Banks need to verify current directors against the people signing.
Corporate supplier onboarding. Large customers verify the entity and its directors before adding you as a vendor.
Tenders. Standard in most tender packs, alongside CSD registration, a tax compliance status PIN and B-BBEE documentation.
Leases and finance applications, where the landlord or lender needs to confirm who has authority to bind the company.
Legal proceedings, where the correct legal name, number and registered address are needed to serve documents properly.
Due diligence in any transaction — investment, acquisition, or a significant contract.
Using it the other way: checking someone else
This is where a disclosure certificate earns its cost, and almost nobody does it.
Before signing a large contract, extending trade credit, or paying a substantial deposit, pull the counterparty's record. It takes minutes and it answers questions that are expensive to answer later.
What to actually look at:
Company status. "In business" is what you want. "In deregistration process" or "deregistered" is a stop sign — you may be contracting with an entity that does not legally exist, which puts your recourse in serious doubt.
Directors. Is the person signing actually a director? A quotation signed by someone with no authority to bind the company is a problem you discover when you try to enforce it.
Registration number against the name. Confirm the entity you are contracting with is the entity you think it is. Similar trading names across related companies are common, and the one with the assets is not always the one on the contract.
Registered address, for serving notices under the contract.
Date of registration. A company incorporated three weeks ago quoting for a substantial job is not disqualifying, but it is worth knowing.
Where the counterparty is a supplier you are paying upfront, this five-minute check is the cheapest risk control available to you. See how to check if your company is CIPC compliant for the equivalent check on your own position.
How to get one
Through BizPortal or CIPC e-Services, using a customer profile with funds loaded. There is a small fee.
Through your accountant or company secretary, who generally holds a profile and can pull it the same day.
A practical note: counterparties frequently want a recently issued certificate — often within the last three months. An extract you pulled last year may be rejected even if nothing has changed, because the point is currency. Do not build a tender submission around an old one.
What to do if it shows something wrong
Directors who have left, or are missing. File a CoR39. Note that a director who resigned but was never filed is still held out as a director, with the exposure that carries. See how to add or remove a director at CIPC.
An old registered address. File a CoR21.1 — and understand that CIPC deregistration warnings have been going to that address. See how to change your registered address at CIPC.
Status showing "in deregistration process". Act immediately. Annual returns are outstanding and the company is on a path that ends with a frozen bank account. See what happens if CIPC deregisters your company.
Status showing "deregistered". The company does not currently exist as a legal person. You need reinstatement. See how to reinstate a deregistered company.
The financial year end is wrong, which usually means it was never corrected after being set at incorporation, and your accountant and SARS are working to a different date than CIPC holds.
Pull your own certificate once a year, in your anniversary month, before anyone else does. Finding an error yourself is administrative. Finding it during a tender submission is not.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CIPC disclosure certificate? An extract from the companies register showing a company's current details — registered name and number, status, registered address, financial year end, company type, date of registration and the directors currently on record.
What is the difference between a disclosure certificate and a CoR14.3? The CoR14.3 shows the position at incorporation and never changes. A disclosure certificate shows the position today, including current directors and company status. A deregistered company still has a valid-looking CoR14.3, which is why counterparties ask for a disclosure certificate.
Does a disclosure certificate show shareholders? No. Private company shareholding is not on the public CIPC register — it is kept in the company's own securities register. The disclosure certificate shows directors, not shareholders.
How do I get a CIPC disclosure certificate? Through BizPortal or CIPC e-Services using a customer profile with funds loaded, for a small fee, or through your accountant or company secretary who generally holds a profile.
Can I get a disclosure certificate for another company? Yes. The information is on the public register, which makes it a practical due diligence check before signing a large contract, extending trade credit or paying a substantial deposit.
How recent does a disclosure certificate need to be? Counterparties frequently require one issued within the last three months. An older extract may be rejected even if nothing has changed, because currency is the point of the document.
Does a disclosure certificate prove tax compliance? No. Nothing from CIPC establishes your position with SARS. Tax compliance is verified through a tax compliance status PIN issued by SARS.
Check your own before someone else does
The certificate itself is a small thing. What it reveals — a director who left three years ago, an address you moved out of, a status quietly reading "in deregistration process" — is not.
Smartbook pulls and reviews clients' CIPC records annually, and fixes what the certificate exposes before a bank or a tender does.
Last reviewed: 28 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. The information available on CIPC extracts and the fees charged change from time to time — confirm current requirements at cipc.co.za. General guidance, not legal advice.
Primary sources: CIPC · BizPortal · CIPC e-Services · Companies Act 71 of 2008