The Companies Tribunal is a statutory body established under the Companies Act to adjudicate certain company law matters and to act as a forum for voluntary alternative dispute resolution. It handles company name disputes, applications to review CIPC compliance notices, certain director-related applications, and exemption applications from social and ethics committee requirements. It is considerably cheaper and faster than the High Court for the matters it covers.
Most small companies facing a company law problem assume the only route is litigation. Frequently it is not.
What does the Tribunal actually do?
Broadly, four things.
1. Company name disputes. Where a company has been registered with a name confusingly similar to a name or mark in which you hold rights, you can apply for an order directing that company to change its name.
2. Reviewing CIPC compliance notices. Where CIPC has issued a compliance notice you believe is wrong, you may apply to the Tribunal to review it, and the Tribunal may confirm, modify or cancel it.
3. Certain director-related applications, including matters concerning the removal of directors in defined circumstances and directors' conduct.
4. Exemption applications, notably from the requirement to appoint a social and ethics committee.
It also acts as a forum for voluntary alternative dispute resolution in company disputes, where the parties agree to use it.
Why use it rather than the High Court?
Cost and speed, primarily.
| Companies Tribunal | High Court | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Considerably lower | Substantial |
| Speed | Faster | Slow |
| Formality | Formal, but less so | Fully formal litigation |
| Scope | Only what the Act empowers it to hear | Broad |
| Legal representation | Not always necessary | Effectively necessary |
The limitation is scope. The Tribunal can only deal with what the Act empowers it to deal with. For anything outside that, the High Court is the forum — and applying to the wrong one wastes time you may not have.
The name dispute route
This is the use most small businesses encounter.
Someone registers a company with a name confusingly similar to yours. Your options are a letter, a Tribunal application, or — where a registered trade mark is involved and they are actually trading — an infringement claim.
Your prospects depend on what you actually hold. A registered trade mark is the strongest position by some distance. Established prior use supports a passing-off argument but requires evidence. A company registration alone is weaker than most owners expect.
Timing matters. Delay weakens your position — it suggests the similarity did not trouble you, and the other company builds its own goodwill meanwhile. The moment you become aware is the moment to act.
See someone registered a company with my business name and company name vs trade mark.
The compliance notice route
Less well known, and worth understanding before you need it.
A CIPC compliance notice is a formal instruction identifying a provision of the Act the company has contravened and requiring it to be remedied within a stated period.
You have three options: comply, apply to the Tribunal for a review, or do nothing.
Complying is the right answer in almost every case, because the notice is usually about something that genuinely has not been done.
The Tribunal route is for genuine grounds — the company did not contravene the provision, the notice is addressed to the wrong party, the facts are wrong, or the remedy required is not what the Act requires.
It is not a delay tactic, and used as one it is expensive and unproductive. See what is a CIPC compliance notice.
What it will not do for you
Worth being clear about, because the Tribunal is often reached for in situations it cannot help.
Shareholder disputes generally. A falling-out about the direction of the business, or a claim that one shareholder is being oppressed, is not automatically a Tribunal matter. That is where a shareholders' agreement should have provided a mechanism. See what is a shareholders' agreement.
Recovering money. It is not a debt collection forum.
Employment disputes. Those go to the CCMA or the Labour Court. See how to dismiss an employee legally.
Trade mark infringement. The Tribunal deals with company names on the register. Trade mark infringement is a different claim in a different forum. See how to register a trade mark.
Undoing your own non-compliance. Where the compliance notice is right and you simply have not filed, the answer is to file. See how to catch up years of unfiled CIPC annual returns.
How to approach an application
1. Establish that the Tribunal has jurisdiction over your matter. If it does not, everything after this is wasted.
2. Work out what you actually hold — a registered right, evidence of prior use, or an argument. Be honest about this, because a weak application is worse than none.
3. Consider the letter first. A large share of name disputes settle on a clear, factual letter setting out your right, the conflict and what you want. Many company names that clash were registered by somebody who did not know you existed.
4. Gather the evidence. Dated marketing material, invoices, registrations, correspondence, documented instances of actual confusion.
5. Act promptly. Delay counts against you.
6. Take advice on the application itself. The Tribunal being cheaper than the High Court does not make it informal — it is a formal process with requirements, and a poorly framed application wastes the opportunity.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Companies Tribunal? A statutory body established under the Companies Act to adjudicate certain company law matters and to act as a forum for voluntary alternative dispute resolution. It is considerably cheaper and faster than the High Court for the matters it covers.
What matters does the Companies Tribunal deal with? Company name disputes, applications to review CIPC compliance notices, certain director-related applications, and exemption applications including from the social and ethics committee requirement.
Can the Tribunal make a company change its name? Yes. Where a name is confusingly similar to a name or mark in which you hold rights, the Tribunal can direct the company to change its name within a stated period.
Can I challenge a CIPC compliance notice? Yes. You may apply to the Tribunal to review the notice, which may confirm, modify or cancel it. This is for genuine grounds, not as a delay tactic.
Is the Companies Tribunal cheaper than the High Court? Considerably, and faster — which is the main reason to use it where it has jurisdiction. The limitation is scope: it can only hear what the Act empowers it to hear.
Can I take a shareholder dispute to the Companies Tribunal? Not generally. Shareholder disputes about the direction of the business are not automatically Tribunal matters — that is what a shareholders' agreement mechanism is for.
Do I need a lawyer for a Tribunal application? Not always, but take advice before filing. It is a formal process with requirements, and a poorly framed application wastes the opportunity.
How quickly should I act on a company name dispute? Promptly. Delay weakens your position — it suggests the similarity did not trouble you, and the other company builds goodwill in the name meanwhile.
The letter first, the Tribunal second
Most disputes that reach the Tribunal could have been resolved by a clear letter written early. The ones that could not are usually the ones where the person writing had no registered right to point at.
Smartbook keeps company records in the state that makes a claim defensible, files at CIPC when a name or director change is agreed, and handles trade mark registration — the only mechanism that gives a clean answer to a name dispute.
Register a trade mark — R3,500 →
Change your company name — R690 →
Last reviewed: 28 August 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. Tribunal jurisdiction, procedures and fees are set out in the Companies Act and its regulations and change from time to time. Applications to the Tribunal are legal proceedings — take advice before filing. General guidance, not legal advice.
Primary sources: Companies Tribunal · Companies Act 71 of 2008 · CIPC