Company Registration Companies In Centurion

Company registration companies in Centurion can handle CIPC incorporation, optional name reservation and MOI documentation, while an attorney-led service can also advise on the structure and contracts suited to the founders’ arrangement. CIPC publishes a R125 filing fee for a private company with a standard MOI, R425 for a private company with a customised MOI, and R50 for an optional name reservation; a service provider’s professional fee is separate. Burger Huyser Attorneys offers company-registration support through its Centurion branch as part of its Commercial Law / Contracts practice.

What a Company Registration Company Should Actually Do

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is the statutory registry that records every South African company under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. A “company registration company” or law firm acts as the applicant’s service provider — using one does not unlock a different Centurion filing route, because CIPC processes every submission through its authorised national channels. What it changes is who collects the documents, drafts or selects the constitutional paperwork, submits the transaction, monitors progress and delivers the registration certificate.

The core service, in plain terms, covers collecting founder and director information, helping the client select the correct entity type, reserving a name if requested, preparing or selecting the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), submitting the incorporation through an authorised CIPC channel, monitoring progress and delivering the registration documents. A useful provider will also flag adjacent obligations — beneficial-ownership filing, annual returns, banking, SARS registration and industry licences — so the client understands what is included and what is not.

Every quotation should distinguish three separate amounts:

1. The official CIPC filing fee.
2. The optional CIPC name-reservation fee.
3. The provider’s professional or package fee.

If those three are bundled into one unexplained total, the client cannot tell whether they are paying for the registry’s work, the provider’s administrative work, or both. Extras that some national providers advertise — SARS, VAT, COIDA, B-BBEE, beneficial-ownership declarations, bank accounts, share certificates, annual returns, tax clearance and industry registrations — are not automatically part of basic incorporation and should be itemised in writing before an engagement is signed.

The attorney-led difference matters most when the founders need a customised MOI, a separate shareholders’ agreement, defined decision-making rights, restrictions on share transfers, or advice on the correct entity for a regulated profession. An attorney can also align the MOI with related commercial contracts so that the internal rules, founder obligations and external arrangements do not contradict each other. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Centurion branch is set up to close exactly this gap for founders who want incorporation linked to the broader commercial-law picture.

Company Types and the MOI Decision

The Companies Act recognises several entity types. Each has a different intended use, and the choice drives the MOI, the official fee and the long-term governance framework.

Option	Typical use indicated by CIPC	Key point for the founder
Private company — (Pty) Ltd	Ordinary trading businesses and franchises	Separate juristic entity; may not offer shares to the public; requires at least one director
Non-profit company — NPC	Organisations such as churches or public-benefit ventures	Must have a name; standard and customised MOI routes differ
Personal liability company — Inc.	Certain professional practices	Applicant should confirm the required entity with the relevant professional regulator
Public or state-owned company	Specialist structures with enhanced accountability	Not the default small-business route; specialist advice is appropriate

The MOI is the company’s constitutional document. It records incorporators, director numbers, share capital and company-specific governance rules, and it cannot override the unalterable provisions of the Companies Act.

• Standard MOI: carries the lower official filing fee and benefits from CIPC’s faster electronic service standard. It is suitable only where the default framework matches the founders’ intended arrangement.
• Customised MOI: carries a higher official filing fee and a longer service standard (five working days for CIPC processing), but can tailor alterable provisions to suit the company. It must still respect the unalterable requirements of the Companies Act.

A private company’s MOI must provide for at least one director. Under CIPC’s standard MOI the director’s term is indefinite and there is no stated maximum number of directors. The attorney should also confirm whether the founders need a separate shareholders’ agreement: the MOI and a private agreement serve related but distinct purposes and should not conflict.

The Assisted Registration Process

1. Hold an initial scope consultation — identify the intended business, founders, directors, ownership arrangement, any regulated-industry concerns and whether a standard or customised MOI is appropriate.
2. Collect the inputs — certified South African ID copies where applicable, proof of address, director postal and physical addresses, the proposed company address, ownership and directorship details, and basic company information. Obtain a signed authority or power of attorney only in the form requested by the appointed provider; do not reuse a competitor’s form.
3. Choose the name route — submit one to four proposed names for the CIPC name-reservation fee, or register a for-profit company without a reserved name so that the enterprise number becomes the registered name with “(South Africa)” as the suffix.
4. Prepare and review the MOI — use the standard form only after checking that its governance rules fit the arrangement; draft a customised MOI where the founders need tailored rights, restrictions or decision-making provisions.
5. Submit to CIPC and track the transaction — confirm the filing channel, payment, reference number and the person responsible for correcting any rejected or incomplete documents.
6. Receive and check the incorporation documents — verify the registered name or enterprise-number name, registration number, director details and MOI before treating the engagement as complete.
7. Confirm the post-registration work list — identify which beneficial-ownership, annual-return, financial-statement, tax, employment, banking, licence and industry requirements are included, referred elsewhere or left to the client.

Official Fees Versus Provider Prices

The table below sets out CIPC’s official filing fees alongside one Gauteng provider’s advertised package prices. The provider figures are not the market norm, do not include VAT, and the inclusions and current prices should be confirmed before any quotation is compared.

Item	Amount shown in the SERP research	What founders need to understand
CIPC name reservation	R50	Optional for a for-profit company; one to four names may be proposed; the filing fee is non-refundable
CIPC private company with standard MOI	R125	Official filing fee, not a provider’s total price
CIPC private company with customised MOI	R425	Official filing fee; professional drafting or advice is additional
Regfield advertised Pty package	R800	Provider price; inclusions and current price must be confirmed
Regfield advertised NPC package	R1,400	Provider price; do not present as the CIPC fee
Regfield advertised incorporated-company package	R1,600	Provider price; confirm scope and suitability for a professional practice
Regfield advertised co-operative package	R950	A co-operative is a distinct registration route; confirm whether it fits the proposed venture

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ professional fee is quoted only after the service scope is known, so founders should request one written breakdown that separates official CIPC disbursements, professional fees, optional drafting and any post-registration extras.

How Long Company Registration Can Take

CIPC publishes the following service standards. These are the registry’s targets, not unconditional promises:

• Short-standard registration through e-services: one working day.
• Mobile App, Self Service Terminals, participating banks or BizPortal: described by CIPC as immediate once payment is made.
• Registration using a customised MOI: five working days from tracking, provided sufficient funds are available.
• Name reservation: one working day, subject to available funds or payment.

National providers quote their own turnaround targets. One well-known provider advertises a 24-hour registration with a money-back condition but qualifies this in its own FAQ as 1–3 working days depending on CIPC processing and document accuracy. Another provider publishes a 5–7 working day estimate. The end-to-end timeline can stretch beyond the registry’s service standard because of intake, identity checks, name rejections, missing information, bespoke MOI drafting and CIPC processing time. Ask the provider whether its estimate starts when the client pays, when all documents are accepted, or when CIPC begins tracking the application.

Name Reservation: Optional, but Not Trivial

A for-profit company can be incorporated without reserving a name. CIPC then uses the enterprise number followed by “(South Africa)” as the registered name. The company can trade under a trading name and add a reserved company name later, but the later change requires an approved reservation, a special resolution and an MOI amendment.

Where a name is reserved:

• One to four names may be submitted per application.
• The filing fee is R50 and is non-refundable, even if the preferred names are rejected.
• CIPC confirms an approved reservation on Form CoR 9.4.
• A reservation is valid for six months from the date of approval.
• Extensions cost R30 for each additional 60 business days, but the extension application must be submitted within the month before expiry; a reservation cannot be extended once it has lapsed.

A preliminary trade-mark search and an online availability check are sensible steps before filing. A CIPC company-name reservation is not the same as trade-mark registration or broader brand clearance, so a name reservation should not be relied on as a substitute for trade-mark protection.

Documents and Decisions to Bring to the First Consultation

Coming prepared saves a second visit and reduces the risk of a CIPC rejection. Founders should bring:

• Certified ID copies for each proposed director (where required) and proof of address.
• Postal and physical addresses for each director and for the proposed company.
• One to four preferred company names, or a deliberate decision to register under the enterprise-number name first.
• Proposed directors, shareholders, ownership percentages, share classes (if relevant) and the intended business activities.
• Any existing founder term sheet, shareholders’ arrangement, franchise requirement, tender requirement or instruction from a professional regulator that could affect the entity type or MOI.
• A list of any extras the founders want covered — SARS, VAT, COIDA, B-BBEE, beneficial ownership, banking, licences — so the engagement letter can state what is included and what is not.
• A signed authority or power of attorney only in the form requested by the appointed provider.

How to Compare Company Registration Companies in Centurion

Route	Best suited to	Cost structure	Legal and governance support
Direct CIPC or BizPortal filing	Straightforward registration where the applicant understands the entity and MOI choices	Official CIPC fees only	No bundled independent legal advice
General registration provider	Applicant who wants administrative handling and online tracking	Official fees plus a provider package	Varies; confirm qualifications, MOI scope and contract support
Attorney-led registration	Founders who need incorporation linked to governance, shareholder rights or commercial contracts	Official fees plus a disclosed professional fee	Legal advice and related drafting can be scoped into the engagement

Useful comparison questions to put to each provider:

• Does the provider disclose official CIPC fees separately rather than presenting one unexplained total?
• Who reviews the IDs, addresses, director details and MOI selections before submission, and what happens if CIPC rejects the filing?
• Does the client receive a CIPC tracking reference and all final incorporation documents electronically?
• Are the provider’s timelines guarantees, targets or estimates subject to CIPC processing? How do they compare against CIPC’s own service standards?
• How does the provider handle information security and POPIA, especially where IDs and proof-of-address documents are uploaded online?
• For a customised MOI or shareholders’ agreement, is the work performed or supervised by an attorney with commercial-law experience?

For a Centurion searcher, face-to-face access and local accountability can matter. National online providers can file the same CIPC transaction, so location alone is not evidence of better technical work. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Centurion branch offers both — direct consultation with the commercial-law team and access to the wider firm’s specialist consultants where the matter crosses into trusts, notarial work or intellectual property.

What Happens After CIPC Registration

Incorporation is the start, not the end, of a company’s compliance obligations. A practical handover checklist should cover:

• Recording the registration certificate, MOI, director and shareholder information, registered address, share records and secure access to the CIPC profile.
• Filing annual returns through CIPC, accompanied by the latest beneficial-ownership declaration and the applicable audited financial statements or Financial Accountability Supplement. Failure to comply can lead to CIPC initiating deregistration.
• Separating CIPC maintenance from SARS, VAT, PAYE, COIDA, B-BBEE, bank-account, licensing, tender and industry-specific steps. Some providers advertise these as bundles, but each requires its own application and eligibility checks.
• Calendaring annual and event-driven obligations so that changes to directors, addresses, share structure or the MOI are recorded and filed timeously.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to register a private company in Centurion?

CIPC’s published filing fee is R125 for a private company with a standard MOI or R425 with a customised MOI, with an additional R50 if a name reservation is requested. A registration company’s or law firm’s professional fee is separate, so the quotation should distinguish official fees, drafting fees and optional compliance services.

How long does CIPC company registration take?

CIPC’s service standard is one working day for a short-standard electronic registration and five working days for a customised-MOI registration, subject to payment and correct documents. Provider estimates in the SERP research range from 24 hours or 1–3 working days to 5–7 working days, so clients should ask when the quoted period begins and what exclusions apply.

Must I reserve a company name before registering?

No. A for-profit company may be registered without a reserved name, in which case its enterprise number becomes its registered name with “(South Africa)” as the suffix; a reserved name can be added later through a name reservation and MOI amendment. If a name is reserved first, one to four names may be proposed for the non-refundable R50 filing fee.

What should I bring to a company-registration consultation?

Bring certified ID copies where required, proof of address, directors’ and company address details, one to four preferred names, and the proposed ownership and director structure. Also bring any founder, franchise, tender or professional-regulator documents that could affect the company type, MOI or related contracts.

When is a customised MOI worth considering?

A customised MOI may be appropriate when the founders need governance rules that differ from CIPC’s standard form, such as tailored decision-making, director, share or transfer provisions. It carries a higher official filing fee and should be drafted consistently with the Companies Act and any related shareholders’ agreement.

Can I register directly through CIPC instead of using a company registration company?

Yes. Straightforward registrations can be submitted through CIPC’s available electronic channels, and a service provider is not legally required merely because the founder is based in Centurion. Assisted or attorney-led registration is most useful where the client wants administrative handling, document review, advice on the entity or MOI, or coordinated commercial contracts.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Commercial Law / Contracts team can assist with company registration, MOI decisions and related commercial agreements through the Centurion branch at Block 12, Unit 34, First Floor, Central Office Park, 257 Jean Avenue, Centurion, 0157. Contact the branch on 012 644 4990 to arrange a consultation and request a written quotation that separates CIPC charges from professional fees and optional work. The firm’s commercial-law credentials include recognition as Commercial Law Firm of the Year 2025 – South Africa in the 5 Star Lawyers Awards 2025.