There are two ways to check whether your company is compliant with CIPC. The official way — through CIPC's own BizPortal — requires creating an account, navigating multiple portals, and cross-referencing several separate databases. The fast way takes 30 seconds.
What CIPC compliance actually involves
Your company's CIPC standing covers three separate things, each checked in a different place:
Annual Return status — whether you have filed your annual return for the current and preceding years. Missing this for two consecutive years triggers deregistration.
Beneficial Ownership filing — whether you have declared who ultimately owns and controls your business. This became mandatory on 1 July 2024. If unfiled, it blocks your annual return submission.
Gazette listing — whether your company has appeared in the Government Gazette as a deregistration notice. This is the clearest warning sign that action is needed urgently.
Most SME owners are unaware of all three requirements simultaneously. CIPC does not proactively notify companies when they fall non-compliant — it publishes notices in the Government Gazette, which almost nobody reads.
The official CIPC method
To check manually through CIPC:
- Log in or register at biznpo.cipc.co.za.
- Search your company by registration number.
- Check your annual return filing status under “Annual Returns.”
- Check your Beneficial Ownership status separately under the BO portal at beneficial.cipc.co.za.
- Cross-reference your company name against the most recent Government Gazette deregistration notices — these are published as PDFs on the Government Gazette website.
This process works but requires navigating three separate portals and reading PDF gazette documents. The gazette PDFs are large files with thousands of company names listed in small print.
The ClearComply method
Enter your company registration number at clearcomply.co.za. ClearComply checks your company against 2.2 million indexed CIPC Beneficial Ownership records and 43,000 parsed Government Gazette entries simultaneously. Results appear in 30 seconds with a plain-language explanation of any issues found and what to do about them. No account required for the initial check.
What your result means
Green
Your company does not appear on any CIPC non-compliance or gazette deregistration lists based on currently published data. This is a positive indicator but not a guarantee — CIPC updates its records periodically and your status can change.
Amber
One or more items need your attention but are not yet at critical deregistration risk. Act within the next 30 days.
Red
Your company appears on a deregistration gazette notice or critical non-compliance list. This requires immediate action.
How often to check
At minimum, check your CIPC status twice a year — once before your annual return deadline and once mid-year to catch any Beneficial Ownership issues. ClearComply's compliance calendar tracks your specific deadlines and sends automated reminders before each one.