The new companies act which came into effect on 1 May 2011 marked a new era in company registration as CC (close corporations) can no longer be registered. If you have a close corporation you can continue to trade there is however a grace period in which you will then have to convert your close corporation into a PTY (Private company), and the sooner the better as there will be costly charges involved if the CC is not Converted within 3 years from when the New Companies Act came into effect.
When you register a company you will have to choose which form to take each entity has different requirements that need to be fulfilled.
Here is a list of entities available when you register a company:
Non- Profit Company
This is a company that is formed in the interest of public benefit, a social, cultural or communal group. The income and profit of the Non- Profit company is not divided among the directors and shareholders.
Profit companies
Profit companies have shares that can be transferred where profits are distributed.
Personal liability Companies , also known as Sole proprietor
Directors of the company are liable for any debt for their period that they were the director. The company name ends with the word “incorporated”, Ie ABC inc.
State- Owned companies
A company owned by the municipality is a state-owned company. Name ends in “SOE Ltd”, ie ABC SOE Ltd.
Public Companies
Public companies have shares listed on the JSE and are governed by directors and shareholders. To register a company as a public company you only need 1 member for incorporation. The company name will end in “limited” or “Ltd”, ie ABC Ltd.
Private Company
Similar to the CC's , must have 1 director minimum and 1 shareholder minimum. Name of company ends in “(Pty) Ltd”, ie ABC (Pty) Ltd.
To register a company the following documents need to lodged, Memorandum of Incorporation and Notice of Incorporation. You will also have to provide the following documents to register a company Certified ID copies of all directors and a Reserved name.
To register your company you do not have to reserve a name your company can be registered as a number however if you do want a specific company name note the following.
Your company name will need to be approved by CIPC (Companies Intellectual Property Commission) if approved you will be issued a name reservation certificate. Your company name can can have symbols in and be in any language.
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