CIPC: Changes to Voluntary Deregistration Notices

CIPC: Changes to Voluntary Deregistration Notices

• 17 September 2025
• CIPC
• South African Accounting Academy

Summary:
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has confirmed that, effective 11 August 2025, voluntary deregistration notices will no longer be dispatched via post, but exclusively via email instead.
Article:
This change applies to both:

• Form CoR40.4D – Notice of Investigation into the Deregistration, and
• Notice of Deregistration (Final Deregistration Letter).

These documents will now be issued exclusively via email to the contact details on the companies’ registry for directors of companies and members of close corporations.

From 11 August 2025, CIPC will continue with the voluntary deregistration for companies and close corporations who applied for voluntary deregistration and whose process for voluntary deregistration has not been completed due to this migration.

Please take note of the following important information:

• Objection Period: A period of four (4) months remains in place between the status “Deregistration Process” and “Final Deregistered” to allow for objections by directors, members, or other stakeholders to the deregistration. Due to the delay in processing caused by the migration to e-mail this process may be longer.

The objection period between issuing of the CoR40.4D letter to final deregistration is a minimum period of 20 business days, which must be adhered to.

• Submitting Objections: Objections to voluntary deregistration must be submitted via email to [email protected]. The objection must be attached in PDF format.
• Verification of Status: Business owners and customers are encouraged to verify the status of their company or close corporation via the BizPortal at www.bizportal.gov.za by navigating to: Login > Services > BizProfile.
• Legal Validity: While the format and content of the letters may differ slightly due to the transition from physical to electronic communication, the legal effect remains unchanged. A company or close corporation is only considered legally deregistered once the status reflects as “Final Deregistered”.

Legacy System Notice:

Please note that the voluntary deregistration process remains a legacy system. As such, the applicant who submitted the deregistration request will not receive status updates via email. All progress must be monitored through BizProfile.

Click here to download Notice 41 of 2025:

https://www.cipc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Notice_Voluntary-Deregistration_Migration-to-email_v1.0.pdf 

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

• The Companies Act is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with.  If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
• As an auditor, independent reviewer and accountant, you also need to monitor your client’s compliance with the Companies Act and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.
• Where you perform these compliance tasks on behalf of your client, you need to ensure that you comply with all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.

Relevance to Your clients:

• An entity (company or close corporation) has a duty to comply with the Companies Act, and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.

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