How company registrations and deregistrations changed in South Africa

Registrations rose by about a fifth in the latest year

The 2024/25 count was 85,838 higher than in 2023/24. It remained below the 510,024 recorded in 2020/21. Company name reservations reached 649,353 in 2024/25, the highest of the five observations. Source 1

The regulator ties the deregistration spike to compliance activity

The performance plan describes the 2024/25 deregistration activity in connection with annual return and beneficial ownership filing compliance. Its table reports no annual-return final deregistrations in 2023/24 and 677,944 in 2024/25. Source 1

A reservation and a registration are separate transactions

A name reservation records an action to secure a name. The registration series records processed company registrations. The annual counts do not track a common group of applicants from reservation to registration. Source 1

The register activity is broader than business entry and exit

The deregistration category includes close corporations and reflects compliance processing. To measure the net change in operating businesses, use stock records and activity measures that cover both entries and exits on a comparable basis. Source 1

Sources

• Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, Annual Performance Plan 2026/27, figure 14 and table 2