Registering your Co-operative

A very simple definition of a co-operative would be to say it is a business where a group of people get together voluntary to address their common needs.

A co-operative is a distinct form of enterprise that provides services and/or products to its members. Profits, known as surpluses in a co-operative, are divided among members in relation to the amount of the business each member did with the co-operative.

By registering a co-operative, you are creating a legal entity with certain powers to act on its own and certain responsibilities.

Before registering a co-operative, take note of the important record-keeping that need to be done by a co-operative.

Before you decide to register a co-operative you need to have a formation meeting to decide on common purpose and agree to register a co-operative.  At the formation meeting the members have to decide on the form and type of co-operative.

There must be at least five founding members (people) in order to form a primary co-operative.  Co-operatives have certain principles, and are expected to include certain values in all the work that it undertakes.  A co-operative may only be registered manually.

 To register a co-operative, follow these steps:

Register as a Customer

If you are already registered as a customer, and know your customer code and password, proceed to step 2.

Deposit funds

Deposit R215 for co-operative registration into the CIPC bank account.  For the bank account details,

Register your co-operative manually

Print and complete the following forms:

• • CR1
  • CR5

• Form CR5 is the form used to apply for a co-operative name.  When applying for a name, propose five alternative names.  Important rules to keep in mind when choosing a co-operative name:

• • The name must always indicate what the main business objective of the co-operative is. For example a co-operative that does Catering, the name must have a word like Catering as part of the name.
  • If the co-operative has multiple objectives, the main objective must still appear as part of the name but words like “Multi-Purpose” or “Other Projects” could also form part of it.
  • The words “Primary /Secondary / Tertiary Co-operative Limited” must always appear at the end of the name.  The fee for name reservation is R50.
• It is compulsory to appoint an auditor upon registration of a co-operative unless an exemption has been obtained.  In order to appoint an auditor, download and complete form CR4.  In order to obtain exemption from the audit requirements for an initial period of three years, download and complete form CR8.
• A constitution must be submitted as part of the application.
•  The last page of the constitution must be signed by all the founder members of the co-operative.  Please note that you need to keep your original constitution.

Scan and e-mail the completed and signed documents together with supporting information to Cooperativesonline@cipc.co.za;
The following supporting documents must be included in your e-mail:

• • Confirmation notice of name reservation
  • Certified identity copy of members
  • Proof of payment

Service turnaround time: 21 working days from date of tracking.