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The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) will close to the public from 10:00 on Thursday 24 December 2026 and reopen at 08:00 on Monday 4 January 2027. The closure is set out in CIPC Notice 55 of 2026, published in Government Gazette 55542 of 16 October 2026.
What changed
CIPC accepts lodgements and service of legal documents until 15:30 on Wednesday 23 December 2026.
24 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 are treated as dies non (non-working days) under the Companies Act, Close Corporations Act, Co-operatives Act and the intellectual property Acts listed in the notice.
Automated services keep running. Services that need back-office work, including documents emailed to dedicated addresses or uploaded through New E-Services, resume on 4 January 2027.
Name reservations that would lapse between 24 December 2026 and 1 January 2027 now expire on 4 January 2027.
The CIPC offices in Sunnyside and Arcadia (Pretoria), Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the CIPC kiosk at Pavilion Shopping Centre in Westville, are closed.
Who it affects
Companies, close corporations and co-operatives with filings due over the festive period, and practitioners who lodge on their behalf.
What this means for accountants and finance professionals
Anything that needs a CIPC officer should be lodged well before 23 December.
Services handled by automated systems continue during the closure.
Back-office services, including emailed and uploaded documents, resume only on 4 January 2027.
CIPC's web notice does not say how other statutory deadlines falling in the closure are treated, beyond the dies non and name reservations.
Key dates
What to do
List clients with CIPC matters that need manual processing and lodge them before 23 December.
Check name reservations due to lapse in late December.
Read the signed notice for the full list of Acts covered.
Sources: CIPC notice, Signed Notice 55 of 2026 (PDF)
