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A B-BBEE Sworn Affidavit is a formal legal declaration signed under oath in front of a Commissioner of Oaths. It is the document used by Exempted Micro Enterprises (EMEs) and certain Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSEs) to confirm their B-BBEE status. The affidavit states the company’s annual turnover, percentage of Black ownership, and Black female ownership. Once properly commissioned, it serves as official proof of the company’s B-BBEE level for a period of 12 months.

A B-BBEE Certificate, on the other hand, is a formal verification document issued by a SANAS-accredited verification agency after a full audit of the company’s scorecard. This is required for larger businesses (Generic enterprises with turnover above R50 million) and for QSEs that do not qualify for the affidavit route because they have less than 51% Black ownership. There is also a free CIPC B-BBEE Certificate available specifically for eligible EMEs, which can be applied for online via the CIPC e-services platform by a director or member of the company.

In short: most small businesses use a Sworn Affidavit (or the free CIPC certificate), while bigger companies must go through a full verification process to obtain a formal B-BBEE Certificate.

You qualify for a Sworn Affidavit if your business falls into one of the following categories under the relevant Codes (Generic or Sector Code):

• You are an Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME) with annual total revenue of R10 million or less. All EMEs are automatically Level 4 contributors. If the EME is at least 51% Black-owned it becomes Level 2, and if it is 100% Black-owned it becomes Level 1.
• You are a Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) with annual total revenue between R10 million and R50 million and you are at least 51% Black-owned (Level 2) or 100% Black-owned (Level 1). QSEs that are less than 51% Black-owned cannot use an affidavit and must undergo a full SANAS verification.

Important: The exact turnover thresholds and ownership rules can differ slightly under certain Sector Codes (for example Construction, ICT, AgriBEE, Financial Services, etc.). Always confirm which Code applies to your main business activity before completing the affidavit.

Both a properly commissioned B-BBEE Sworn Affidavit and a CIPC-issued B-BBEE Certificate are valid for exactly 12 months from the date they are commissioned or issued. For example, if your affidavit is commissioned on 15 March 2026, it will expire on 14 March 2027. After the expiry date the document is no longer valid and you must prepare a new one using the latest financial year’s turnover figures and ownership details. There is no automatic renewal process — a fresh affidavit or new CIPC application is required every year.

Using the incorrect template is one of the most common reasons affidavits are rejected by government departments, municipalities, large corporates, and tender evaluation committees. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the various Sector Charter Councils publish official templates for both the Generic Codes and each Sector Code. You must use the exact template that matches your industry and enterprise category (EME or QSE).

If you submit an affidavit on the wrong form, or if critical fields are left blank or completed incorrectly, the document can be declared invalid. This can result in your tender being disqualified, your supplier status being rejected, or your clients losing the preferential procurement points they expected to claim from doing business with you. SACorpReg always prepares the correct official template based on your sector and ownership structure to avoid these problems.

Yes. A B-BBEE Sworn Affidavit only becomes legally valid once it has been signed by the deponent (usually a director, member or owner) in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths, and the Commissioner has properly commissioned the document by completing the certification section, stamping it, and signing it. Acceptable Commissioners of Oaths include South African Police Service (SAPS) officers, certain attorneys, post office officials, and other persons authorised under the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oaths Act.

Simply filling in the form and signing it yourself is not enough. The commissioning process is a legal requirement, and an uncommissioned affidavit has no legal force. We provide clear step-by-step guidance on where and how to have the document commissioned correctly.

Yes. This is one of our core services. Once you provide us with your company registration details, latest annual turnover figure, and Black ownership percentages (including Black female ownership), we prepare the correct official affidavit template for your sector. We complete every required field accurately, ensure the ownership percentages are correctly calculated according to the applicable Code, and deliver a ready-to-commission document, usually within 24 hours. We also guide you through the commissioning process so that the final document is accepted without issues.

To prepare an accurate affidavit we normally require:

• Full registered company name and CIPC registration number
• Physical and postal business address
• Full names, identity numbers and designations of the directors/members who will sign the affidavit
• Percentage of total Black ownership and Black female ownership (using the flow-through principle)
• Total annual turnover for the most recent completed financial year
• Confirmation of the industry/sector in which the majority of your revenue is earned (so we can select the correct Sector Code template if applicable)
• Confirmation whether the company trades under a different name from its registered name

The more accurate the information you provide, the faster and smoother the process will be.

In most cases, yes — provided the affidavit is correctly completed on the official template, properly commissioned, and still within its 12-month validity period. The Central Supplier Database (CSD), most organs of state, and many large corporates accept a valid sworn affidavit from EMEs and qualifying QSEs as sufficient proof of B-BBEE status. However, some tenders (especially larger or more complex ones) may specifically require a SANAS-accredited verification certificate. Always check the tender document carefully. If you are unsure, we can review the tender requirements and advise whether your affidavit will be accepted.