# CIPC Company Search — South Africa Business Registry API (`sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search`) Actor

Search South African company registrations via CIPC. Returns company name, registration number, status, and director details. Useful for KYC verification, due diligence, B2B lead generation, and business validation.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Grant Verheul](https://apify.com/sirgrant11788) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.49 / actor start

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## CIPC Company Search (South Africa)

Search the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) enterprise registry. Look up registered companies by name or enterprise number to get registration details, status, compliance information, and addresses.

**Keywords:** CIPC, South Africa, company registry, enterprise search, business lookup, company validation, due diligence, BEE, POPI, BizPortal

### Use Cases

- **Due diligence** — Verify company registration status and compliance for business partners, vendors, and suppliers
- **Compliance checks** — Confirm enterprise compliance notice status, annual return filing, and registration dates
- **B2B research** — Look up company details, registered addresses, and enterprise type
- **Competitor analysis** — Research registered enterprises in your sector or region
- **Audit & verification** — Validate enterprise numbers for KYC and onboarding workflows

### Input

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `search` | string | ✅ | — | Enterprise name or number to search |
| `searchType` | select | ❌ | `name` | Search mode: `name` or `number` |
| `maxResults` | integer | ❌ | 20 | Maximum results to return (1-100) |
| `cipcUsername` | string | ❌ | — | CIPC customer code (required for authenticated searches) |
| `cipcPassword` | string | ❌ | — | CIPC account password |

### Output

```json
{
  "search_query": "Shoprite",
  "search_type": "name",
  "total": 5,
  "results": [
    {
      "Enterprise Number": "2004/001234/07",
      "Enterprise Name": "SHOPRITE HOLDINGS LIMITED",
      "Enterprise Type": "PUBLIC COMPANY",
      "Enterprise Status": "IN BUSINESS",
      "Registration Date": "2004-01-15",
      "Compliance Notice Status": "COMPLIANT"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Pricing

**Pay-per-event:** $1.00 per actor run.

Premium pricing reflects the B2B value of verified company registry data. CIPC charges registration fees for data access.

### Authentication

CIPC now requires login for enterprise searches (POPI compliance). Searches without credentials may return limited or blocked results. To search with authentication:

1. Register for a CIPC customer code at [eservices.cipc.co.za](https://eservices.cipc.co.za)
2. Provide your customer code and password as input parameters
3. Credentials are used only for this run and are never stored

### Data Source

This actor searches the official CIPC enterprise register (eservices.cipc.co.za / BizPortal). CIPC is the statutory regulator for companies, cooperatives, and intellectual property in South Africa.

# Actor input Schema

## `search` (type: `string`):

Enterprise name or number to search for

## `searchType` (type: `string`):

Search by enterprise name or enterprise number

## `cipcUsername` (type: `string`):

Your CIPC customer code (required for login)

## `cipcPassword` (type: `string`):

Your CIPC account password

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "search": "",
  "searchType": "name",
  "cipcUsername": "",
  "cipcPassword": ""
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sirgrant11788/sa-cipc-search"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Wy9ppUa9z5WcUIcxm/builds/bE9hE0xDNqcuESlj5/openapi.json