Are you a South African business owner looking to register vehicles under your company’s name? Understanding the importance of the Business Registration Number Certificate (BRNC) is crucial. In this blog post, we demystify the BRNC and guide you through the process of obtaining this essential document. Discover how the BRNC safeguards your business interests, ensures compliance, and paves the way for lawful vehicle ownership in South Africa. Get ready to hit the road with confidence and clarity!
The only way for a business, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), to register vehicles under its name is to obtain a Business Registration Number Certificate (BRNC). This certificate plays a crucial role in establishing the legal identity of the business and ensuring compliance with the Department of Transport (DOT).
What is a Business Registration Number (BRN)?
The BRN is provided to a juristic person when they establish their identity with the DOT. This enables the company to register vehicles in their name and enables the DOT to provide the same services to that BRN as they would to an individual. When the BRN is created, they issue a Business Registration Number Certificate (BRNC) to the nominated person of the company, which contains essential information, and serves as an Identification Document for the company.
Information contained by the BRNC
The basic information that you can get from looking at a BRNC is –
- The registering authority of the BRNC. This indicates in which metro or local municipality the business may register vehicles in their name. Should the business require to register vehicles in more than one municipality, they will require a separate BRNC for those municipalities.
- The BRN. The number provided by the DOT that serves as the unique identifier for the BRNC. The BRN is formulated in a certain way to identify the entity type, year of registration, and registration number of the business as provided by the CIPC.
- The name of the business or a branch of the business.
- The postal address of the business.
- The physical address of the business.
The other information linked to the BRNC is the –
- Proxy – this person has full authority over the vehicles linked to the BRNC. They can register, deregister, sell, etc. vehicles as the owner. They cannot amend the BRNC or nominate a different proxy.
- Representative – this person may perform certain transactions like renewals and registrations.
Applying for a BRN
Only a director or secretary of a registered company or a trustee of a trust may apply and nominate a proxy for a new BRN. The DOT verifies the relationship by referring to the entity’s founding documents.
Changing a BRNC
There are certain things that you can change on a BRNC –
- The registering authority as well addresses can be changed should the business’ operation address change and fall under a different registering authority. This will automatically change the vehicles’ license numbers at the next license renewal, and new numberplates will be required. Should the business already have a BRNC in the same registering authority, the business can merge the two BRNCs and will the DOT automatically transfer the vehicles of both BRNCs into one BRNC.
- Should the registered business name change at the CIPC, the proxy can change the name on the BRNC as well.
- The proxy and representative can also be changed as needed.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Dissolvement
A BRNC cannot be transferred between two different entities or closed. When a business merges or is acquired by another entity, the vehicles need to be manually transferred by a Change of Ownership before the old entity is deregistered with the CIPC.
Dealerships
If your business deals with the trading of vehicles you also require a BRNC, but the BRNC must be activated to stock and sell vehicles. This allows the dealership to obtain temporary licenses in bulk and to pause the licensing costs of the stock until it is sold.
Important Update: Handling Existing BRNCs and Obtaining Duplicates
In recent times, there have been several instances where companies have registered vehicles under their company name but did not receive a copy of the Business Registration Number Certificate (BRNC) from the licensing department. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s crucial to know that you do not need to obtain a new BRNC. Instead, you should request a duplicate of the existing BRNC.
When a vehicle is already registered in the company’s name, the BRN, along with the company name, will be indicated on the vehicle’s registration certificate or the Natis document under the owner details. This information is sufficient to confirm the vehicle’s registration under the company’s BRN. Therefore, obtaining a duplicate BRNC is the appropriate step if the original document is unavailable.
The BRNC is essential to any type of business in South Africa that requires vehicles to be registered in the business’ name. The processes and required knowledge may be hard to find and understand. With our extensive knowledge and experience, working with BRNCs daily for the last 10+ years, we are equipped to help your business getting the requirements in place to be operational ASAP.
