Members of a Close Corporation

A Close Corporation registered in South Africa may have up to 10 (ten) members at any given period.
Membership is divided so that the total share percentages of all the members make up 100%.

For example, let's say there are four (4) members who want to register a Close Corporation. If each member has an equal partnership, that would mean that the membership would be divided into four equal parts, in other words each member would have a 25% share.

Membership does no always need to be divided up equally, and so some members may have a larger percentage share in the business than others. for example, members A,B and C may have a share of 15% each, while that leaves member D with a 55(%) percent share. When registering the close corporation, these percentages need to be stipulated and all add up to 100%, so it is important that each member knows exactly how much of a shareholder he or she will be.

Can a foreign national be part of a South African close corporation? Yes, as long such a person provides a letter, signed by him or her, confirming their nationality and expressing their wish to become part of that close corporation. Members with South African citizenship need to supply their ID numbers when registering, foreign nationals only need to supply a date of birth.
If no ID number is issued, a date of birth is then required. Many people have even registered their close corporation in South Africa while still being abroad. With the evoluion of the internet, close corpration registration has become considerably easier than ever before.

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