What information should be on my Letterhead?

23 March 2018

– Summary

Does your business have a Letterhead? Did you know that Letterheads are required to have certain information in terms of South African Law?

If you run a business you probably have a Letterhead.

A Letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). That heading usually consists of information relating to your business (e.g. a name; address; contact numbers; logo; etc.).

However, did you know that Letterheads are required to record certain information about your business in terms of South African Law?

There are 3 categories of businesses to consider:

Company

Companies (including private, personal liability and public companies) must contain the following information on their letterheads:

The full name of the company
Its place of registration
Its registration number
The address of its registered office
The address of its principal place of business (if it is different to the registered address)

With companies you do not need to include the names of the directors on the letterhead; however, you may elect to name your directors, and if you do, you are required to name all the directors.

Partnership

Partnerships must include the following information on their letterheads:

The names of all partners
The address of the principal place of business

If there are too many partners to including on the letterhead, you may indicate, on the letterhead, where a comprehensive list of the partner may be found (e.g. a website link).

Sole Proprietor

Sole proprietors must include the following information on their on all letterheads:

The Sole Proprietor’s name
The address of their principal place of business.

Often a business will “trade” under a different name to its actual name (i.e. a “trading as” name); if a business uses a different name to trade, the actual name of the business must also be recorded on the letterhead.

The above information does not need to go in the heading of the page but it must be somewhere on the page.

It is not a requirement to include all the companies contact details (e.g. telephone; fax number, email; website; etc); however, it is certainly a good idea to include this information.

The above information should also be on your invoices, receipts, and order forms.

You may also be interested in information about the different types of business structures available in South Africa. The following links will take you to articles that deal with the different structures:

DISCLAIMER: THERE ARE MORE CONSIDERATIONS THAN WE CAN COVER IN THIS ARTICLE SO ONLY USE THIS INFORMATION AS A GUIDE. THIS INFORMATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO DISCUSS YOUR SITUATION WITH AN ATTORNEY; CONTACT US AT 0861 88 88 35; helpdesk@gcm-legal.com AND THROUGH THE CONTACT FORM ON THIS PAGE.