Filing a trade mark in South Africa from abroad
No Madrid, a local attorney required, and fixed fees in USD with the official charges included. For brand owners and the firms who act for them.
Around half of the demand for South African trade mark work comes from outside South Africa – brand owners entering the market, and the IP firms who act for them. This page is for both. It sets out the one thing that surprises everyone (no Madrid), what a local filing needs, and fixed fees in the currency you work in.
The short answer
- South Africa is not in the Madrid system. A Madrid designation cannot reach it. Protection comes only from a national filing at CIPC.
- Only a South African attorney may file for you, and every application needs a South African address for service. We act as both.
- Fixed fees in USD, official charges included. Filing USD 195 per class; EUR and GBP on request.
- Paris Convention priority is available for six months from your home filing.
- A simply-signed power of attorney is all that is needed. No notarisation, no legalisation.
How a foreign filing works in South Africa
| Step | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Instruction | You send the mark, the goods or services, the applicant’s details and any priority claim. We confirm the classes and quote. | same day |
| 2. Power of attorney | We send a one-page POA for signature. It records us as your address for service, which is how every CIPC notice reaches someone watching for it. | same day |
| 3. Filing | Lodged at CIPC the same day we have the signed POA. The filing receipt, with the application number and filing date, follows and is reported to you. One application per class – there is no multi-class application here. | same day; receipt 1-2 business days later |
| 4. Examination | The examiner’s report: accepted, accepted with conditions (usually a disclaimer or an association), or provisionally refused. We report with a recommendation before doing anything billable. | 8-12 months |
| 5. Advertisement and registration | Accepted marks are advertised for a three-month opposition window, then the certificate issues. | about 24 months in all |
Timings vary with the examiner assigned. Once registered, protection runs from the filing date for renewable ten-year terms, so the wait does not cost priority. The full procedure is in the CIPC guide.
Fees for foreign applicants
Fixed, inclusive of CIPC’s official charges. R2,990 per class is the total to registration where the examiner raises nothing; the fees below it arise only if something is raised, and we quote before doing the work. USD figures are our published 2026 schedule for instructing firms and foreign applicants; EUR and GBP on request. Rand figures are the reference.
| Service | ZAR | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Trade mark application, per class (official fee included) | R2,990 | 195 |
| Convention priority claim | R500 | 30 |
| Focused Search and Opinion – main and related classes, short opinion | R2,750 | 180 |
| Comprehensive Search and Opinion – the full search, report and filing strategy | R5,500 | 360 |
| Responding to an examiner’s official action – first class / each additional | R1,650 / R600 | 108 / 39 |
| Entering a disclaimer, endorsement, association or translation – first class / each additional | R900 / R350 | 60 / 30 |
| Extension of the prosecution term | R600 | 45 |
| Amendment of a pending application – first class / each additional | R1,950 / R700 | 120 / 40 |
| Amendment of a registered mark – first class / each additional | R2,700 / R1,300 | 140 / 70 |
| Recordal of an assignment, merger or licence – first mark / each additional | R2,990 / R900 | 190 / 60 |
| Renewal – first class / each additional | R2,700 / R1,900 | 170 / 120 |
| Oppositions, non-standard official actions, agreements, letters – time based, per hour | R1,350 – R2,450 | 90 – 160 |
Fees that arise after filing do so only if the examiner raises something or at registration, and every one is quoted first. The cost guide lists them all.
For instructing firms and agents
We act as South African associates for IP firms in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, China, India and elsewhere, on filing, prosecution, recordals, renewals, watching and enforcement. Reporting is in the form your file needs, deadlines are diarised from the filing date, and correspondence comes to us as address for service.
- Reciprocal rates and volume terms for firms that instruct regularly – ask for the agent schedule.
- Recordals – assignments, licences, changes of name and address – are the largest part of the work we receive from abroad. The recordals guide sets out what is needed.
- Renewals can be taken over from another firm by a change of address for service. See renewals.
- Africa beyond South Africa – OAPI, ARIPO and national filings across the continent through our agent network.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file a South African trade mark through the Madrid system?
No. South Africa is not a member of the Madrid Protocol, so a designation cannot reach it. Protection in South Africa is obtained only by a national application at CIPC, filed through a South African attorney with an address for service here.
Do I need a South African attorney to file?
Yes. Only a practising South African attorney may file on behalf of another person, and every application needs an address for service inside South Africa. A foreign applicant or agent cannot file directly.
What do you need from a foreign applicant or agent?
The mark (text, or an image file for a logo), the goods or services or a link to the product range, the applicant’s full name and address, and – if you filed the same mark elsewhere in the last six months – the priority details. We send a simply-signed power of attorney; no notarisation or legalisation is required.
Can I claim priority from my home filing?
Yes. South Africa is a Paris Convention country. An application filed within six months of the first foreign filing can claim that earlier date. The claim costs R500 (USD 30) and is worth making whenever it is available.
How do you invoice a foreign client?
In USD at the fixed rates on this page, or in ZAR; EUR and GBP on request. By card or wire. Fees include CIPC’s official charges, so the figure on the invoice is the figure you pay. Instructing firms can arrange reciprocal rates and volume terms.
How long does registration take in South Africa?
The examiner’s report usually arrives 8-12 months after filing and a straightforward application registers in about 24 months. Rights run from the filing date once registered, so the wait does not cost priority.
Related guides
- How CIPC registration works (and the DIY route)
- What trade mark registration really costs
- Recordals: assignments, licences and changes
- Trade mark renewal: dates, costs and the grace period
- The Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993, in plain English
- Trade mark registration across Africa
Written and reviewed by
Stephan Viollier – Trade Mark & IP Attorney, SAIIPL-certified, admitted in South Africa and the United States (New York)
This page explains South African trade mark practice in general terms. It is information, not legal advice on your particular mark – for that, talk to us.
