Are electronic signatures valid in South Africa?
Yes, for most documents: the ECT Act recognises ordinary electronic signatures (s13(2)). Where a law requires a signature without saying which kind, it asks for an advanced one (s13(1)).
Last checked
Guides to signing, keeping and renewing documents
Short answers to the questions people ask about South African documents: signing, checking, keeping and renewing. Each one names its sources and the date we last checked them.
KuduDoc writes each guide and re-checks it against the sources it names. Here is who writes these guides.
Signing
What the law says about signing electronically, and which documents stay in ink.
Can I sign this electronically in South Africa?
Document by document: what you can sign electronically, what stays in ink, and what needs a notary or a commissioner of oaths.
Last checked
Checking a document
What a signed PDF can tell you, how to tell whether one was changed, and who can confirm a document is real.
Why does Adobe say “signature validity is unknown”?
Adobe cannot trace the signing certificate to one it trusts. It is about the certificate, not about whether the file changed.
Last checked
How do you check if a PDF has been edited?
Compare the file with a record made when it was finished. A PDF’s own dates can be rewritten.
Last checked
How to tell if a document is fake in South Africa
Ask the organisation that issued it. Pick your document and see who can confirm it, with the official link.
Last checked
Keeping records and dates
How long to keep records, and when common documents expire.
How long should you keep documents in South Africa?
Tax records five years from the return (Tax Administration Act s29), most company records seven years (Companies Act s24), and BCEA employment records three years (s31).
Last checked
What expires, and when? Renewal dates in South Africa
Under current law a driving licence card lasts five years and a licence disc one year; a passport issued at 16 or older lasts ten years, and a B-BBEE certificate 12 months.
Last checked
Home and family
Lease notice dates, the move-in inspection, and what a household keeps.
When must a landlord give notice that a fixed-term lease is ending?
Where the Consumer Protection Act applies, 40 to 80 business days before the lease ends (s14(2)(c)).
Last checked
What is an ingoing inspection?
Landlord and tenant inspect the home together before move-in, and again within three days before the lease ends (Rental Housing Act s5(3)(e)–(f)).
Last checked
Life file checklist for South African households
What a household keeps, where each paper original lives, what goes in the Library or the Vault, and who can reach your ordinary documents in an emergency.
Last checked
Personal is free
Keep the documents these guides are about.
Each one with its dates, its signing record and a seal anyone can check.