Letter of good standing
Already registered with the Compensation Fund? We file your annual return of earnings and obtain your fresh letter, so the site does not turn your people away. Estimate the assessment behind it below.
Letter of good standing costs R690 at ProperSA. That is our fixed service fee; government and authority fees are charged at cost on top. Turnaround: our part is done within 1 business day. If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page promises, we refund our fee; a refusal by the authority is not refundable.
Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company, not the Compensation Fund. You can file your return of earnings and request your letter yourself on ROE Online (cfonline.labour.gov.za) at no charge. Our R690 pays for us to prepare it, file it and follow up with the Fund until it responds. The Fund issues the letter once the assessment is paid and its own checks are done.
What you will actually pay, all in
| Our fee | R690 | The return of earnings filed, the assessment confirmed and the letter chased until it is issued. Fixed. |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation Fund assessment | your annual figure | Raised by the Fund on the return, paid to the Fund. Minimum R1 621 for 2026/27. The letter only issues once it is paid. |
| Late return penalty | 10 percent | Added by the Fund if the return of earnings is filed after the deadline, with interest after 30 days. Filing it now is cheaper than filing it later. |
Which COIDA service do you need?
Three different situations arrive asking for “a letter of good standing”. Pick yours and you get the right price, not a menu.
- Never registered with the Compensation Fund, R1 290We register you, file your first return of earnings and request your first letter. The Fund’s own annual assessment is on top and paid to the Fund.
- Registered, but the letter has lapsed or the return of earnings is due, R690We file the return, confirm the assessment and get the letter reissued. This is most people.
- Registered, and the assessment looks far too high, R890We check whether the Fund has you in a riskier class than the work justifies, and tell you what a correction saves before you pay.
Which one do you need?
The letter is only ever issued off the back of an up to date registration and a paid assessment. Where you start depends on whether the Fund already has you on its books.
- Already registered, and your letter has lapsed or is due. This page. We file the return of earnings and obtain the letter for R690.
- Never registered, or you have no Compensation Fund number. You need COIDA registration at R1 290, which covers the first registration, the first return of earnings and your first letter.
Not sure which one describes you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day. We would rather point you at the cheaper service than sell you the wrong one.
Assessment looks too high for the work you actually do? Before you pay it, check your industry class. A COIDA subclass correction is R890 and the tariff gap between classes runs to about fifteen times.
What the Fund checks before it issues one
Four conditions, and all four have to hold at the same time:
- Registered with the FundSection 80.
- Annual return of earnings submittedSection 82. One missing year stops it.
- Assessment paid in full, or being paid in instalmentsSection 86. An approved instalment arrangement satisfies this, so owing money does not automatically mean no letter.
- Accidents reported on timeThe one almost nobody knows about. An unreported injury on duty can sit between you and your letter even when the money is settled.
And the reason your clients insist on it: section 89 makes an employer who gives work to a contractor responsible for obtaining the contractor’s letter, and if they do not, the assessment for your employees becomes theirs to pay. That is why a lapsed letter costs you work the same week.
What is included
- Your annual return of earnings (the ROE, or W.As.8) prepared and submitted on ROE Online
- Actual earnings for the past year and your estimate for the year ahead, declared correctly
- Your assessment checked against your industry subclass so you are not over-assessed
- Your letter of good standing requested and sent to you once the assessment is paid
- A renewal reminder before next season, so the letter does not lapse again
- Claims guide: what to do in the first 24 hours after a workplace injury
How ordering works
- Order online with the button below and pay securely by card or instant EFT (PayFast), or wait for the EFT invoice.
- Complete the short online form waiting in your client portal. It asks for everything we need, no calls, no meetings, everything on record.
- We file your return of earnings on ROE Online. Once the Fund issues your assessment and you pay it, we request the letter and send it to you. Fund processing commonly takes two to six weeks.
- The price you see is the price you pay (your annual assessment is owed to the Compensation Fund directly, per the estimate above), and if you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page describes, we refund our fee. A refusal by the authority, or a delay caused by missing information from you, is not refundable. Full rules in our terms.
If it turns out you were never actually registered, we tell you before we file anything and move you onto the right service.
What we will need from you
The Compensation Fund charges nothing for the letter itself. What we need is what shapes the assessment behind it.
- Your Compensation Fund registration number. It appears on any previous letter or assessment notice.
- Your company or close corporation registration number, or identity number if you trade in your own name.
- Actual earnings paid over the past assessment year, and your estimate for the year ahead. The year runs 1 March to the end of February.
- How many people you employ, including casual and part-time staff and any directors drawing a salary.
- The email address your ROE Online account sits under, not the password. We never ask anyone for a password and you should never send one. If the account is locked or nobody remembers it, we walk you through resetting it from your side.
- Any assessment notice or penalty letter you have received, so we know what is outstanding before we file.
Want to understand the letter before you order? The free guide explains the four conditions, the steps on ROE Online, what the Fund charges and what blocks it.
Update, October 2026
Outstanding returns of earnings. Returns of Earnings for 2025 and earlier years that are still outstanding must be submitted by 31 October 2026. After that date the Compensation Fund may raise an assessment on an estimate of your earnings and add a penalty of up to 10% of the final assessment (Notice 4140 of 2026).
2026/27 figures. The maximum earnings counted per employee are R668 000, and the minimum assessment is R1 621 a year, or R560 for a domestic employer, in effect from 1 March 2026 (Notice 3910 of 2026).
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a letter of good standing?
You must be registered with the Compensation Fund, your return of earnings must be filed for the current season, and the assessment that follows must be paid. Once the Fund has the payment, the letter is issued on CompEasy, usually within days.
How much does a letter of good standing cost?
The Compensation Fund does not charge for the letter itself. What you pay is your annual assessment, with a minimum of R1 621 a year for commercial employers. Our fee to file the return of earnings and obtain the letter for you is a fixed R690.
How long is a letter of good standing valid?
The letter carries its own expiry date, tied to your assessment year. It lapses when the next return of earnings falls due and is not filed, so the letter has to be renewed every year to stay valid.
What happens if I file my return of earnings late?
A return of earnings filed late attracts a 10% penalty on the assessment, and an unpaid assessment attracts interest after 30 days. Your letter of good standing also lapses in the meantime, which is usually what stops work on site.
When is the return of earnings season?
The Compensation Fund announces the filing season each year. It typically opens around April, with the closing date published for that season, so diarise it annually. The letter dies with the deadline.
I have never registered for COIDA. Is this the right service?
No. This service is for employers already registered with the Compensation Fund. If you have never registered, start with COIDA registration, which covers the first registration, the first return of earnings and your first letter.
Do you actually still need the letter?
If the business has stopped or you have no staff left, renewing every year is money spent on an account that should be closed.
COIDA deregistration, R1 290Already owing the Fund?
If a balance is blocking your letter, filing the return alone will not release it. The Fund issues the letter month to month to employers on an approved instalment arrangement, and you do not have to clear everything first. That is R1 890.
Sort out arrearsThe assessment estimate uses representative class tariffs compiled from the gazetted Tariffs of Assessment and the 2026/27 earnings ceiling and minimum assessment; your exact subclass rate is assigned by the Compensation Fund and will differ. Fund processing times are outside our control.