The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has advised that as from 2 February 2026, Letters Patent certificates will be issued electronically. This will apply to patents and patents of addition granted from January 2026 onwards.

Please note that the complete specification will no longer accompany the Letters Patent certificate.

The original Letters Patent certificate may be downloaded only once and will include a QR code for verification of the bibliographic details.

A certified copy (bearing a watermark) may be requested on payment of the prescribed fee, and once generated may be downloaded once. An uncertified, watermarked copy will remain available for viewing and download from the CIPC online platform.