B-BBEE affidavit requirements look simple: a small supplier swears to its revenue and black ownership, a commissioner of oaths stamps the page, and one sheet stands in for a verification certificate. Our guide to empowerment certificates shows where that sworn statement sits among the other forms of proof. In practice, many declarations fail on detail, and each one that fails takes recognised spend off the buyer’s scorecard.
This guide covers who qualifies, which template to use, what the form must contain, how the oath is administered, and what a large corporate should check before accepting a supplier’s declaration. If you are still choosing between the two compliance routes, start with our comparison of sworn statements and verification certificates.
Quick Answer
B-BBEE affidavit requirements come down to eligibility, format and proper commissioning. An Exempted Micro-Enterprise (EME) with annual total revenue of R10 million or less may use a sworn statement, and so may a Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) with revenue between R10 million and R50 million, but only if it is at least 51% black-owned. The declaration should follow the dtic’s template (generic or sector-specific), confirm revenue and black ownership, be signed before a commissioner of oaths and be renewed every 12 months. EMEs can instead obtain an equivalent certificate free of charge from the CIPC.
Holding a supplier declaration you are not sure you can rely on? Ask us to look it over before it goes on file →
B-BBEE Affidavit Requirements Start With Two Facts
Strip away the stamps and signatures and the sworn statement asks only two questions. How much revenue did the business earn in its most recent financial year? And what share of it is owned by black people as the Act defines them?
Everything else on the form supports those two answers. Under the Codes of Good Practice, an EME or a qualifying QSE needs only an annual sworn declaration confirming its revenue and its level of black ownership. There is no scorecard and no verification agency.
The revenue figure is total revenue for the latest completed financial year. It usually comes from the annual financial statements or, for a business without audited figures, from its management accounts, and the form asks which source was used. A supplier that guesses, rounds down or quotes a figure from two years ago has undermined the declaration before anyone reads it.
Black ownership has a precise legal meaning. The Act counts African, Coloured and Indian people who are South African citizens by birth or descent, or who became citizens by naturalisation before 27 April 1994, or who would have been entitled to naturalisation before that date. Foreign nationals do not count toward the percentage, however long they have lived and worked here.
Get either fact wrong and nothing else on the page matters. A neatly commissioned form built on the wrong revenue figure is still a false statement made under oath.
Who Qualifies to Use a Sworn Statement?
Eligibility depends on the revenue band and, for the middle band, on ownership. The thresholds below come from the generic Codes. Some sector codes set their own, which we cover further down.
| Business profile | Annual total revenue | Recognition | Proof needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| EME, below 51% black-owned | R10 million or less | Level 4, 100% recognition | Sworn statement or CIPC certificate |
| EME, at least 51% black-owned | R10 million or less | Level 2, 125% recognition | Sworn statement or CIPC certificate |
| EME, 100% black-owned | R10 million or less | Level 1, 135% recognition | Sworn statement or CIPC certificate |
| QSE, at least 51% black-owned | R10 million to R50 million | Level 2, 125% recognition | Sworn statement |
| QSE, 100% black-owned | R10 million to R50 million | Level 1, 135% recognition | Sworn statement |
| QSE, below 51% black-owned | R10 million to R50 million | Measured on the QSE scorecard | Verification certificate |
| Large enterprise | Above R50 million | Measured on the generic scorecard | Verification certificate |
The point that trips people up most is the QSE line. A QSE that is less than 51% black-owned cannot use a sworn statement at all; it must be measured on the QSE scorecard and verified by a SANAS-accredited agency. An EME, by contrast, may opt for the QSE scorecard if it expects a better level that way.
Start-ups have their own rule. A business in its first year after formation or incorporation is measured as an EME, whatever revenue it expects to earn, so a declaration is its normal proof of status.
Tendering is the exception. For a contract worth more than R10 million but less than R50 million, a start-up must submit a QSE scorecard, and from R50 million it must submit a generic scorecard, both prepared on annualised data. Our breakdown of the EME, QSE and generic scorecards explains what each one measures.
Sector codes move the line
The thresholds are not the same everywhere. The amended Tourism Sector Code, for example, treats a business with revenue below R5 million as an EME and places the QSE band between R5 million and R45 million. A tour operator earning R7 million is therefore a QSE under its own code, though the generic Codes would call it an EME.
That is why the dtic publishes sector-specific templates, and why a supplier’s band must be tested against its own code.
Ownership decides the QSE route
For an EME, the sworn statement is always available; ownership only changes the level it can claim. For a QSE, ownership decides whether the declaration is an option at all. Below 51% black ownership, a business with revenue between R10 million and R50 million has no shortcut: it needs a scorecard and a verification certificate.
The Official Templates and the CIPC Route
The dtic publishes standard templates for these declarations: one for EMEs and one for qualifying QSEs under the generic Codes, plus versions for each sector code. They capture every field a verification professional or procurement officer needs to see.
Nothing in the Codes makes a self-drafted version automatically invalid, provided it carries all the required information. In practice, many procurement teams reject anything that departs from the official layout, because a missing field is hard to find in a custom document.
EMEs have a second option. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) issues an electronic certificate for EMEs at no cost, through its eServices platform, BizPortal or its self-service terminals. The applicant captures the shareholder details online, and false shareholder information is a criminal offence. The CIPC’s certification page sets out the process and links to a sample sworn statement for businesses that cannot apply online.
The CIPC route has limits. Only directors or members may apply, not an accountant or other third party. Entities with foreign directors or members cannot use the service, and a director linked to more than ten entities is blocked. A submitted application cannot be changed, and the certificate lasts 12 months.
A supplier has grown past R10 million and you are not sure which proof to ask for? Get a quick read on its threshold position →
What the B-BBEE Affidavit Requirements Say the Form Must Contain
The EME, QSE and sector versions differ slightly, but a complete declaration always carries the same core information. These are the fields we test one by one in a supplier file.
| Field | What a reviewer looks for |
|---|---|
| Deponent | Full name, identity number and capacity: a director, member or owner who is authorised to act for the business and knows the facts personally |
| Enterprise details | Registered name, trading name, registration number, VAT number where applicable, and physical address |
| Financial year | The year-end on which the revenue figure is based |
| Revenue | Total revenue for that year, the threshold it falls under, and its source: audited statements, management accounts or other |
| Black ownership | The percentage of black ownership and of black female ownership |
| Designated groups | Where the template asks for it, ownership by black youth, black people with disabilities, unemployed black people, black people in rural areas and black military veterans |
| Level claimed | The recognition level, which must match the ownership figures |
| Sector | The sector code applied, or confirmation that the generic Codes apply |
| Oath and commissioning | The deponent’s signature and date, plus the commissioner’s signature, stamp, full name, designation and business address |
Two fields cause more rejections than the rest combined: the revenue source and the level claimed. If the form says the business is 60% black-owned and claims Level 1, a reviewer knows at once that something is wrong, because Level 1 needs full black ownership. If the source box is blank, nobody can trace the revenue figure back to a set of accounts.
Commissioning Is Not a Formality
A sworn statement is only sworn if the oath was actually administered. The deponent must sign in front of a commissioner of oaths, after confirming that they understand the contents and consider the oath binding. A form signed at the office and stamped later at a counter fails that test.
Commissioners of oaths include police officers, practising attorneys and people appointed by designation, such as certain bank and post office officials. The regulations bar a commissioner from administering an oath in a matter in which they have an interest. A shareholder or fellow director of the supplier is the wrong person to ask, even if they hold the appointment.
The commissioner must complete their own part: signature, full name, designation and business address, plus the date the oath was taken. A stamp with no name or designation is one of the most common reasons a form is sent back.
Validity runs for 12 months. The Codes call for a fresh declaration every year, and most buyers count that year from the commissioning date. A supplier whose form was commissioned in March should expect a request for a new one the following March, and a careful buyer will diarise it. Our guide to validity periods and renewal timing applies the same discipline to full certificates.
Why Procurement Teams Send Declarations Back
Ask anyone who manages a supplier database what goes wrong, and the same list comes back. Most of these errors come from treating the form as an admin chore rather than a statement made under oath.
An expired date. The form was commissioned more than 12 months ago, or carries no date at all.
The wrong template. A construction or tourism business uses the generic form when its sector code applies, or a QSE submits the EME version.
A level that contradicts the ownership. The ownership percentage and the claimed level do not agree, or the level box has been left blank.
Incomplete commissioning. A stamp with no signature, no name or no designation, or a commissioner who works for the supplier.
A signatory without authority. The form is signed by a bookkeeper or office manager rather than a director, member or owner.
A revenue figure that cannot be traced. No financial year-end is given, or the source is missing, so nobody can test the number against the accounts.
Ownership that changed after signing. A share sale or a new shareholder since the commissioning date means the declaration no longer describes the business.
Each is easy to fix before the form goes on file. After verification it is too late: the agency simply leaves that spend out of your score.
Checking B-BBEE Affidavit Requirements Before You Accept a Supplier
For a corporate above R50 million, supplier declarations are not someone else’s paperwork. Your preferential procurement score is built on them. Spend with a Level 1 EME is recognised at 135%, so one defective form from a busy supplier can shift your numbers. Our explanation of how recognition levels feed procurement points shows how quickly that adds up.
A sound acceptance check takes a few minutes per supplier. Match the template to the supplier’s sector and the claimed level to the ownership figures. Compare the stated revenue with what you know: if you paid the supplier R14 million last year, it cannot honestly claim revenue below R10 million. Then confirm that the deponent is a director on the CIPC register and that the commissioning is complete and recent.
Then look for patterns. A supplier whose stated revenue sits just below a threshold every year. Black shareholders who appear nowhere in the running of the business. A sudden jump to full black ownership with no transaction to explain it. None of these proves wrongdoing, but each deserves a question.
The stakes are real. Section 13O of the Act makes it an offence to knowingly misrepresent an enterprise’s empowerment status, or to give false information to secure a particular status. On conviction, an individual faces a fine, imprisonment of up to ten years or both, and a company faces a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover. Our guide to fronting risks and how to avoid them covers the wider exposure.
A private buyer that accepted a false declaration in good faith is not the offender. It still loses the recognition, though, and a pattern of poorly checked supplier files invites hard questions from verification agencies and, in serious cases, from the B-BBEE Commission.
When the Business Outgrows the Form
Growth is good news for a supplier and a compliance event for its customers. Once revenue for a completed financial year passes R10 million, the business is no longer an EME. If it is at least 51% black-owned, it moves to the QSE template. If not, it needs a QSE scorecard and a SANAS-accredited verification.
The same thing happens again at R50 million. Above that line there is no sworn route at all, regardless of ownership. The business is measured on the generic scorecard and verified in full.
The trap is timing. Suppliers often keep issuing the old form for months after their year-end, because nobody has looked at the new numbers. A buyer that asks for the latest year-end at every renewal catches this early, and gives the supplier time to prepare for verification. A verification takes weeks, not days.
A Supplier File Before and After a Declaration Review
The figures below are an illustrative composite based on supplier-file reviews for large Gauteng corporates. The buyer has annual revenue of about R1.8 billion and roughly 420 small suppliers whose status rests on sworn declarations.
| Measure | Before the review | After the review |
|---|---|---|
| Declarations older than 12 months | 96 of 420 (23%) | 11 of 420 (3%) |
| Forms on the wrong template | 38 | 4 |
| Incomplete commissioning details | 52 | 0 |
| Claimed level inconsistent with ownership | 17 | 2, both under query |
| Spend excluded at verification for invalid supplier evidence | R31 million | R3.5 million |
| Preferential procurement result | 16.2 of 25 points | 19.4 of 25 points |
The buyer did not replace a single supplier. It collected current, correctly commissioned forms from the businesses it already used, queried the few that did not add up, and brought excluded spend back into its score.
Clean paperwork is the cheapest procurement point
Most corporates chase procurement points by changing suppliers. Fixing the evidence for the suppliers you already use is faster and costs almost nothing. Before redirecting spend, make sure the spend you have is recognised at all.
Who This Is NOT For
Businesses above R50 million in revenue. No sworn route exists at your size. This guide will help you check your suppliers, but it will not replace your own verification.
QSEs below 51% black ownership. A declaration is not available to you. Your next step is a QSE scorecard, an evidence file and an accredited verification.
Owners hoping to sign on estimates. If you do not yet know last year’s revenue or your exact shareholding, finish the financial statements and update the share register first. A sworn guess is still sworn.
Procurement teams that only want a tick in a box. If the goal is to file whatever arrives without reading it, this approach will feel like extra work. It is, and it is the work that protects your score.
Who this does suit: EME and qualifying QSE owners preparing their own declarations, and the procurement, finance and transformation teams in larger companies who are responsible for supplier evidence before verification.
How Insignis Checks Supplier Declarations Before They Count
We read a supplier declaration the way an auditor reads a confirmation from a third party: useful evidence, but only once it has been tested against something independent. The template, the level and the commissioning details are the easy part. The harder question is whether the revenue and ownership figures fit everything else you know about that supplier.
For each file we check the form against the correct sector template, test the level against the ownership figures, compare the stated revenue with your own spend, and confirm the deponent’s authority on the company register. Anything that fails goes back to the supplier with a specific fix, not a generic rejection letter.
The result is a supplier file a verification agency can accept without argument. Our empowerment advisory team runs these reviews alone or within a wider verification programme.
Verification is a few months away and half your small-supplier forms are older than a year? Let us sort the file before the agency sees it →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a QSE below 51% black ownership use a sworn statement?
No. A Qualifying Small Enterprise with revenue between R10 million and R50 million may use a declaration only if it is at least 51% black-owned. Below that, it must be measured on the QSE scorecard and verified by a SANAS-accredited agency.
Which revenue figure should the declaration show?
Total revenue for the most recent completed financial year, with the year-end stated on the form. It normally comes from the annual financial statements, or from management accounts where there are no audited figures.
Can a supplier draft its own version instead of using the template?
A self-drafted declaration is not automatically invalid if it contains all the required information. Many corporate buyers still reject custom formats, so the official dtic template, generic or sector-specific, is the safer choice.
Is a CIPC certificate as good as a commissioned declaration?
For an EME, yes. The CIPC issues it free of charge and it is valid for 12 months. Only directors or members can apply, and entities with foreign directors or members cannot use the service.
What happens if a supplier’s declaration turns out to be false?
Knowingly misrepresenting empowerment status is an offence under section 13O of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, carrying up to ten years’ imprisonment for individuals and a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover for companies. The buyer also loses the recognition it claimed for that supplier.
Does a start-up need a sworn statement in its first year?
A start-up is measured as an EME for its first year, so a declaration is its normal proof of status. When it tenders for a contract above R10 million, however, it must submit a QSE scorecard, and for contracts of R50 million or more a generic scorecard, both based on annualised data.
Find out which supplier declarations will survive verification
A supplier declaration audit tests every sworn statement on your file against the correct template, the claimed level, the revenue evidence and the commissioning details. You get a clear list of the forms that will hold, the ones that need replacing and the recognised spend at risk if nothing changes.
No obligation. We will get back to you within 24 hours.
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Dr. Este Welman, CA(SA)
Founding Partner, Insignis Solutions
Dr. Welman is a Chartered Accountant holding a PhD in Economic Transformation from the Da Vinci Institute, an M.Comm in Tax from North-West University, and a B-BBEE Management Diploma from Wits. She treats a sworn statement like any other signed financial assertion: worth relying on only if it would still stand once someone tests it.