Zimbabwe Business Deadline: Re-Register Your Company by April 20 or Lose It

You have 11 days. If you own a registered business in Zimbabwe that was incorporated before March 2024, the law requires you to re-register under the new Companies and Other Business Entities Act (COBE Act) by April 20, 2026. Miss the deadline and your company is automatically deregistered. It stops existing in the eyes of the law.

What Is the COBE Act?

The Companies and Other Business Entities Act (COBE Act) replaced Zimbabwe's old Companies Act. It was designed to modernise business registration, update company records, and bring the system in line with current compliance standards.

The government gave all businesses that existed under the old law time to migrate to the new register. That window closes on April 20, 2026. The legal basis for this deadline is Statutory Instrument 108 of 2025, issued by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

This is not a new tax. It is not a new licence. It is a re-registration into the updated national business register. But it is mandatory, and the consequences of missing it are serious.

Who Must Re-Register?

You need to re-register if your business was incorporated before 1 March 2024 as either:

• A Private Limited Company (Pvt Ltd)
• A Private Business Corporation (PBC)

If your company was registered after March 2024, it was already created under the COBE Act and you are not affected.

If you are not sure which category your business falls into, check your original Certificate of Incorporation. If it was issued under the old Companies Act, you need to act now.

What Documents Do You Need?

The re-registration process requires you to upload scanned copies of the following:

• Certificate of Incorporation (original, issued under the old Companies Act)
• Form CR6 (register of directors)
• Form CR5 (register of shareholders)
• Last page of your Memorandum and Articles of Association (the signature page)
• Most recent Annual Return filed with the Registrar

If any of these documents are missing, start locating them now. Getting replacements from the Companies and Intellectual Property office takes time you may not have.

What Does It Cost?

The total cost depends on your company type and size. Government fees plus administrative charges typically fall between US$50 and US$300. Several registered service providers offer fixed-fee packages around US$100, which covers the government fee and their assistance with filing.

You can also file directly through the Zimbabwe Registrar of Companies online portal without using a third-party service provider, which may reduce costs.

Failing to re-register does not just mean a fine. Your company is automatically deregistered, meaning it no longer legally exists. Contracts, bank accounts, licences, and leases tied to that company become invalid.

How to Re-Register (Step by Step)

Re-registration is done online through the Companies and Intellectual Property (CIPZ) portal. Here is the process:

1. Create an account on the CIPZ online portal, or log in if you already have one.
2. Complete the re-registration form with your company details — name, registration number, directors, shareholders, and registered address.
3. Upload the required documents listed above as scanned PDFs or images.
4. Pay the re-registration fee using the online payment platform.
5. Wait for review and approval from the Registrar. Once approved, you receive a new Certificate of Incorporation under the COBE Act.

If you want help navigating the process, registered corporate advisory firms and compliance consultants across Zimbabwe are currently offering re-registration assistance. Search for COBE re-registration services in Harare or Bulawayo.

Why This Matters

For most shop owners and small business operators, company registration feels like paperwork that sits in a drawer and collects dust. But your business registration is the legal foundation of everything else you run.

If your company is automatically deregistered on April 21, you can no longer legally trade as that entity. Any business bank accounts held in the company name could be frozen. Contracts you have signed as a company become unenforceable. Supplier relationships, lease agreements, and any business licences tied to your registered entity are all at risk.

Getting re-registered after automatic deregistration is possible but takes significantly longer and costs more. You would need to go through a separate restoration process, which requires court applications in some cases.

The deadline is also coming at a time when Zimbabwe has introduced other new compliance requirements. Businesses now face a 15% withholding tax on cross-border mobile money payments and mandatory re-registration under COBE within the same month. If you have multiple compliance items outstanding, prioritise COBE re-registration first — the April 20 deadline is the hardest cut-off.

Conclusion

If you own a Zimbabwean business that was registered before 2024, stop delaying. The April 20 deadline is 11 days away. Gather your founding documents, log into the CIPZ portal, and complete the re-registration process now. The cost is manageable. The cost of missing the deadline is not.

Sources

• MIST Zimbabwe — Company Re-Registration in Zimbabwe: Everything You Need to Know Before the April 2026 Deadline
• Lucent Consultancy — Step-by-Step Company Re-Registration Process in Zimbabwe
• Kudfort — Re-Register or Risk It: Why Your Business Must Comply with the COBE Act
• Daystar Moorgate Corporate Advisory — Understanding the New Company Re-registration Requirements in Zimbabwe
• Tech In Africa — Zimbabwe's New Tech Regulations: What Changes for Crypto, Mobile Money, and Startups in 2026