What a compliance certificate is

A health and safety compliance certificate is a document from an independent occupational health and safety practitioner confirming that your workplace was audited against the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and its regulations, and what the outcome was. People also call it an OHS certificate, an OHS compliance certificate or a certificate of compliance. They mean the same thing.

The certificate is only as good as the audit behind it. A credible one comes with a written report: what was inspected, which documents were reviewed, what was found, and what was closed out before the certificate was issued.

Who asks for one

• Clients and principal contractors, before they approve you as a supplier or allow you on their premises.
• Tender documents, where proof of health and safety compliance is a returnable.
• The QCTO and SETAs, where a training provider applying for or renewing accreditation has to show that its training premises are safe and compliant.
• Bonded store and similar applications, where the application pack asks for proof that the premises meet health and safety requirements.
• Landlords, insurers and head offices, as part of their own risk management.
• Your own management, as an independent check on where the business stands.

The first question to answer is always: who asked, and what exactly do they want to see? That decides the scope of the audit.

Is it a legal requirement?

Complying with the Act is a legal duty for every employer. Section 8 requires an employer to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to health. That duty applies whether or not anyone ever asks you for a certificate.

The certificate itself is different. The Act does not prescribe a general “compliance certificate” for a business, and the Department of Employment and Labour does not hand one out. Inspectors enforce the law through inspections and notices. A compliance certificate is evidence, produced by an independent practitioner after an audit, that you can give to the party who asked for it.

What the audit looks at

• The workplace itself: housekeeping, access and exits, machinery and electrical safety, storage, signage, facilities.
• Documentation: policy, legal appointments, risk assessments, procedures, registers, training and induction records.
• Emergency preparedness: evacuation plan, fire equipment and its servicing, first aid boxes and trained first aiders.
• People and appointments: health and safety representatives and committee where the numbers require them, and whether appointees are trained and active.
• Risk controls: whether the controls in the risk assessments exist on the floor.

How to get one, step by step

• 1. Confirm the requirement. Send the auditor the wording from the client, tender or application form. If there is a deadline, say so.
• 2. Workplace audit and document review. The auditor visits the premises, inspects the workplace and reviews your documents.
• 3. Report and findings. You receive a written report. Where there are gaps, they are listed in a non-conformance register with clear close-out actions.
• 4. Close-out. You fix the findings and send evidence. Some items are quick, such as a missing appointment letter. Others take longer, such as servicing fire equipment or training a first aider.
• 5. Certificate. Once the outcome supports it, the certificate is issued together with the report.

The fastest way to a certificate is to have the basics in place before the audit: signed appointments, current risk assessments, serviced fire equipment, a stocked first aid box and training records you can find.

What it is not

• Not a letter of good standing. That comes from the Compensation Fund or a licensed insurer and shows you are registered and paid up under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. Many clients ask for both.
• Not an electrical certificate of compliance. That is issued by a registered electrical contractor for an electrical installation.
• Not a fire or occupancy certificate from the municipality.
• Not a personal qualification. A SHE representative, first aid or fire marshal certificate belongs to a person who completed training. If that is what you need, see health and safety training.
• Not a guarantee. It reflects the workplace on the day of the audit. Compliance is kept up by what happens afterwards.

Common questions

This guide is general information about South African occupational health and safety requirements as at September 2026. It is not legal advice. What a particular client, authority or application requires depends on their own rules, so always check the wording of the request.