Run the checker
Three questions, and every outcome tells you the category, the level (where one is automatic), the proof route, and what to confirm before anything is signed.
Where do you land?
1. What is your annual turnover?
First check whether a gazetted sector code applies to your industry — if it does, its thresholds may differ from these generic ones.
Categories, elevation and the “51% Black Owned” definition per Statement 000 and Schedule 1 of the Amended Codes (as replaced in 2019). A start-up is measured as an EME in its first year regardless of expected turnover. If a gazetted sector code applies to your industry, its thresholds govern instead. General guidance, not advice — and a false affidavit is a criminal offence, so when in doubt, calculate before you sign.
The affidavit trap, in one paragraph
The affidavit route is the cheapest, fastest B-BBEE status there is — and the most dangerous to get wrong, because there is no verification agency standing between what you sign and your status. You are the only check. The percentage must be worked out on the ordinary flow-through basis (not the 51% short-cut), and the strict definition requires the net-value leg to be satisfied.
Frequently asked questions
A sworn affidavit (the dtic publishes the official template) or a CIPC certificate, renewed annually. An EME does not need — and should not pay for — a verification certificate. The affidavit states the turnover and black-ownership percentage, and signing a false one is a criminal offence.
Only if it is at least 51% black-owned, measured on the ordinary flow-through basis. Below that, a QSE is measured on the Statement 601 scorecard and verified by an accredited agency in the ordinary way.
Because the elevation uses the defined term “51% Black Owned”, which has three cumulative legs: 51% of the votes, 51% of the economic interest, and having earned all the net-value points. Net value deducts outstanding acquisition debt — so a loan-funded deal may not qualify however the register reads, while a cash purchase or genuine free carry ordinarily does. See net value explained.