Apply In-Person:

1. To apply for registering a trust in person, the person who wants to register must visit the nearest Master of High Court office in his\her province.
2. Please click the following link for the contact and address details of the Master of High Court office in all provinces: Link
3. Find the address of the office applicable to your location and pay a visit to the office to lodge an application for registering a trust.
4. Obtain the Trust Registration Amendment form (J401) for registering a trust, from the concerned department in the office.
5. Complete the application form as required with relevant details and information about the trust, applicant, main contact details, trustees’ information and auditor’s details.
6. Make sure that you have all the documents listed in the “Required documents” section of this page.
7. Attach all the documents with the application form and submit the application package to the Master of High court at his/her office.
8. Also pay the required fees as prompted. After receiving the application package, the Master may perform all the necessary processes of verification and validation of the attached documents.
9. Once when all the furnished documents are found in order, the Master may issue the nominated trustees with Letters of authority to administer the trust.

Apply Electronically - How To Apply for registering a trust Online with images

1. To apply for registering a trust electronically, the applicant must complete the electronic application forms and post the application and supporting documents package to the postal address of the Master of High Court in his\her province.
2. The postal address details of the Master of High Court office in all provinces can be found in the following link::Link
3. Download the Trust Registration Amendment electronic form (J401) for registering a trust by clicking on the following document: Link
4. Complete the application form as required with relevant details and information about the trust, applicant, main contact details, trustees’ information and auditor’s details.
5. Make a hard copy of the completed application and make sure that you have all the documents listed in the “Required documents” section of this page.
6. Attach all the documents with the application form and send the application package to the postal address of the Master of High court office.
7. After receiving the application package, the Master may perform all the necessary processes of verification and validation of the attached documents.
8. Once when all the furnished documents are found in order, the Master may issue the nominated trustees with Letters of authority to administer the trust.

INTER-VIVOS TRUSTS:

• Original or certified copy of trust deed
• Proof of fees payment
• Completely filled J401 form
• Completely filled Acceptance of Auditor Application in form J405
• Declaration of the beneficiaries (form J450)
• Certified copies of Trustees’ ID / Passport / Proof of Organization Registration
• Certified Copies of Beneficiaries’ ID or Birth Certificates / Passport /Organization
• Undertaking by the trustees (form J344) or Exemption proof
• Final Certified Court Order (if applicable)

TESTAMENTARY TRUSTS

• Completely filled J401 form
• Completely filled Acceptance of Auditor Application in form J405
• Completed Acceptance of Trusteeship (form J417)
• Declaration of the beneficiaries (form J450)

For more details, refer the following document: Link

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Head Office
Physical Adsress: Momentum Centre, 329
Pretorius Street,
Pretoria,
0001
South Africa
Postal Adsress:Private Bag X81
Pretoria,
0001
South Africa
Tel: 080 002 0007
Email:servicedelivery@justice.gov.za
Website link

• Any person or organisation (trustee), who wishes to transfer their control over property to another living person (beneficiary), is eligible to apply.
• A deceased person can also do the transfer of their control over property (testamentary) to another person (beneficiary) by means of a valid will.
• The person applying must be aware of the ‘Trust Property Control Act no 57/1988’ for successfully completing the procedure. Refer: Link

Please go through the following documents for detailed information on fees structure: Link, Link

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

• All electronic forms to be completed can be found in the following link. Refer “Trusts” section: Link
  

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

• The inter-vivos trust must be registered with the Master in whose area of jurisdiction the greatest portion of the trust assets are situated. If more than one Master has jurisdiction over the trust assets, the Master in whose office the trust was first registered will continue to have jurisdiction.
• On receipt of all the required documents, the Master may issue the nominated trustees with letters of authority to administer the trust. No trustee may act as such without the written authority of the Master.
• Trustees should keep accurate financial statements to comply with their obligations to the beneficiaries. The Master may request the trustees to account for the administration of the trust.

• Particulars of the trust
• Particulars of the applicant/agent
• Main contact details
• Bank details
• Founders’ details
• Trustees’ particulars
• Particulars of the Auditor

• To start a trust, it is mandatory for the trustee to register at the Master of the High court properly by completing and submitting the application with the necessary supporting documents.
  

• You should apply in writing to the Office where the Trust has been registered, providing reasons why this information is needed. The Master will then request the input of the Trustees and beneficiaries, after which he/she will exercise his discretion in providing you with the information / not.
• If the Master refuses to provide you with this information, you will need to apply to the Information’s Officer of the Department of Justice.

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

Place some external links which might help.

More information which might help people.