How to verify a COIDA Letter of Good Standing and spot a fake

Why you should check every letter

Section 89 of COIDA deals with mandators and contractors. If you hire a contractor for work that is part of your business, the contractor must register with the Compensation Fund and pay assessments for its employees on that work. If it does not, those employees are treated as your employees for COIDA, and you pay the assessments, although you can recover them from the contractor.

That is why main contractors, property managers and government departments ask for a Letter of Good Standing. A copy of a letter proves nothing on its own. Only the Fund's record tells you it is genuine and current.

What a genuine letter shows

A Letter of Good Standing is issued by the Compensation Commissioner and certifies that the employer has complied with COIDA and is in good standing with the Fund. Genuine letters carry the details below and include a link to the Fund's verification page.

• Certificate number
• CF registration number (usually starting with 99)
• Company registration number
• Trade name and address
• Nature of business
• Issue date and expiry date
• A warning that a fraudulently obtained letter is a criminal offence

How the Verify LOGS check works

The Compensation Fund runs a public validation page on CF Online. You do not need to log in. You enter one item, the certificate number from the letter, and the page returns the certificate number, trade name, issue date and expiry date the Fund holds for it. The page's own instructions say you can only validate a letter with the certificate number, that you should compare the trade name with the name on the certificate, and that you must check the valid period.

The certificate number is a separate number from the CF registration number. On current letters both appear near the top. If someone gives you only a CF registration number, ask for the letter itself.

The check tells you what the Fund's record says on the day you look. It does not tell you that the letter will still be valid next month, or that the contractor's assessment for the current year has been paid. For long contracts, note the expiry date and diarise a new check before it passes.

Red flags of a fake or invalid letter

The Fund's own letter warns that altering a letter to defraud is a criminal offence and that the Commissioner will prosecute. Watch for these signs.

• The certificate number returns no result on the Verify LOGS page
• The trade name on the Fund's record does not match the letter or the contractor's invoice
• The expiry date has passed, or the dates on the letter differ from the Fund's record
• The nature of business does not match the work the contractor will do for you
• Fonts, spacing or numbers look edited, or the letter arrives only as a low-quality scan
• The contractor or an agent offers to fast-track a letter for a fee, or asks for COIDA money to be paid into a private account

What to do if a letter does not check out

Ask the contractor for a current letter and verify the new certificate number yourself. Do not accept an explanation such as a system delay without proof, for example a Fund notice extending the validity of letters. Keep a screenshot or printout of each verification with the date, and re-check before each payment run on long projects, because a letter can expire during the job.

If you suspect a forged letter, report it to the Compensation Fund call centre on 0860 105 350 or cfcallcentre@labour.gov.za.

Building the check into your supplier process

If you appoint contractors regularly, make the check part of onboarding. Ask for the letter before work starts, verify it on the day, file the result, and ask for a new letter before the expiry date. Include a clause in your contracts requiring the contractor to stay registered and in good standing with the Compensation Fund for the whole contract, and to give you a current letter when the old one expires. Under section 89 you can set off COIDA amounts you were made to pay against what you owe the contractor, but a clean check up front avoids the problem.

Step by step

1. 1

   Open the official page

   Type cfonline.labour.gov.za/VerifyLOGS into your browser yourself. Do not use a link sent by the contractor.

2. 2

   Enter the certificate number

   Use the certificate number on the letter. The page says you can only validate a letter with this number.

3. 3

   Compare the trade name

   Check that the trade name returned matches the name on the letter and on the contractor's documents.

4. 4

   Check the dates

   Confirm the issue date and that the expiry date is still in the future for the whole period you need cover.

5. 5

   Keep a record

   Save a dated screenshot of the result with your contractor file.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Compensation Fund: Verify Letter of Good Standing (CF Online)
• COIDA, Act 130 of 1993 (section 89, mandators and contractors)
• Government Gazette 53360, Notice 3495 of 2025 (official accounts and contacts)
• Government Gazette 52722, Notice 3227 of 2025 (example of a LOGS extension)

This guide explains the general rules. Requirements and portal steps change, so check the official source before you file.