Letter of demand in South Africa: template, rules and how to deliver it

What a letter of demand does

A letter of demand is your last written request before legal action: what the debtor owes, why, the deadline, and what you will do if they miss it. It does four things.

• It puts the debtor in mora (legal default) where no payment date was agreed. If the agreement fixed a date, the debtor is in default from that date without any demand. If it did not, default starts only when the debtor fails to meet a valid demand (Supreme Court of Appeal, Scoin Trading [2010] ZASCA 160, paragraphs 11 and 12). From then you can claim mora interest, the interest owed for late payment.
• It starts interest on unliquidated debts, where the amount still has to be fixed, such as damages. Interest runs from a written demand or summons, whichever comes first (Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975, section 2A(2)(a)), at the Reserve Bank repo rate plus 3.5 percentage points unless the contract sets one (section 1(2)). The demand must set out the claim well enough for the debtor to assess the amount (section 4).
• It opens the Small Claims Court, which will not issue a summons without one (below).
• It gives the debtor a formal way to settle. A debtor who receives a letter of demand may admit liability and offer instalments (Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944, section 57) or consent to judgment (section 58). If an attorney sends it by registered post and states the fee in it, you can recover that prescribed fee when the debtor pays (section 56).

What it does not do: interrupt prescription. Most debts prescribe three years after they fall due (Prescription Act 68 of 1969, section 11(d)). The clock is interrupted by the debtor's acknowledgement of the debt (section 14) or by service of a summons (section 15), not by a letter. If the debt is close to three years old, issue summons. See prescribed debt.

What it must contain

No law prescribes a general format, but the Small Claims Court rules set a good baseline. Rule 7(1) requires the letter to set out the facts the claim is based on, the date the claim arose and the amount claimed, substantially as in Form 4 (form J993).

• Your name or business name, address and contact details.
• The debtor's full name, address and, if known, email.
• The date of the letter.
• The amount, what it is for (invoice, loan, rent, goods sold) and the date it fell due.
• A clear deadline counted from the day the debtor receives the letter.
• How to pay: bank, account number, branch code and reference.
• What happens if they do not pay: legal action for the amount, interest and costs.
• Your signature.

Claim only what is owed. Add interest at the agreed or prescribed rate, and collection costs only where the agreement or the law allows them. See debt collection fees.

Letter of demand template

It contains everything Rule 7 asks for. For the Small Claims Court, allow at least 14 days, or use the official Form 4. The generator below fills it in for you.

[Your full name or registered business name]
[Your address]
[Your phone number and email address]

[Date]

BY HAND / BY REGISTERED POST

To: [Debtor's full name]
[Debtor's address]

LETTER OF DEMAND

1. I claim payment of R[amount] from you for [what the debt is for, for example invoice 104 for kitchen units supplied on 4 August 2026], which fell due on [date].

2. This amount remains unpaid.

3. I demand that you pay R[amount] within [14] days of the date you receive this letter.

4. Pay into: [bank, account holder, account number, branch code and reference].

5. If you do not pay the full amount within that time, I will institute legal action against you, without further notice, to recover the amount, interest and costs.

6. If you dispute this claim or want to propose a payment arrangement, contact me in writing before the deadline at [your phone number and email address].

Yours faithfully


[Your full name or registered business name]

The Small Claims Court requirement

Section 29(1)(a) of the Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984 requires you to give the clerk a copy of a written demand that was delivered to the defendant by hand or by registered post, allowing at least 14 days from the date the defendant received it to pay. Rule 7(2) of the Small Claims Court Rules (Government Notice R2573 of 7 October 2022, in force since 1 April 2023) requires proof of delivery: an affidavit (Form 5) or a registered post receipt.

• Limit: R30,000 from 1 August 2026 (Government Notice 7717, Gazette 55038 of 20 July 2026). It was R20,000 before. You may abandon the part of a larger claim above the limit, but that part is then lost (section 18).
• Who may sue: only a natural person (section 7(1)). A company or close corporation can be sued there but cannot sue, so a lender trading as a company uses the Magistrates' Court.
• No ceded claims: the court cannot hear a claim based on a cession (section 14(4)), so a bought debt cannot go there.
• One business claim at a time: no new claim from your business until the first has gone to judgment (section 29(1)(b)).

Counting the 14 days: leave out the day of receipt and include the last day; if the last day is a Sunday or public holiday, the period runs on to the next day (Interpretation Act 33 of 1957, section 4). A letter handed over on Monday 2 November 2026 runs out at the end of Monday 16 November; you can go to the clerk on Tuesday 17 November. When you post it, give more days, because the 14 run from receipt, not posting.

Credit agreements and the Magistrates' Court

Larger claims and claims by companies go to the Magistrates' Court, or the High Court above its limits. The Magistrates' Courts Act does not make a letter of demand a condition for summons, but send one: it fixes mora where needed, starts interest on unliquidated claims, opens the section 57 and 58 routes and shows the court you asked first.

When a letter of demand is not enough: if the debt arises from a credit agreement the National Credit Act covers (most loans, credit facilities and instalment sales to individuals), you may not start legal proceedings until you have delivered a section 129 notice and waited at least 10 business days, with the consumer in default for at least 20 business days (sections 129(1)(b) and 130(1)). That notice has its own content and delivery rules: see the section 129 notice guide.

You may send your own letter of demand. Anyone who collects debts for you for reward must be an attorney or registered with the Council for Debt Collectors (Debt Collectors Act 114 of 1998, section 8).

How to deliver it, and whether WhatsApp counts

A WhatsApp message is a data message under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. It does not lose legal force because of that form (section 11), it meets a legal requirement for writing if it can be accessed later (section 12), and it is received once it enters the debtor's system and can be retrieved and processed (section 23(b)). For an ordinary debt, a WhatsApp demand can work if you can prove the number is the debtor's and the message arrived.

It does not meet the Small Claims Court rule, which names only hand delivery and registered post, or section 129 of the National Credit Act, which names only registered mail and hand delivery to an adult at the consumer's chosen location. Serving court papers by social media needs the court's permission first: in the CMC Woodworking Machinery case [2012] ZAKZDHC 44, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court allowed a notice to be served by Facebook message, plus a newspaper notice, after the defendant evaded service.

Check your contract first. If it names an address for notices (a domicilium clause) or a method, deliver there and that way. For credit agreements, section 96 of the National Credit Act requires legal notices to go to the address in the agreement or the latest address the other party gave in writing. Send the formal letter, then WhatsApp a photo of it.

After the deadline

1. Paid: confirm receipt in writing and close the file.
2. Offer to pay over time: record it in a signed acknowledgement of debt with the instalments, dates and what happens on default. It also restarts prescription (Prescription Act, section 14).
3. Disputed: read the reasons before suing; a real dispute is cheaper to settle than to lose.
4. Ignored, R30,000 or less, and you are a natural person: take the letter, proof of delivery, the contract or invoice and the debtor's details to the Small Claims Court clerk at your magistrate's court. The clerk prepares the summons.
5. Ignored, otherwise: issue summons in the Magistrates' Court, usually through an attorney. If judgment is not paid, the next steps include a warrant of execution or an emoluments attachment order: see garnishee orders.

Questions people ask