Letter of demand template for South Africa, free
Your letter of demand,ready to send.
For an unpaid invoice, rent, a private loan or any other debt. Five short steps, a letter in English or Afrikaans, the deadline worked out and a delivery checklist. Free.
A letter of demand is a written demand that a debtor pay a stated amount by a deadline before you take legal action. It says who owes what, for what and since when, how to pay and what happens if they don't. For the Small Claims Court, which hears claims up to R30,000, it must be delivered by hand or registered post and allow at least 14 days from receipt.
The rules this writer applies
Each one with its source, so you can check it.
- What it must say
- Who owes what, for what, the date it fell due, the deadline, how to pay and what you will do if they don't. For the Small Claims Court: the facts, the date the claim arose and the amount, substantially as in Form 4. Rule 7 Form 4
- Small Claims Court delivery
- By hand or by registered post, allowing at least 14 days calculated from the date the debtor receives it. Prove it with an affidavit (Form 5) or a registered post receipt. Small Claims Courts Act s29 Rule 7
- Small Claims Court limit
- R30,000 from 1 August 2026, and only a natural person may sue there. A company or close corporation can only be the defendant. GN 7717 Small Claims Courts Act s29
- Counting the days
- Leave out the first day and include the last; if the last day is a Sunday or public holiday, the period runs to the next day. Interpretation Act s4 Public Holidays Act
- Email and WhatsApp
- Valid for an ordinary debt if you can prove it arrived: a data message counts as writing. Not enough for the Small Claims Court or a section 129 notice. ECT Act Small Claims Courts Act s29
- Credit agreements
- For a loan or credit under the National Credit Act, a letter of demand does not open the way to court: you need a section 129 notice. s129
- Prescription
- A letter does not stop the three years. The debtor's written acknowledgement or a served summons does. Prescription Act
- Who may send it
- You, for your own debt. Anyone who collects for you for reward must be an attorney or a registered debt collector. Debt Collectors Act
What a letter of demand does
It is your last written request before legal action. It also does four legal jobs:
- 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 not, default starts only when they fail to meet a valid demand (Scoin Trading [2010] ZASCA 160).
- 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, section 2A).
- It opens the Small Claims Court, which will not issue a summons without one.
- It gives the debtor a formal way to settle. A debtor who receives one may admit liability and offer instalments (Magistrates' Courts Act, section 57) or consent to judgment (section 58).
What it does not do is interrupt prescription. Most debts prescribe three years after they fall due (Prescription Act, section 11(d)). Only the debtor's acknowledgement (section 14) or a served summons (section 15) interrupts it. If the debt is close to three years old, issue summons. See prescribed debt.
Sample letter of demand
This is what the writer produces, with sample details.
How to deliver it
| Method | Small Claims Court | Other debts | Proof to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand delivery | Accepted | Accepted | Signed and dated copy, or a Form 5 affidavit |
| Registered post | Accepted | Accepted | Registered post slip and track and trace print-out |
| Not enough on its own | Valid if you can prove it arrived | The sent email and any reply | |
| WhatsApp or SMS | Not enough on its own | Valid if you can prove it arrived | Screenshots with the number, date, ticks and any reply |
A WhatsApp message is a data message under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act: it does not lose legal force because of its form (section 11), it counts as writing if it can be accessed later (section 12), and it is received once it can be retrieved by the debtor (section 23). Serving court papers by social media is different and needs the court's permission first (CMC Woodworking [2012] ZAKZDHC 44).
Check your contract first. If it names an address for notices (a domicilium) or a method, deliver there and that way. Send the formal letter, then WhatsApp a photo of it.
Loans and credit: you need a section 129 notice
If the debt comes from a credit agreement the National Credit Act covers (most loans, credit facilities and instalment sales to individuals), a letter of demand does not open the way to court. You must deliver a section 129 notice and wait at least 10 business days after delivery, with the consumer in default for at least 20 business days (sections 129(1)(b) and 130(1)). Switch the writer above to "Loan or credit", or use the section 129 notice writer.
After the deadline
- Paid: confirm receipt in writing and close the file.
- Offer to pay over time: record it in a signed acknowledgement of debt with the instalments and dates. It also restarts prescription (Prescription Act, section 14).
- Disputed: read the reasons before suing. A real dispute is cheaper to settle than to lose.
- Ignored, R30,000 or less, and you are a person: take the letter, proof of delivery, the contract or invoice and the debtor's details to the Small Claims Court clerk. See the Small Claims Court letter of demand.
- Ignored, otherwise: issue summons in the Magistrates' Court, usually through an attorney. If a judgment is not paid, next come a warrant of execution or an emoluments attachment order.
Questions owners ask
Can I write my own letter of demand?
Yes. You can write and send it yourself for your own debt. An attorney's letter costs more; under section 56 of the Magistrates' Courts Act its prescribed fee can be recovered from the debtor if it went by registered post, stated the fee, and the debtor then pays.
How many days must a letter of demand give?
For the Small Claims Court, at least 14 days from the date the debtor receives it. Elsewhere no fixed period applies: give a reasonable time, usually 7 to 14 days, and follow any notice period in your contract.
What happens if someone ignores a letter of demand?
You can sue: in the Small Claims Court if you are a person and the claim is R30,000 or less, otherwise in the Magistrates' Court. If they still don't pay after judgment, the sheriff can attach property or the court can order deductions from salary.
Can a letter of demand be sent by WhatsApp or email?
For an ordinary debt, yes, if you can prove it reached the debtor. Not for the Small Claims Court, which requires hand delivery or registered post, and not for a section 129 notice under the National Credit Act.
How much does a letter of demand cost?
Nothing if you send it yourself with this writer, apart from postage: a domestic registered letter cost R49.55 at the Post Office's 2026/27 rates. Attorneys charge more, and part of a prescribed attorney's fee may be recoverable from the debtor.
Is there an official letter of demand form?
For the Small Claims Court, yes: Form 4 in the 2022 Small Claims Court Rules. Rule 7 requires your letter to substantially match it, and the writer's Small Claims Court version uses its wording.
Does a letter of demand stop prescription?
No. Prescription is interrupted by the debtor's acknowledgement of the debt or by service of a summons, not by a letter (Prescription Act, sections 14 and 15).
Can a company use the Small Claims Court?
Not as the claimant. Only natural persons may sue there (Small Claims Courts Act, section 7(1)). A company or close corporation uses the Magistrates' Court.
Next
Rather have it paid than go to court?
Planar collects overdue accounts for South African lenders and other businesses, in the payer's own language, and is paid only from what it recovers.
Sources
- Small Claims Courts Act 61 of 1984 (Department of Justice)
- Small Claims Courts Rules, GN R2573 of 7 October 2022: rule 7 and Form 4 (Department of Justice)
- Government Notice 7717, Gazette 55038: Small Claims Court limit R30,000 from 1 August 2026 (Department of Justice)
- Small Claims Court Form 4: letter of demand in terms of section 29(1) (Department of Justice)
- Small Claims Courts: how they work (Department of Justice)
- Interpretation Act 33 of 1957, section 4 (counting days)
- Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (gov.za)
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (gov.za)
- Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944 (Department of Justice)
- Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975 (Department of Justice)
- Prescription Act 68 of 1969 (Department of Justice)
- Scoin Trading (Pty) Ltd v Bernstein NO [2010] ZASCA 160 (Supreme Court of Appeal)
- CMC Woodworking Machinery v Pieter Odendaal Kitchens [2012] ZAKZDHC 44 (KwaZulu-Natal High Court)
- Debt Collectors Act 114 of 1998 (Council for Debt Collectors)
- National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (gov.za, as enacted)
- South African Post Office: postal rates 2026/2027 (registered letters)
Checked against these sources on 2026-10-29. General information, not legal advice.