cidb Register of Contractors
The statutory register every contractor on public work must be on, graded 1 to 9 by the size of contract it may bid, in classes of works.
What the register is for
The Construction Industry Development Board keeps the register under the cidb Act, and an organ of state may only award a construction works contract to a contractor registered in the right grade and class. The grade is a ceiling on tender value; the class is the kind of work (general building, civil engineering, electrical, mechanical and the specialist classes). A registration is a grade and a class together, and it is only valid for the class in which competence was proved.
Who must be on it
Any contractor that wants public-sector construction work, from a municipal repair to a national road. Private clients are not obliged to require it, and the panel does anyway, because it is the one register that says what a firm has already completed.
Where it comes from
Construction Industry Development Board Act 38 of 2000 and its Regulations.
How to check
Search by name or CRS number. It returns status, grade and class. Ask for the number rather than the certificate: a number you look up is evidence, a PDF is a design file. Read the removals notices on cidb.org.za against your whole vendor list.
What a listing does not prove
That the firm is competent, solvent or insured today. A registration is a licence to bid, and it can be removed by notice.
Read the detail
The panel
A contractor on the panel is checked on cidb Register of Contractors before it quotes, and the check is repeated when the registration falls due. You see one quote from one company, with this already done.