Deeds Office fees in South Africa changed on 1 April 2026 under a new Schedule of Fees published in Government Gazette No. 54225 on 27 February 2026. Both charges follow one 15-bracket schedule: the transfer fee is levied on the property's purchase price, and the bond registration fee is levied on the registered bond amount.
The 2026 schedule, bracket by bracket
Both columns below come from the same gazetted schedule: the transfer fee applies to the purchase price, the bond fee to the bond amount. Where the two differ — say you buy for R1.5 million with a R1.2 million bond — each is looked up in its own column. All figures as at 9 September 2026.
| Purchase price / bond amount | Transfer fee | Bond registration fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to R100 000 | R50 | R561 |
| R100 001 – R150 000 | R114 | R561 |
| R150 001 – R200 000 | R114 | R727 |
| R200 001 – R300 000 | R727 | R727 |
| R300 001 – R600 000 | R956 | R956 |
| R600 001 – R800 000 | R1 346 | R1 346 |
| R800 001 – R1 000 000 | R1 546 | R1 546 |
| R1 000 001 – R2 000 000 | R1 738 | R1 738 |
| R2 000 001 – R4 000 000 | R2 408 | R2 408 |
| R4 000 001 – R6 000 000 | R2 922 | R2 922 |
| R6 000 001 – R8 000 000 | R3 480 | R3 480 |
| R8 000 001 – R10 000 000 | R4 068 | R4 068 |
| R10 000 001 – R15 000 000 | R4 844 | R4 844 |
| R15 000 001 – R20 000 000 | R5 818 | R5 818 |
| R20 000 001 – R30 000 000 | R7 751 | R6 781 |
| Above R30 000 000 | R7 751 | R9 690 |
The schedule is tiered but smooth. On the cheapest properties the two columns diverge sharply: the transfer fee on properties up to R100 000 is just R50, while the bond fee at the same level is already R561 (both as at 9 September 2026). They then track each other exactly through every bracket until R20 million. Above R20 million the columns part ways for the second time: a R25 million transaction pays R7 751 on the transfer side but R6 781 on the bond side, and above R30 million the fees level off at R7 751 and R9 690 respectively.
Worked examples on a typical bond
On a R1.5 million bond, the Deeds Office fee is R1 738; on a R2 million bond it is R2 408 (both as at 9 September 2026). These are once-off government charges payable to the Registrar of Deeds on registration — not to any bank or attorney — and they sit on top of the conveyancing attorney's account and any bank initiation fee. For an illustration on your own numbers, our bond & transfer cost calculator applies the April 2026 schedule within its assumptions, showing how it combines with attorney fees, transfer duty and bank charges into one upfront total.
How the fees fit the wider cost stack
The Deeds Office line is only part of the picture. Conveyancing attorney fees moved separately under a new recommended guideline from 1 July 2026, and transfer duty applies above its exemption threshold. Our conveyancing fee guideline piece sets out what attorneys now charge under that scale, and the full cost-stack breakdown adds the NCA-capped bank fee on a R1.5 million purchase. If you are unsure which of these charges applies to your transaction — or when each falls due — the bond registration vs transfer costs guide walks through the difference, and your conveyancer's written quote is the authoritative number for your file.
What buyers often miss
Two things trip people up. First, the Deeds Office fee is not quoted in isolation: it is collected by the conveyancing attorney on registration and appears as a disbursement on the attorney's account, alongside the attorney's own professional fee and other disbursements. Reading the account line by line — and asking the conveyancer to explain any line you cannot place — is the reliable way to check it. Second, the fee only falls due if and when registration happens: nothing is payable to the Deeds Office before then. These fees are also gazetted amounts, not negotiated ones — unlike attorney fees, there is no scope to haggle them down, which makes budgeting with the correct bracket the only real lever you have.
Fee figures: Schedule of Fees of Office under Government Gazette No. 54225 (GN R.7180, 27 February 2026), effective 1 April 2026, verified as at 9 September 2026. Transfer fees are levied on the purchase price; bond registration fees on the bond amount.