By Mthokozisi Nkosi, Food Scientist, SAATCA Registered R638:2018 Lead Implementer (SAATCA register RG003), Lead Auditor registered with Exemplar Global and IRCA, Founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated November 2026.
Short answer: in Nelson Mandela Bay the Certificate of Acceptability (COA) is issued by the municipality’s Environmental Health Services. You get the R638 application form from the environmental health office for your area, attach the documents the municipality lists for formal food premises, and pay a non-refundable fee. The Environmental Health Services price list on the metro’s website shows R704 for a formal food premises COA. An environmental health practitioner (EHP) then inspects, and the certificate is issued in the name of the person in charge. A food safety training certificate is on the municipality’s own document list, so train the person in charge before you apply.
This post is for restaurants, takeaways, bakeries, caterers and other formal food premises in Gqeberha, Kariega and Despatch. If you are a spaza shop, hawker or informal trader, we have a separate guide on registering spaza shops, vendors and informal traders in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Who issues the COA in Nelson Mandela Bay
As a metro, Nelson Mandela Bay runs its own municipal health services. The fee schedule for the COA is signed by the Deputy Director: Environmental Health Services, and in July 2026 the municipality named its Public Health Directorate as part of its By-law Enforcement Task Team, according to SAnews.
The municipal directory lists these numbers for all environmental health matters. Phone yours for the form and the current fee:
- Gqeberha (PE): 041 506 5412 or 041 506 5413
- Kariega (Uitenhage): 041 994 1296
- Despatch: 041 994 1631
The formal premises file
The Nelson Mandela Bay form itself is short. It asks for the person in charge, the premises (including where toilets, hand-wash basins, storage or preparation areas are if they are off site), the food category, the nature of handling, staff numbers, any exemption under regulation 14(1), and the applicant’s details. The work is in the attachments. For formal food handling premises the municipality’s price list asks for:
- a zoning certificate or special consent approval, obtained from Town Planning
- proof of waste removal: your municipal account, or a private contractor’s contract or invoice
- a pest control contract or invoice
- a certificate on food safety training
- a fire safety certificate, for gas users only
Non-South Africans must also produce valid permits. Use our COA application checklist to make sure the file is complete before you pay.
The fee, and why it pays to be ready
The price list on the metro’s website covers both the business licence and the COA:
| Item (formal premises) | Price list amount |
|---|---|
| Business licence | R704 |
| Certificate of Acceptability | R704 |
| Re-issue of COA | R211 |
The list says processing fees are non-refundable, and payment is by EFT to the municipality. It does not show a financial year, so confirm the amount and the payment reference with the office on the day you pay. If your training certificate or zoning approval is missing when the EHP looks at the file, you have paid for an application you cannot finish.
Get the training certificate the Bay asks for
Nelson Mandela Bay lists a food safety training certificate as a required document for formal premises. The ASC Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge course is on the SAATCA register for R638 Person in Charge training, is HPCSA CPD accredited and is run by a FoodBev SETA accredited training provider. It is fully online, self paced, and ends in a video proctored assessment.
About the provider: ASC Food Safety is an Exemplar Global Recognised Training Provider, with 28 of its auditor, HACCP, GMP and ISO courses recognised.
What the EHP checks, and the conditions that come with your COA
The inspection is against R638: structure, hand-wash and toilet facilities, water and waste, temperature control, pest control, personal hygiene and your training checks and records under regulation 10(1)(c) and (d).
What helps in the Bay is that the municipality publishes the conditions attached to every COA. Three matter most for a growing restaurant or bakery:
- The certificate covers only the nature of handling stated in your application. A bakery that starts selling hot pies, or a takeaway that adds a sushi counter, should speak to the EHP before the menu changes, not after.
- The municipality may add restrictions at any time to prevent a health hazard, or lift restrictions on food category, food type or handling method.
- A prohibition order suspends the certificate. If the order is not lifted within the stipulated period, which may not exceed six months, the certificate expires permanently and you start again.
Planning a renovation or a new owner? Read our post on change of ownership and renovation. Regulation 3(6) of R638 also requires advance written notice before certain changes to the premises.
Where Bay applications wait
Zoning comes from another department. The zoning certificate or special consent comes from Town Planning, not from Environmental Health. In my experience it is the document most likely to hold up a new restaurant, so start it first. The municipality reminded businesses in July 2026 that they must comply with SPLUMA, the Land Use Scheme, R638 and its Public Health By-laws.
Inspector capacity. In his reply to parliamentary question NW3555 (asked in June 2025), the Minister of Health put the Eastern Cape at 203 functional EHPs in 2024/25, a shortage of 520, about one EHP for every 34 000 people. That covers the whole province, but it explains why re-inspections are not always quick to book.
A pre-COA audit finds the gaps before the EHP does.
Why the person in charge should be trained first
Regulation 10(1)(a) requires the person in charge to be suitably qualified or adequately trained in food safety and hygiene, with accredited training where applicable. In Nelson Mandela Bay the training certificate is also on the document list for formal premises, so without it the file is incomplete.
The course takes about 16 hours, self paced, so it fits around trading. Team seats are R7 645 for 5 or R14 440 for 10. Your staff also need training under regulation 10(1)(b); see who needs which course. For the national picture, read the 2026 guide to the Certificate of Acceptability, and for local course options see food safety training in Gqeberha.
Questions from Bay owners
Do Kariega and Despatch premises apply to the same municipality? Yes. Both are inside Nelson Mandela Bay, and the municipal directory gives them their own environmental health numbers: 041 994 1296 for Kariega and 041 994 1631 for Despatch.
Can my new restaurant open while the COA is being processed? No. Regulation 3(1) of R638 says no food may be handled on premises without a valid COA. Plan your opening date around the inspection.
We are moving to a bigger shop. Does our COA move with us? No. Regulation 3(9)(a) says a COA is not transferable between persons or premises, so the new address needs its own application.
Start with the person in charge: enrol on the Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge course.
