The short answer
An antenuptial contract (ANC) keeps your marriage out of community of property. It must be signed before a notary before the wedding and registered in a deeds registry within three months of signing. With accrual, you share the growth in your estates during the marriage; without accrual, nothing is shared automatically.
An antenuptial contract, or ANC, is the only way to marry out of community of property in South Africa, and it has one deadline that can’t be moved: it must be signed in front of a notary before your wedding. Many couples choose an antenuptial contract with accrual, which keeps your estates separate during the marriage but shares the growth in them if the marriage ends. Without accrual, you each keep what’s yours and nothing is shared automatically.
If you sign nothing, you’re married in community of property: one joint estate, shared debts, and each other’s consent needed for big transactions. That suits some couples, but it should be a choice, not something that happens because nobody booked the notary.
This guide covers the contract itself: the deadlines, how accrual works with a worked example, what it costs and what happens if you forget. For the side-by-side comparison of all three regimes, read in community vs out of community of property. This is general information, not legal advice; a notary or attorney can apply it to your situation.
What is an antenuptial contract?
It’s a contract between the two of you, drawn up and attested by a notary (an attorney who is also admitted as a notary), that sets the property regime for your marriage. It’s registered in a deeds registry so that the outside world, especially creditors, knows which regime applies.
It works the same way whichever law you marry under. A civil marriage, a civil union and a customary marriage are all in community of property unless an antenuptial contract excludes it. For a customary marriage, that means signing before the customary marriage is concluded, not just before a later white wedding; lobola and customary marriage explains why the timing matters.
When must an antenuptial contract be signed and registered?
There are two deadlines, and both come from the law, not from the notary’s convenience:
- Signing: before the wedding. The contract must be signed in front of a notary before you marry. After the wedding, it’s too late without a court order.
- Registration: within three months of signing. The Deeds Registries Act requires a contract signed in South Africa to be registered in a deeds registry within three months of the date it was signed, or within a longer period a court allows. A contract signed outside South Africa has six months. Your notary lodges it for you.
Registration matters. An antenuptial contract that isn’t registered has no force against anyone who isn’t a party to it, which means your creditors can treat you as married in community of property.
The official guidance doesn’t quite line up here. Home Affairs’ marriages page says couples should register the contract with the Deeds Office before approaching Home Affairs to marry, while the Act only requires it to be signed before the wedding and registered within three months. To be safe, sign two to three months before the wedding, ask your notary whether registration can be completed before the date, and ask your marriage officer what proof they want to see.
How the accrual system works
Since the Matrimonial Property Act of 1984, every antenuptial contract that excludes community of property includes the accrual system automatically, unless the contract expressly excludes it. So “with accrual” is the default; “without accrual” has to be written in.
Here’s how it works:
- During the marriage, each of you owns and manages your own estate. You don’t need each other’s consent to sell, borrow or sign surety.
- When the marriage ends, by divorce or death, each estate’s accrual is worked out: its net value at the end, minus its net value at the start of the marriage (adjusted for inflation).
- The spouse with the smaller accrual has a claim against the other for half the difference.
Some things are left out of the calculation by law:
- Inheritances, legacies and donations either of you receives during the marriage, and anything acquired with them, unless your contract says otherwise.
- Damages that aren’t for financial loss, such as damages for pain and suffering.
- Gifts between the two of you.
- Any asset your contract specifically excludes.
A worked example
Say Anri and Thabo marry with an accrual contract and divorce ten years later. These figures are hypothetical, and the inflation adjustment is simplified.
| Anri | Thabo | |
|---|---|---|
| Net estate at the wedding (declared in the contract) | R400 000 | R100 000 |
| Starting value adjusted for inflation | R600 000 | R150 000 |
| Net estate at divorce | R1 500 000 | R550 000 |
| Less excluded assets (Anri’s inheritance) | R200 000 | None |
| Accrual | R700 000 | R400 000 |
The difference between the two accruals is R300 000, so Thabo has a claim against Anri for half of it: R150 000. Afterwards each has grown by R550 000 during the marriage, and Anri keeps her inheritance and what she brought into the marriage.
Without accrual, Thabo would have no claim at all. In community of property, there would be one joint estate, split in half.
Declare your starting values
That example depends on the starting values being on record. You can declare your net estate in the contract itself or in a separate statement signed by both of you and attested by the notary, before the wedding or within six months after. If nothing is declared and the contrary isn’t proved, your starting value is treated as nil, which means everything you owned before the marriage could count as growth. If your debts exceed your assets on the wedding day, your starting value is nil anyway.
With accrual or without accrual?
| With accrual | Without accrual | |
|---|---|---|
| During the marriage | Separate estates, separate debts | Separate estates, separate debts |
| At divorce or death | Growth during the marriage is shared | Nothing is shared automatically |
| Protects a spouse who earns less or stays home with children | Yes | No |
| Protects what you brought into the marriage | Yes, if you declare it | Yes |
| Often chosen by | Most couples who want separate estates and fairness | Couples with large separate estates, or second marriages with children to protect |
For many couples accrual is the fairer choice, because it protects whoever earns less (often the parent who cuts back on work) without merging your debts. Without accrual can make sense when both of you are financially independent and want to keep everything separate, but it’s worth a frank conversation about what happens if one of you stops earning.
Excluding assets from the accrual
You don’t have to choose between all and nothing. An accrual contract can list specific assets that stay out of the calculation: a business you started before you met, a share in a family farm, a property you already own, or shares that came from your parents. A notary can draft the schedule; be specific, and be prepared for your partner to ask why.
How much does an antenuptial contract cost?
In 2026, fixed-fee notary services advertised standard antenuptial contracts at roughly R2 000–R2 500, in some cases including Deeds Office registration. A contract with a schedule of excluded assets, business interests or a trust takes more drafting and costs more, so ask for a written quote. When you compare quotes, check:
- Is Deeds Office registration included, and VAT?
- Is the declaration of starting values included?
- How soon can you sign, and how long does registration take?
- Will they send you a registered copy, and give you something to show your marriage officer?
It’s one of the smallest lines in a wedding budget, and one of the few that’s hard to fix later. Hidden wedding costs lists it alongside the other expenses couples forget.
What happens if you forget to sign one?
You’re married in community of property. There are two ways out, and both need a court:
- If you agreed the terms before the wedding but didn’t sign in time, the court can authorise a postnuptial contract with the same effect, on good cause shown, under section 88 of the Deeds Registries Act.
- Otherwise, you can jointly apply to court under section 21 of the Matrimonial Property Act to change your property regime. The court must be satisfied there are sound reasons, that all your creditors have been given notice, and that nobody will be prejudiced.
Home Affairs’ own FAQ says the only way to change your marriage contract is to divorce and remarry, which doesn’t match the Act. If you’re in this position, speak to an attorney about a section 21 application before you consider anything drastic. Either way, a court application costs far more than a notary’s fee, which is why our wedding planning checklist puts the notary appointment months before the wedding.
Your next steps
- Talk honestly about money: what you each own, what you owe, and what you expect to inherit.
- Choose a notary about six months before the wedding and ask for a written quote.
- Sign two to three months before the date, with your starting values declared.
- Give your marriage officer whatever proof they ask for, and keep a registered copy with your marriage certificate.
The rest of the legal requirements for getting married run alongside this. And while you’re with the notary, someone else can be worrying about the wind, the tide and the chairs: see how Tarika plans weddings.
Frequently asked questions
Is an antenuptial contract the same as a prenup?
Broadly, yes: “prenup” is the everyday word, and an antenuptial contract is the South African legal form of it. The difference is in the formalities. It must be signed before a notary before the wedding and registered in a deeds registry within three months of signing. A private agreement you sign between yourselves doesn’t change your property regime.
Does accrual apply when one of us dies, or only at divorce?
Both. The accrual claim arises when the marriage ends, whether by divorce or by death. If one spouse dies, the accrual is calculated and any claim is settled between the surviving spouse and the deceased estate, before the estate is distributed under the will. This is one reason to update your wills when you marry.
Are inheritances shared under an accrual contract?
Not unless you agree otherwise. Under the Matrimonial Property Act, an inheritance, legacy or donation that one spouse receives during the marriage, and anything acquired with it, is left out of the accrual calculation unless your contract or the will or donor says otherwise. Keep inherited money identifiable, for example in a separate account, so it’s easy to prove later.
Do we need an antenuptial contract for a customary marriage?
If you want to be married out of community of property, yes. A monogamous customary marriage is in community of property unless an antenuptial contract excludes it, and the contract must be signed before the customary marriage is concluded. If you’re having a traditional ceremony and a white wedding, speak to a notary before the lobola negotiations are finalised.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws, fees and Home Affairs procedures change, so confirm the details with the Department of Home Affairs, your marriage officer, a notary or an attorney before you rely on them.