devcat
September 24, 2026
In South Africa, patent drawings are not just illustrations; they are regulated components of your application. The Patents Act 57 of 1978 and the Patent Regulations, 1978 (as amended to 14 December 2007) set strict rules on everything. This range encompasses everything, from sheet size and margins to ink, layout, and even the reserved space for a signature in the bottom-right corner.
They apply whether you’re filing directly with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) or entering the South African national phase under the PCT. Non-compliant drawings don’t move forward. They trigger an objection, and you will have to resubmit corrected sheets before the examination continues. In some cases, that delay can affect how quickly your application is processed, and for time-sensitive filings, every day counts.
This FAQ guide distills each of these requirements in plain language, with direct references to the regulations. The aim is simple: to give a clear checklist to ensure your drawings meet South African standards the first time.
Patent drawings are not required in every application filed in South Africa, but when they are, they must meet the exact standards set out in the official sources. This section explains when drawings are necessary, when they can be optionally included, and the differences between provisional and complete specifications.
No. Drawings are only required when they are necessary to understand the invention. In a complete specification, the Patents Act states that the description shall where necessary, be accompanied by drawings.
Yes. The Act does not prohibit including drawings that are not strictly required. Applicants may choose to include them to improve clarity or support the description. These drawings must still comply fully with the formatting rules in the Regulations.
The South African Patent rules do not define the term drawings or state whether it includes flow sheets or diagrams. The rules apply generally to drawings without listing specific types. Whether a visual representation such as a flow diagram, is treated as a drawing may depend on the Registrar’s interpretation in a given application.
Yes. A complete specification must “where necessary, illustrate or exemplify” the invention, so if drawings are needed for sufficiency, the Registrar can require you to add them during examination (i.e., by amendment).
When the Registrar issues a direction under the Regulations, the notice allows at least three months to comply.
Not automatically. If your drawings meet SA formalities (A4, specified margins/placement, black durable lines, etc.), they’re generally fine. But if they don’t, the Registrar can require replacements despite foreign/PCT acceptance. For national-phase entries, PCT drawings are deemed part of the complete specification, but SA formal rules still apply unless there’s a conflict (in which case PCT prevails).
No, not if it adds new matter. You can’t introduce new matter by amendment, as in that case, they will get the date of its supplementary disclosure. If what you add is fully supported by the original disclosure, you may file a compliant drawing as a formal amendment. Otherwise, you’d need to re-file or accept post-dating consequences.
Rectifications are handled under the Act’s corrections and amendments framework. Purely clerical/typographical issues can be corrected. However, anything touching substance is an amendment and must not add matter beyond the original disclosure.
Drawings can be amended both:
• Before acceptance – during examination, by amendment, provided you don’t add new matter.
• After acceptance: only in accordance with the Act and the Regulations under section 51 of the act.
The Registrar may issue a direction to supply what’s missing or amend. You’ll get at least 3 months to comply. Failure can lead to refusal/non-acceptance under the Act, and if acceptance isn’t achieved within 18 months, the application can lapse.
Patent drawings filed in South Africa must comply with the formal requirements set out in the Patent Regulations, 1978. These rules prescribe the allowable sheet size, drawing area, and margins to ensure uniform reproduction and examination.
Source – African Patent Regulations 1978
All drawing sheets must be A4 size, i.e., 29.7 cm high and 21.0 cm wide. Other sizes are not accepted for formal submission.
The space you can actually use for drawings is limited to 26.2 cm by 17.0 cm. The rest of the sheet must be left clear for margins.
No. You can’t put a border or frame around the drawing area. The margins have to stay blank and free from any marks.
14. What are the minimum margins for sheets containing drawings?
For drawing sheets, you must leave at least:
Below the top margin, there must be extra clear space for the applicant’s name, the application number, and sheet numbering.
In the bottom right-hand corner, there must be space within the margin for the signature of the applicant or their agent. All margins must remain free of any drawing matter, and reference signs in the drawings must be simple and clear.
In South Africa, the placement, numbering, and formatting of drawings must follow clear rules. Drawings must be kept separate from the written specification and presented in a way that leaves mandatory spaces for administrative markings and signatures. Proper numbering of sheets and figures is essential to ensure clarity and compliance.
Drawings must be placed on separate A4 sheets that accompany the application. The regulations do not prescribe an order relative to the description/claims, but they do require drawings to be on their own sheets with the prescribed margins and the reserved spaces at the top (for name, application number, and sheet numbering) and at the bottom‑right (for signature).
The SA rules are not very clear about the numbering of the sheets. They do mention that space must be reserved below the top margin for numbering the sheets. The format of numbering is not specified either, only that space must be reserved for it.
In practice, South Africa follows PCT-style conventions, as their Regulations do not specify exact numbering format. So figures could be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, preceded by “Fig.” and arranged, as far as possible, in the order they appear in the description.
All reference signs must be simple, clear, and easy to read. They must be used consistently across all figures to identify the same parts of the invention.
Below the top margin, a clear space must be left for the applicant’s name, application number, and sheet numbering. At the bottom right-hand corner, within the margin, a space must be reserved for the applicant’s or agent’s signature. Neither of these spaces can contain any drawing matter.
South African patent regulations do not contain a blanket ban on text in drawings. However, if the application enters South Africa through the PCT route, any textual matter on the drawings must be translated as part of the national phase requirements.
Yes, the regulations do allow text in drawings. While word length is not mentioned, the best practice is to keep words minimal. Also, the rules mention that patents entering the national phase via PCT should be translated into the acceptable languages in south africa upon entry, if the text matter is not in a language acceptable in the country.
If your application enters South Africa via the PCT route and the drawings contain text in a language other than English, the text must be translated into English as part of the national phase filing. This ensures the drawings are fully understandable to the Registrar and comply with South African language requirements.
South African patent regulations specify clear technical requirements for how drawings must be executed. These requirements ensure that the drawings are durable, legible, and suitable for reproduction by the patent office without loss of detail
The rules state that drawings must be made on strong, pliable, smooth, matt, and durable drawing paper or tracing cloth, or in an electronic form authorized by the registrar. They must be in durable black ink, sufficiently dense and dark, with uniformly thick and well-defined lines and strokes. Use of colour is not allowed.
The regulations do not explicitly prescribe cross-section hatching methods. However, the best practice (referencing PCT alignment for international filings) is to use oblique hatching that does not obscure reference signs or lines.
South African regulations require drawings to be executed so they can be reproduced satisfactorily by the patent office. While no numeric scale limits are given, the lines, proportions, and detail must remain clear and legible after reproduction.
The regulations do not specifically require or prohibit a scale. If used, it should be graphical and must not interfere with other drawing details, following PCT practice in international filings.
All reference signs must be simple and clear. The regulations prohibit any form that would make them difficult to read or reproduce.
The regulations require that lines be uniformly thick, well defined, and suitable for reproduction. Using drafting tools or computer drafting ensures compliance with these quality standards.
While the regulations do not explicitly state proportionality rules, they require drawings to be clear and suitable for reproduction. This implies that proportions should be maintained unless a change is essential for understanding.
The South African regulations require that all reference signs in drawings be simple, clear, and easily legible after reproduction. While the rules do not set an exact measurement for letters or numbers in drawings, they do specify that capital letters in original typed documents must be at least 2.1 mm high. Following this benchmark can help ensure reference signs remain readable.
The regulations do not prohibit multiple figures on one sheet, provided all margins are respected, the drawings remain clear, and they can be reproduced without loss of detail.
Yes. The same feature must always be represented by the same reference sign throughout the drawings and the written description.
No. Every reference sign in the drawings should correspond to a description in the specification, and all described features should be identified with reference signs if illustrated.
The SA regulations do not specifically mention photographs. However, they allow drawings to be on paper, tracing cloth, or in an authorised electronic format, provided they meet the quality standards. In practice, photographs are rarely accepted unless the subject cannot be clearly represented in a line drawing and the Registrar approves them.
Drawings must be on strong, pliable, smooth, matt, and durable drawing paper, on strong, pliable, smooth, matt, and durable tracing cloth, or in an authorised electronic format.
No. South African patent drawings must be executed without any coloring. They must be drawn in durable, black, sufficiently dense and dark, uniformly thick, and well-defined lines and strokes to ensure satisfactory reproduction.
Did you know: Using solid black-and-white line work ensures that drawings reproduce clearly in both print and digital formats. This also aligns with the standards followed by most major patent offices, helping avoid formal objections in multi-jurisdiction filings.
Understanding and following the exact South African patent drawing requirements isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s about preventing costly rejections, avoiding delays, and making sure your application sails through without formal objections.
Thankfully, that’s where Pinch Patent Drawings comes in.
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For every innovator, attorney, and team working to protect ideas and file patents faster. We are the only platform that combines speed, compliance, and confidentiality to simplify your patent drawing process.
For every innovator, attorney, and team working to protect ideas and file patents faster. We are the only platform that combines speed, compliance, and confidentiality to simplify your patent drawing process.
