Docufy

What is ITF Form 7A, and who has to file it?

ITF Form 7A registers a business with ITF for the first time. Submit it to your Area Office, then pay through Remita to get your ITF National Number.

2 min readBy the Docufy editorial team

Quick answer

ITF Form 7A is how a business registers with ITF for the first time. The nearest Area Office assesses your liability from it, you pay through Remita, and ITF headquarters then issues an ITF National Number before the Area Office issues your certificate.

Form
ITF Form 7A
Submitted to
the ITF Area Office where the employer is registered
Payment method
a Remita reference, paid at a bank
Outcome
an ITF National Number, then the certificate
On this page

A business meets ITF for the first time through one specific form, not the annual return everyone else files.

What Form 7A is for

ITF Form 7A is the registration form for an employer that has never filed with ITF before. It is a one-time step, not something you repeat every year.

You need it once your business meets 5 or more employees, or once turnover on its own brings you into the Act. If you are not sure which applies, who must pay the ITF levy sets out both tests.

Step 1: submit the form and its documents

Form 7A, together with its supporting documents, goes to the ITF Area Office where the employer is registered. This is the office that assesses whether, and how much, your business owes.

Get your payroll figures ready before this step. An assessment based on incomplete numbers can mean redoing part of the process later.

Step 2: pay through Remita

Once the Area Office has assessed your liability, ITF generates a payment reference through its pay portal, which you settle at a bank like any other Remita payment.

Keep the payment evidence. You need to take it back to the same Area Office, not simply hold onto a receipt, since the office confirms payment before anything else moves forward.

Step 3: getting your ITF National Number

With payment evidence back at the Area Office, ITF headquarters issues your ITF National Number. This is your reference for every filing after this one.

The Area Office then issues your Certificate of Compliance, which is the document a tender pack or a bank will actually ask to see.

What you need before you start

  1. Your CAC registration details and business address.
  2. Payroll figures for the period the assessment will cover.
  3. Whatever supporting documents your Area Office lists alongside Form 7A.
  4. A way to pay a Remita reference at a bank once assessment is complete.

After you are registered

Form 7A is not filed again. From the following year, an already-registered employer files an annual return instead, sometimes called Form 5A on ITF's own page and Form 5 on the downloadable version. See ITF Form 5 or Form 5A for what changes.

Common mistakes

  • Filing Form 7A a second time, when an annual return was what was actually needed.
  • Submitting incomplete supporting documents, which slows the Area Office's assessment.
  • Losing the Remita payment evidence before it gets back to the Area Office.
  • Not keeping the ITF National Number safely on file for later filings and correspondence.

Once registration is done, a vetted partner firm can take on the ongoing work of your ITF compliance certificate, and the ITF compliance certificate guide covers what to expect from year to year.

Questions people ask

Who needs to file Form 7A?

Any business filing with ITF for the first time, once it meets 5 or more employees or the turnover test. See who must pay the ITF levy to check which applies to you.

What happens after I submit Form 7A?

The Area Office assesses your liability from the form and its supporting documents before any payment step begins.

How do I actually pay?

ITF generates a Remita reference on its pay portal once assessment is done. You pay at a bank, then take that evidence back to the Area Office.

Do I use Form 7A again next year?

No. Once registered, you move to the annual return instead. See ITF Form 5 or Form 5A for that filing.

Sources

Last checked 27 Sep 2026. Fees and rules change; the agency that issues the document has the final word. See our editorial policy.

Keep reading

ITF compliance certificate guide (2026)

Is the ITF annual return Form 5 or Form 5A?

The ITF annual return goes by two names. ITF's page calls it Form 5A; the downloadable PDF is titled ITF Form 5. Here is which one you actually need.

3 min read

The ITF contribution rate and what payroll includes

The ITF contribution rate is 1% of total annual payroll, but employers often under-count payroll. Here is what ITF's own definition includes.

2 min read

How do you get the ITF compliance certificate?

How to get an ITF compliance certificate: pay your contribution, then the ITF Area Office where the employer is registered checks it before issuing the actual document.

2 min read

The ITF training plan window and how to claim reimbursement

The ITF training plan window runs between 1 January and 31 March each year. File within it and you can later claim back up to 50% of the training contribution paid of your contribution.

2 min read

All articles on tenders and compliance