A certificate of outcome, also referred to as the 7.12 form, is a document completed and issued by the Commissioner at the CCMA or Bargaining Council after conciliation proceedings, allowing the Applicant to proceed to arbitration or litigate at the Labour Court.

This document allows the Applicant to proceed to the next stage of their case, and the Applicant cannot proceed further with their case without attaching a copy of the certificate of outcome. The pro forma certificate makes a provision for the Commissioner to categorise the dispute and indicate the forum or the following process to follow in resolving the conflict.

In other words, the Commissioner must indicate on the certificate whether the dispute should proceed to arbitration, adjudication at the Labour Court, or to embark on strike action. Rule 15 of the CCMA Rules states that a certificate of outcome must identify the nature of the dispute as described in the referral document or as determined by the Commissioner during the conciliation process.