Identity Documents

Your Identity Document or ID is a legal form of identity which enables South African citizens and permanent residents to identify themselves for general purposes and day-to-day activities. It is issued to you when you turn 16 and it is crucial that you obtain it as soon as you are eligible as it is a critical part of most transactions requiring positive identification.

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How do I obtain my ID?

You can apply for your ID at any office of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) or any South African mission or consulate should you be living abroad.

All applications are sent to the DHA’s head office in Pretoria. It’s here that your fingerprints will be matched with those already on record or entered into the National Population Register (usually at birth). Your application will then be processed and once issued, your ID book will be forwarded to the office where you made your application for collection.

You can apply for your ID (first-time applicants) by -  

1. Completing a Form BI-9 in black ink;

2. Providing a certified copy of your Birth certificate or travel documents;

3. Submitting two identical, colour photographs (not required needed at smartcard offices as ID images are captured digitally however colour photographs are still needed for temporary IDs)

4. Your fingerprints will be taken by a Home Affairs official and imprinted on Form DHA-9.

Re-issuing your ID

If you have lost your ID or it is damaged or has been stolen, you may request a Temporary Identification Certificate (TIC). This can be done at any office of the DHA and is subject to the verification of your fingerprints.

You can obtain a new ID if:

1. Your personal details have changed;

2. Your citizenship status has changed;

3. You have changed your surname (for example, if you get married or divorced), and

4. You are temporarily living abroad and have previously had a South African ID. Applying for an ID

You can apply for a replacement ID by:

1. Completing Form BI-9 in black ink;

2. Attaching additional documents as required (e.g. a marriage certificate if you are married), and

3. Paying the required fee for the re-issue (currently R140).

What do I need an ID for?

Your ID (and copies thereof) will be required in almost all transactions you are a party to on a daily basis. They form the basis of most (if not all) applications, including (but not limited to) access to housing, education and healthcare services, financial services, applying for a driver’s license, when applying for a job, when entering into any business agreements, when registering to vote and even when registering for the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Must my ID be notarised?

You would need to notarise your ID should you require copies of it (especially for authentication or legalisation purposes).

And you would need copies of it only if your documents are going to be used abroad (as per the below). And for this purpose, they can only be notarised before a Notary -

1. The Notary attaches a completed and signed notarial certificate to the front of the copy of the original document, and affixes a seal next to their signature (thereby verifying that it is a true copy of the original).

2. The document/s must be signed in the presence of a Notary (where the country to which the notarised document is submitted is a member of the Hague Convention), or if the document is an original to be notarially certified then the original must be presented to the Notary. The Notary will then attach an authentication certificate to the document, which references the attached document, the authenticity thereof and lastly bears the Notary’s signature, stamp and seal.

3. The Notary will then send the authenticated document to the High Court in their area of practice and the High Court will attach an Apostille authenticating the Notary’s signature (an Apostille certification refers to the process followed by which the signature and seal on an official (public) document is verified).

How long is my notarised ID valid for?

Simply put, it all depends on the authority requesting the notarised document.

Must my ID be authenticated?

Authentication of a formal document, like your ID, means to legalise it and is specifically required for use abroad.

Legalising a document means that official (public) documents executed within South Africa for use outside of South Africa (for example when emigrating and requiring a VISA, obtaining a foreign passport, applying for citizenship applications or when working or studying overseas), are affixed, sealed and signed either with an Apostille Certificate (if the destination country is a signatory country of the Hague Convention) thereby authenticating the origin of a public document, or with a Certificate of Authentication (if the destination country is not a signatory of the Hague Convention).

This process is done by sending it to the Legalisation Section of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (“DIRCO”)  in order to get it affixed with an Apostille seal or a Certificate of Authentication (as per the above).  

Ø  Note: DIRCO will not legalise your ID before it has been notarised (see above) and authenticated at the High Court. Therefore, your ID book must be notarised and authenticated prior to going to DIRCO.

We are able to assist you with legalising your ID. So don’t be shy, get in touch!

Why should we trust Benaters to notarise our documents?

At Benaters we pride ourselves on the fact that we are able to offer a specialised niche service, always remembering that due to the ethical nature of the services which Notaries render and the specialist knowledge required to draft and/or legalise certain documents, the office of a Notary is considered to be held to a higher standard of care. And we take that extremely seriously (and therefore hold ourselves to very high standards).

We are proud to offer this specialised service to you! So, let’s see how we can best support you during this process.