How to apply for the child support grant

The child support grant is paid every month for each child. It goes to the child’s primary caregiver: the person who mainly looks after the child, such as a parent, a grandparent or another relative. The amount is set each year in the national Budget. The child support grant page on gov.za gives the amount, but it may not show an increase straight away, so confirm it with SASSA on 0800 60 10 11.

Who qualifies

SASSA’s grant booklet says you must:

• be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee,
• live in South Africa with the child,
• be the child’s primary caregiver,
• care for a child under 18 who is not permanently cared for in a state-funded institution, and
• pass the means test, which looks at your income and your spouse’s.

You can’t get the grant for more than six children who are not your biological children. gov.za adds that a child older than 16 who heads a household can apply as the caregiver.

If the child is of school-going age, SASSA asks for proof that the child attends school. The booklet says a child not attending school, or missing proof, does not lead to a refused grant.

If you are not the child’s parent

You can apply as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, older sibling or other caregiver. gov.za says you must show that you are the primary caregiver, with one of these:

• an affidavit from a police official,
• a report from a social worker,
• an affidavit from the child’s biological parent, or
• a letter from the principal of the child’s school.

Relatives who care for a child whose parents have both died, or where one has died and the other can’t be found, may also qualify for the child support grant top-up, an extra amount paid with the grant. It has its own conditions, including the parents’ death certificates, so ask SASSA about it when you apply.

What to take with you

Take certified copies of your documents. SASSA’s booklet and gov.za list:

• your 13-digit barcoded ID, and your spouse’s if you are married,
• your Section 24 refugee permit, if you apply as a refugee,
• the child’s 13-digit birth certificate,
• proof of your marital status, such as a marriage certificate, your spouse’s death certificate, a divorce order, or an affidavit if your spouse deserted you,
• your latest payslip (not older than three months), and your spouse’s, or other proof of your income,
• three months of bank statements for every active account you and your spouse hold,
• a bank confirmation letter or three months of statements for the account you want the grant paid into, which must be in your own name,
• proof of any maintenance you get for the child,
• proof of school attendance for a child aged 7 to 18, and
• if a parent has died or is missing, a death certificate or a police report that the parent is missing.

If you or the child don’t have an ID or birth certificate, gov.za says you can make a sworn statement on a SASSA form and bring proof that you applied at Home Affairs. It also helps to bring a statement from someone who knows you and the child (such as a councillor, traditional leader or social worker), a baptism certificate, the child’s Road to Health clinic card or a school report.

How to apply

1. Go to the SASSA office nearest to where you live with your documents.
2. Fill in the application form in front of a SASSA officer. Only you or a SASSA official may complete it.
3. Keep the receipt SASSA gives you. It is your proof that you applied.

SASSA counts your application date as the day you hand in all the required documents and an official accepts them, so take everything on your first visit. SASSA’s booklet also lists a grant application portal, services.sassa.gov.za. If it doesn’t open, apply at a SASSA office.

After you apply

gov.za says it can take up to three months to process an application. If SASSA approves it, you are paid from the date you applied.

If SASSA can’t give you an outcome on the day, follow up at the office, call 0800 60 10 11 or email GrantEnquiries@sassa.gov.za.

If SASSA turns you down, it must tell you why in writing and how to appeal. Your appeal goes to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals, not to the Minister of Social Development. Appeal within 90 days of SASSA’s decision. The days count from the date of the decision, not from the day you hear about it, so don’t wait. Our deadline calculator works out the last day.

Ask a SASSA official to help you fill in the appeal form (Form 1). SASSA must send it to the tribunal within 15 days. You can also email your appeal to Grantappeals@dsd.gov.za. Include a copy of your ID and a copy of SASSA’s decision: the tribunal treats your appeal as lodged only once it has both. If more than 90 days have passed, you can still ask the tribunal to accept a late appeal on Form 2 and explain why you are late.

How you are paid

SASSA pays the grant into an active bank account in your own name. Children’s grants are paid after older persons and disability grants each month. How SASSA pays explains the payment order and where SASSA publishes the payment dates. If you use a SASSA card from Postbank and lose it, see what to do if your SASSA card is lost or stolen.

The grant stops at the end of the month in which the child turns 18.

Keep the grant

• Tell SASSA when your income, marital status, address or phone number changes.
• Tell SASSA if the child no longer lives with you or someone else becomes the primary caregiver.
• Answer SASSA when it asks you to come in for a review.
• Tell SASSA before you leave South Africa for more than 90 days.

Other grants for children

• If a children’s court placed the child in your care, see the foster child grant.
• If the child has a severe disability and needs full-time care, see the care dependency grant.

To see which grants may fit and the date your child’s grant ends, use our grant finder.

Stay safe

Applying is free. Don’t pay anyone who offers to apply for you or to get the grant approved faster. SASSA says it will never ask for your PIN. See how to spot SASSA scams.