SRD status declined: the reasons and what to do

A declined SRD status belongs to one month, and the reason is shown next to it. SASSA checks every application again each month, so a later month can still be approved. To see your status and the reason, use the SRD status check.

Why SASSA declines a month

The Minister of Social Development has told Parliament that the most common reasons are:

• income above the threshold in the regulations,
• another source of financial support,
• another grant or benefit for the same period,
• identity details that don’t match official records, and
• application details that are incomplete, wrong or can’t be verified.

The income threshold is set in the SRD regulations and has changed over time. Call SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 for the current figure.

What SASSA checks every month

The Department of Social Development and SASSA told Parliament that applications are checked every month against:

• the Home Affairs population register,
• SASSA’s own grant records, for grants other than child grants,
• SARS records of income from employment,
• UIF records,
• NSFAS records,
• government payroll and government pension records,
• Correctional Services records, and
• banks, for the means test.

The Minister has said SASSA treats the results from these institutions as correct. If the data about you is wrong or out of date, an appeal is how you challenge the decision.

The reasons and what you can do

An alternative income source

When SASSA has identified an alternative income source, its check found money that counts as income or financial support. SASSA has said that it finds this through outside databases, including the banks, and that you have the right to appeal if you disagree with the reason.

• The regulations count income and financial support. When SASSA introduced the bank check, it told Parliament the definition includes support from family members.
• If you have more than one bank account, each account is checked on its own against the threshold.
• The bank check SASSA described to Parliament leaves out social grants, such as a child support grant, and the SRD grant itself.

If the money was not income or support for you, appeal that month and choose the reason that matches.

Identity verification failed

A decline about your identity means SASSA couldn’t match your details with official records, such as Home Affairs. The SRD website lets people who were declined because of an incorrect name or surname ask for their information to be updated, and your names must match Home Affairs. For the facial check and what to do when it fails, see SASSA identity verification failed.

Another grant

The regulations say you can’t get the SRD grant and a social grant for yourself at the same time. A child support grant you get for your child is not a grant for yourself, and SASSA’s check looks at grants other than child grants.

If the reason is wrong: appeal

1. Write down the month and the exact reason.
2. Appeal on the SRD appeals website, srd.sassa.gov.za/appeals. The regulations give you 90 days from the date of SASSA’s decision, and the tribunal doesn’t consider a late appeal.
3. Appeal each declined month on its own. The appeals website says an appeal is needed for each month SASSA rejected you.

The appeal goes to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals, not to SASSA. The appeals website says the tribunal checks the databases SASSA used again, including the bank checks. See how to appeal an SRD decision for the steps.

Applying again doesn’t count as an appeal. The old “reconsideration” step is closed: the SRD website says reconsideration for May 2020 to March 2022 is finished, and declines from April 2022 go to the appeals website.

If the reason is right

Don’t appeal a decline that is correct: the tribunal checks the same records. Your status for each later month depends on that month’s checks, so a change in your situation can show up in a later month.

If your appeal is declined

The appeals website says the tribunal’s decision is final. If you believe it is wrong in law, you can ask the High Court to review it within 180 days, under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. Get legal advice first, for example from a legal aid office.

Appealing is free. Don’t pay anyone who promises to overturn a decline, and never share your one-time PIN.