A Senior Certificate (Amended) is a certificate that you get after you have completed your Adult Matric Course. 

This certificate is awarded to you by Umalusi. This means that it is an accredited course that is recognised by a professional body. 

After you have completed this course and have passed with a Bachelor’s Degree, you can complete a Degree course at a university. Remember that you should always do your research before applying to a university.

Each university has its own requirements, and each course offered has separate entry requirements.

To qualify for the Senior Certificate (Amended) course, you need to meet the following entry requirements:

• Be 21 or older to apply. You can apply at the age of 19, but you must be 21 when you write the adult exams
• Understand English OR Afrikaans
• Can study via distance learning
• Have a Grade 9 OR
• A Grade 9 Equivalent certificate (ABET Level 4)

ABET stands for Adult Basic Education and Training. As an adult student who has dropped out of school, you can earn this qualification by applying at an ABET or AET centre. 

There are 4 ABET Levels namely:

1. ABET Level 1
2. ABET Level 2
3. ABET Level 3
4. GETC: ABET Level 4

ABET Level 1

This level is from Grade 1-3

ABET Level 2

This level is from Grade 4-6

ABET Level 3

This level is from Grade 7-8

GETC: ABET Level 4

Grade 9

NOTE: An ABET Level 4 qualification is NOT on the same NQF Level as A Senior (Amended) Certificate or National Senior Certificate.

An ABET Level 4 qualification is on an NQF Level 1 and the Senior Certificate (Amended) or National Senior Certificate is on an NQF Level 4.

Both, South African and non-South African citizens, can apply for the Senior Certificate (Amended). Please note that you need to meet the above entry requirements before you can apply. Here is what you need to apply for the Senior Certificate (Amended).

South African Citizens

• Your registration form that has been completed
• A certified copy of your identity document (ID) OR birth certificate
• If you have already written the adult exam, you must provide proof of the examination numbers.

*If you are a South African citizen and you live abroad, you can still apply, but you must be in South Africa when you write the exams.

Non-South African Citizens

• Your registration form that has been completed correctly
• A certified copy of your passport 
• Proof of your highest qualification that has been approved by SAQA (South African Qualifications Association) AND
• Proof of your study permit

You can register for the Senior Certificate Amended or Adult Matric course any time of the year at Matric College. Registration at Matric College is different from registration for the Adult Matric exams. You will first register with us and then register for the exams with the Department of Basic Education when registration for the examination is open.

Manual Registration

There is different provincial education offices you can register at. These offices include:

• Circuit office
• District office
• Provincial head office

Here are the different provinces you can apply to:

• Eastern Cape
• Free State
• Gauteng
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Limpopo
• Mpumalanga
• North West
• Northern Cape
• Western Cape

Online Registration

You can register for the exams on the Department of Basic Education website and we will guide all our students through the process.

Here is how you can register for the exams online:

Before you register online, you have to keep in mind that you cannot apply on your phone. Your application will not go through. You will be directed to the first step of the application process.

*You can ONLY apply on a PC or laptop.

Step 1

Go To The Department Of Basic Education Website

Go to the following link: https://www.eservices.gov.za/

Here you will find the following page:

At the top of this page, you will find a sign-up/register tab.

Step 2

Create An Account

By creating an account, you are moving one step closer to registering for the exams. We have circled the section in red. Click on the sign-up/register button.

Step 3

Tick off the consent boxes

Here, you will find the page below. You should read through the “terms and conditions” and “privacy policy” before ticking the consent boxes. Then press the “Continue” button as indicated in the image.

Step 4

Personal Information

This would be the first step in the application process. Complete your personal information, as indicated in the blue square. Make sure that your personal information is correct. This means that you should not make any spelling errors.

By the purple circle, you can see how far your application process is. Once you have completed the correct personal information without any spelling errors, you can click the “next” button.

NOTE: Sometimes the page needs to be refreshed in the left-hand corner

Step 5

Contact Details

This is an important step and the information should be correct. After you have entered your personal information, the next step will be your contact details.

You have to give the correct contact details. If you are unsure of your contact details, you have to check what the correct contact details are. This is important because an OTP (One Time Pin) will be sent immediately to your current phone number and/or current email address.

You should also have your phone close by and your emails should be open. Here is an image of how the contact detail page looks and what information you should enter.

Step 6

Address Details

This information indicates where you will write the exams. Remember, you must be in South Africa to write the exams.

Step 7

Password Details

In this step, you will create a strong password for your registration account. You have to remember this password. Remember to take a screenshot of the password or write it down, this way you will not forget what the password is.

To create a strong password you need to add the following:

• You must have 8 characters/letters
• One upper-case/capital letter (A, B, C)
• One lower-case/small letter (a, b, c etc.)
• One number (1, 2, 3 etc.)
• One special character (!@#$%^&*)

Here is an example of a password:

Tot@llyCool16

If your password does not meet the requirements, you will not be allowed to go to the next step. Meet all of the requirements for your password and move on to the next step.

Remember, save your password by writing it down OR screenshot the password.

Step 8

Verification Details

This is the final step in creating your account. You have to enter the certification code that is provided on the screen. If you struggle to make out what the letter is, ask a friend or family member to help you identify them, or request a different verification code.

Step 9

Successfully Create Your e-Service Account

This page will confirm that you have successfully created and registered an account.

Below you can see that at the top of the page in the green square that you have successfully created your registration account for the Adult Matric exams.

Step 10

Logging Into Your Registration Account

Once you have successfully created your account you can register for the subjects you want to write. You have the following options:

Login on the right-hand side of the page. Here it will ask you for a password and email address. This information should be saved as a screenshot OR a note should have been made.

You can go to the “e-service” tab and then click the “matric services” tab.

Once you have selected the above “e-service” tab it will direct you to the page below. You need to select the “matric services” option in the bottom left corner.

Step 11

(OTP) One Time Pin (Email or SMS)

In this step, you will make the decision to get your OTP via email or SMS. Remember to select an option before moving to the next step.

If you enter the incorrect email address or cell phone number, you will NOT receive the OTP. This is why step 5 (contact details) is important. You have to enter the correct information, check your contact details before moving to the next step.

Below, you will see that we have selected the cell phone option. This means that the OTP will be sent directly to your cell phone number.

Step 12:

Check Your Email OR SMS’s

You have to check your cell phone or email address for any notifications for the OTP. If you are not getting the OTP, first refresh your email address OR restart/reboot your phone and then try again.

If you are still experiencing problems, it could be the network, or you could enter the cancel button and request a new OTP.

Once you have received your OTP enter it as indicated below.

Step 13:

Identification Information

Once your OTP has been verified, you will move on to the next page. On this page, you will enter your identification number and other personal information.

You have to enter the correct identification number because if the information is incorrect you will NOT be able to write the exam.

Remember to always save the information that you have entered in the bottom right corner of the page.

Select the “yes” circle

Then select the “NEW REGISTRATION TAB” at the top

Step 14:

Last Qualification

You will select what type of certificate you last received. Whether it be Grade 9 OR whether you previously wrote the National Senior Certificate. Here are your choices. Select only one option, save the information, and then press next.

Step 15:

Previous Examination

On this page, you will write down the information of where you previously wrote the exams and where you would like to write. It will only give you options closest to where you live.

Remember to save the information before moving on to the next step.

Step 16:

Subject Choice

You will select the subjects you want to write in your final exam. In this section, you will also choose an exam centre that is closest to where you live.

Congratulations!! You have successfully registered for the Adult Matric exams. You will receive an SMS and an exact date of when you will write the exams.