DPSA circular and the Z83

Public-service jobs are advertised in a weekly circular. You apply to the department named in the advert, on the current Z83 form, with your CV. JobSeek does not send the application for you.

Checked against the live pages on 24 October 2026. A department can change a closing date or an instruction. The advert for that post wins if it differs from this page.

Where to open the circular

• Government jobs this week on gov.za. This is the public copy of the week's circular.
• Public service vacancy circular on dpsa.gov.za. The Department of Public Service and Administration publishes the circular here, with the Z83 links.

The circular comes out every week except during December. It lists vacant posts in national and provincial departments. The DPSA is not responsible for the wording of each advert. Questions go to the department that placed the advert, not to the DPSA.

How to work through a week

1. Download the full circular, or open the department's annexure.
2. Read the whole advert, not only the job title. Note the reference number, the salary level if it is shown, the closing date and time, and where the application must go (an email address, a hand-delivery point, or an online instruction).
3. Apply only if you meet what the advert asks for. One Z83 per post. If you apply for two posts, send two applications.
4. Put the reference number on the application. Late applications are not considered.
5. Keep a copy of what you sent, and the closing date, for your own tracker.

The Z83

Use the new Z83, effective 1 January 2021. The DPSA circular page says prospective applicants must use that form. A DPSA media statement on 7 May 2022 said applicants who do not use the most recent Z83 will be disqualified.

• New Z83 (PDF)
• Editable new Z83
• Practice note linked from the DPSA circular page

The Z83 is the government's form. Complete it on that form. JobSeek does not ask you for an identity number, date of birth, gender, race, marital status, health, or religion, and it does not fill the Z83 in for you.

On the form and in the advert's note:

• Fill in what the form's own instructions require. Sign and date it.
• Initial where the form tells you to.
• Some recent adverts allow "refer to CV" in parts of the form where space is tight. Do that only where that advert allows it. Answer the questions the advert says must still be answered, including the declaration.
• An old Z83 is the wrong form.

Z83 and CV as one PDF

Read the advert. Many adverts ask for the Z83 and a detailed CV only. Some say those two documents must be one PDF attachment. A 2026 Department of Employment and Labour annexure in the circular told online applicants to attach the Z83 and CV combined, as one PDF, and not as a zip or a photo. Other departments word this differently.

If the advert wants one PDF:

1. Finish the Z83 and your CV as two PDFs.
2. Combine them into one PDF on your phone or computer. The CV from JobSeek is already a PDF you can download.
3. Check the pages are in order and the signature is visible.
4. Use the subject line and the email address the advert gives. A wrong address or a missing reference number can get the application disqualified.

If the advert does not say "one PDF", follow the advert. Do not add extra certificates "just in case" when the advert says Z83 and CV only.

Certified copies

You do not attach certified copies with the first application, unless that advert says otherwise.

The DPSA's media statement of 7 May 2022 says only shortlisted candidates should be asked for certified copies of qualifications and other documents, and that those copies go to the human-resource office on or before the day of the interview. The point of the change was to cut cost and paperwork for people who are not shortlisted. The statement is here: DPSA media statement, 7 May 2022.

Recent circular adverts repeat that rule. Some add their own rule about how recent the certification must be. Follow the advert you are answering. Take the originals to the interview if they ask.

JobSeek can store a document for you, privately, if you want your own copy. It does not certify documents, and it does not send them to a department.

NQF levels and SAQA

On your CV, use the NQF level that matches the qualification. JobSeek's picker uses these labels:

• General Education and Training Certificate (Grade 9) is the usual NQF 1 choice.
• NQF 2 and NQF 3 are on the picker without a single school-grade name. Grade 10 and Grade 11 are not, by themselves, the National Senior Certificate.
• National Senior Certificate (matric) is NQF 4.
• Higher certificate is NQF 5.
• Diploma or advanced certificate is NQF 6.
• Advanced diploma is NQF 7. A bachelor's degree is often NQF 7 as well. Some longer professional bachelor's degrees sit at NQF 8.
• Honours or postgraduate diploma is NQF 8.
• Master's is NQF 9.
• Doctorate is NQF 10.

If you are not sure, choose "Not sure" rather than guess. Look the qualification up at SAQA.

A foreign qualification is often a problem at shortlist stage, not on day one. Adverts in the circular commonly say that a shortlisted person who holds a foreign qualification must have an evaluation report from SAQA. Read the advert. Start with SAQA's own site if that applies to you. JobSeek does not apply to SAQA for you.

Senior management posts

Some senior management posts need the National School of Government's pre-entry certificate (Nyukela) before appointment. The DPSA circular page links to the course: SMS pre-entry programme. This does not apply to every post. The advert will say if it does. The course fee is the applicant's own cost.

What JobSeek will not do

We will not email the department, attach your CV to an application, or store your Z83 identity-number fields. Download your CV, combine it with the Z83 yourself if the advert says one PDF, and send it to the address in the advert.