South Africa CV Format (2026): What to Include, ID Number Rules and Sample

Not on the version you send out. A South African ID number reveals your date of birth and other details, and in the wrong hands it's useful for identity fraud. Under POPIA, "personal information" explicitly includes "any identifying number" as well as race, gender, marital status and age (POPIA section 1), and organisations must have a lawful reason to process it.

In practice:

• Leave the ID number off your CV when posting it on job sites or emailing it to recruiters.
• Give it when there's a clear purpose, such as an employer's application form, a criminal record or qualification check, or a job offer.
• Public-service jobs ask for personal details on the government's Z83 application form, submitted with your CV. The Department of Employment and Labour's vacancies page states this for its own posts. Read each advert's instructions and supply exactly what it lists, including any certified copies it asks for at a later stage.

The same logic applies to your date of birth and full home address. A suburb and city tell a recruiter whether you can commute; nothing more is needed at the shortlisting stage.

Race, gender and disability come up in South African hiring because of the Employment Equity Act, which requires designated employers to report on the make-up of their workforce. Some job ads say a post is aimed at candidates from designated groups, or encourage applications from people with disabilities.

You don't need to put race on your CV. If an employer needs it for employment equity purposes, it usually asks on a separate declaration or application form. Some candidates add a short line such as EE status: African female when an ad specifically targets designated groups; that's a personal choice, not a requirement.

POPIA treats race, religion, health, biometric data and criminal records as special personal information, which carries stricter rules (POPIA section 26). That's another good reason to keep religion, health and similar details off your CV. The Information Regulator oversees POPIA and publishes guidance.

Detail	On the CV?
ID number	No; provide on request
Race / EE status	Optional; usually on a separate form
Marital status, dependants	No
Religion, health	No
Home language	Only as part of Languages
Criminal record	No; disclosed through formal checks if required

Driver's licence

Many South African job ads, especially in sales, field service, logistics, engineering and property, list "valid driver's licence and own transport." If you have one, show the code:

Driver's licence: Code B (light motor vehicle), own transport

Driver's licence: Code EB, valid PrDP

Matric and higher education

Graduates should list matric as National Senior Certificate (Bachelor's pass), 2020 with notable subjects if relevant. Experienced candidates can drop it, unless an ad asks for matric specifically.

List degrees and diplomas with the institution and year, and add the NQF level when it clarifies the qualification: Advanced Diploma in Accountancy (NQF 7), University of Johannesburg, 2022.

Professional registration

Registration matters in regulated fields. Write the body, the designation and the number only if the employer will need to verify it: Professional Engineer, ECSA (Pr Eng), CA(SA), SAICA, Registered Nurse, SANC.

Corporate employers, banks, mining houses and multinationals mostly take applications through their own careers sites, often powered by an applicant tracking system (ATS) that searches CVs for job titles and skills. Many candidates also use LinkedIn, local job boards and recruitment agencies. Government vacancies are published by national and provincial departments with their own instructions and closing dates, and they ask for a completed Z83 form with your CV. The Department of Employment and Labour lists its vacancies on its jobs page and notes that its employment services are free; nobody should charge you for a job opportunity.

For a government post, tailor your CV to the advert's listed requirements and duties, in the same order, because shortlisting panels compare each application against them line by line.

To make your CV readable for ATS software:

1. Use standard headings and a single column.
2. Spell out acronyms once: Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE).
3. Mirror the ad's wording for your job title and core skills where it's accurate.
4. Keep text out of images, tables and text boxes in the header.
5. Save as a text-based PDF named Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf.

Sample bullet points

Built a Power BI sales dashboard used by 45 branch managers, cutting weekly reporting time from 6 hours to 1.

Reduced debtors' days from 62 to 41 in nine months by introducing weekly collections reviews.

Our ATS-friendly resume guide explains the formatting rules in detail.

A short cover letter or email is expected for most professional roles. Three paragraphs are enough: the role you want and where you saw it, two specific achievements that match the ad, and your availability.

I'm applying for the Financial Accountant role (Ref FA-0926) advertised on LinkedIn. As a CA(SA) with four years at a mid-tier audit firm, I've led IFRS 16 adoption for two listed clients. I'm available on one calendar month's notice and based in Sandton.

Always state your notice period. South African recruiters plan start dates around it, and one calendar month is common for salaried roles, though contracts vary. If you're unemployed or on a fixed-term contract that ends soon, say Available immediately or give the date. See our guide to writing a cover letter that gets read.

Foreign candidates need a work visa before they can start. The Department of Home Affairs lists the main categories, including the General Work Visa, the Critical Skills Work Visa and the Intra-company Transfer Work Visa. For the general and critical skills routes it asks for foreign qualifications to be evaluated by SAQA, the South African Qualifications Authority, and states that the Critical Skills Work Visa needs an offer of employment.

On your CV:

• Add your nationality and status: Nationality: Zimbabwean | Holds Critical Skills Work Visa or Requires work visa.
• If your qualification has a SAQA evaluation, show the NQF level it was given.
• Use South African terms where they exist (matric, NQF, CA(SA)) so screeners recognise your level.

Visa rules and the critical skills list change, so confirm current requirements on the Home Affairs site (as of October 2026). South Africans moving abroad can compare our UK CV format and Australia resume format guides.