{"id":220,"date":"2024-06-14T01:18:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T01:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/?page_id=220"},"modified":"2026-09-16T18:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:29:47","slug":"can-you-become-a-police-officer-in-south-africa-without-matric","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/can-you-become-a-police-officer-in-south-africa-without-matric\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Become A Police Officer In South Africa Without Matric?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, not in the South African Police Service. SAPS asks for a Grade 12 certificate or an equivalent qualification for its police trainee programme. If you do not have matric yet, you can still work towards a policing career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SAPS trainee requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>South African citizen with a valid ID.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aged 18 to 35.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No criminal record or pending cases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medically, mentally and physically fit, with fitness and psychometric tests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Able to speak, read and write English and at least one other official language.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No visible tattoos when wearing the uniform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A driver&#8217;s licence is an advantage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trainees complete the Basic Police Development Learning Programme, which lasts about 21 months. For the application process see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/saps-recruitment\/\">SAPS recruitment guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Routes if you have no matric<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Route<\/th><th>What it involves<\/th><th>Why it helps<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Finish matric<\/td><td>Second Chance Matric Programme or adult education<\/td><td>Meets the SAPS requirement directly<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>NC(V) Level 4 Safety in Society<\/td><td>Three years at a TVET college from Grade 9<\/td><td>An NQF Level 4 qualification in a related field; ask SAPS whether it is accepted as equivalent<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Private security<\/td><td>Training with a PSIRA-accredited provider and registration with PSIRA<\/td><td>Work experience in security while you study<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metro police and traffic departments set their own requirements, and most also ask for matric and a driver&#8217;s licence.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/what-is-the-safety-in-society-program\/\">what NC(V) Safety in Society covers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/can-i-be-a-police-without-matric\/\">more on becoming a police officer without matric<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1789800000220\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Does SAPS accept NC(V) Level 4 instead of matric?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>SAPS asks for Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification. NC(V) Level 4 is at the same NQF level, but confirm with SAPS for the intake you apply to.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1789800000221\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is the age limit for SAPS trainees?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No, not in the South African Police Service. SAPS asks for a Grade 12 certificate or an equivalent qualification for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_ba_keyfacts":"","_ba_provider_contact":"","_ba_provider_name":"","_ba_provider_type":"","_ba_provider_cat":"","_ba_writer":"thabo-mokoena","_ba_reviewer":"naledi-khumalo","iawp_total_views":69,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-220","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1384,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220\/revisions\/1384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}