{"id":752,"date":"2024-07-12T17:16:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T17:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/?page_id=752"},"modified":"2026-09-16T20:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T20:41:47","slug":"can-i-be-a-police-without-matric","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/can-i-be-a-police-without-matric\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Be A Police Without Matric?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not in most South African law enforcement services. SAPS requires Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification, and other uniformed services generally advertise matric as a minimum too. Private security is the main uniformed field that does not require matric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Law enforcement careers compared<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Career<\/th>Usual minimum education<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
SAPS police trainee<\/td>Grade 12 or equivalent<\/td>Aged 18 to 35; 21-month basic training programme<\/td><\/tr>
Metro police officer<\/td>Matric in most municipal adverts<\/td>Set by each metro; usually a driver’s licence too<\/td><\/tr>
Traffic officer<\/td>Matric in most adverts<\/td>Training at a traffic college; driver’s licence needed<\/td><\/tr>
Correctional services officer<\/td>Check the Department of Correctional Services advert<\/td>Recruited through learnerships<\/td><\/tr>
Private security officer<\/td>No matric required<\/td>Training with a PSIRA-accredited provider and PSIRA registration<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

Requirements are set in each recruitment advert and can change. Always read the official advert rather than a summary website.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A plan if you have no matric<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Finish matric or an equivalent: rewrite subjects, or complete NC(V) Level 4 at a TVET college.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Keep a clean criminal record and stay fit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Get a driver’s licence, which is an advantage for SAPS and required for many metro and traffic posts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Watch official recruitment adverts for SAPS and your municipality.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A related TVET programme<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    NC(V) Safety in Society covers community safety, government and the justice system. Read what Safety in Society is<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For SAPS requirements in detail, see becoming a police officer without matric<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    Can I join SAPS with Grade 11?<\/h3>\n
    \n\n

    No. SAPS requires Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Which security jobs do not need matric?<\/h3>\n
    \n\n

    Private security work, after training with a PSIRA-accredited provider and registering with PSIRA.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Not in most South African law enforcement services. SAPS requires Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification, and other uniformed services […]<\/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":44,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-752","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/752","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=752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1519,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/752\/revisions\/1519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/tvet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}