South African CV Format 2026: Sample, Z83 and POPIA Tips

A South African CV is a reverse-chronological document with contact details, a short profile, work experience, qualifications with their NQF level, skills, languages, driver's licence code and references. Leave out your full ID number, photo and marital status. For public service jobs, the CV goes with a signed Z83 form.

South African CVs sit between the British and the traditional African style: British spelling and structure, but referees listed with contact details and a few local details (NQF levels, licence codes, languages) that recruiters look for. This guide covers private-sector CVs, the public service Z83 rules from the government's own vacancy circular, and a complete sample.

South African CV at a Glance

The Sections, in Order

1. Contact details

THANDIWE MOKOENA
Randburg, Johannesburg | 082 555 0134 | thandiwe.mokoena@email.co.za
linkedin.com/in/thandiwemokoena

Name, suburb and city, cellphone number and a professional email address. If you are applying from abroad, use +27 and drop the leading zero (+27 82 555 0134).

Do not put your ID number on a CV. A South African ID number begins with your date of birth and also encodes your gender and citizenship, which is exactly the kind of personal information you don't want in a file that is emailed and forwarded. The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) governs how organisations process personal information, and the Information Regulator has accepted complaints for conduct from 1 July 2021. Give your ID number when an employer needs it for verification or on the official form, not before.

2. Profile

Three or four lines on your role, experience and one result:

Payroll administrator with five years running monthly and weekly payrolls for up to 400 employees on Sage 300 People. Prepares EMP201 and EMP501 submissions and UIF declarations. Looking for a senior payroll role in a Johannesburg-based group.

3. Work experience

Most recent first: job title, company, city, month and year, then bullet points about results. Name the systems and compliance tasks South African employers care about: SARS submissions, UIF, Skills Development Levy, B-BBEE reporting, OHS Act compliance, and industry systems.

4. Qualifications and the NQF level

South African recruiters read qualifications against the National Qualifications Framework. Government adverts specify requirements in NQF terms, for example "an undergraduate qualification ... at NQF level 7 as recognised by SAQA" in the Department of Public Service and Administration's Public Service Vacancy Circular 35 of 2026. Write your qualifications the same way:

BCom Accounting (NQF 7), [University], Johannesburg               2019
National Senior Certificate (Matric), [School], Soweto            2015

Foreign qualifications need a South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) evaluation for many jobs. SAQA's evaluation determines the NQF level at which a foreign qualification is recognised, and some work permit applications require the SAQA certificate. Quote it: "MBA, University of Nairobi (SAQA evaluated: NQF 9)".

5. Skills, languages and licence

SKILLS
Payroll: Sage 300 People, VIP Premier, statutory deductions, leave
Compliance: EMP201, EMP501, UIF uFiling, IRP5 reconciliation
Office: Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP), Microsoft 365

LANGUAGES
English (fluent), isiZulu (home language), Afrikaans (conversational)

DRIVER'S LICENCE
Code B, own transport

Languages are a genuine asset in a country with several official languages: name your home language and the ones you can work in. For the licence, use the current code (Code B for a light motor vehicle, the code many people still call "Code 08"), and add "own transport" if the job involves travel.

6. References

South African CVs usually list two or three referees with name, job title, company and phone number, ideally a current or recent manager. Ask permission first. Public service adverts state that applicants consent to suitability checks including reference checks, qualification verification and citizenship verification, so make sure your referees know they may be called.

Public Service Jobs: The Z83 and Your CV

National and provincial departments advertise in the weekly Public Service Vacancy Circular published by the Department of Public Service and Administration. Its general directions to candidates say to apply on form Z83 with full particulars of your training, qualifications, competencies, knowledge and experience, or a CV, and each department adds its own notes. The points below come from the DPSA directions and the department notes in Circular 35 of 2026 (issued 2 October 2026):

• Use the new Z83 form, which has been in effect since 1 January 2021, fully completed, initialled and signed. Departments say applications on the old form are not considered.
• Attach a detailed CV. Department notes ask for a Z83 "accompanied by a detailed CV". Because space on the Z83 is limited, some departments accept "refer to CV" or "see attached" in Sections E, F and G, but the Part F question on conditions that prevent re-appointment must still be answered and the declaration signed. Whatever you point to, the CV must actually contain.
• Quote the reference number of the post.
• Certified copies only when shortlisted. Many department notes say only shortlisted candidates submit certified copies of qualifications and other documents, on or before the day of the interview.
• Foreign qualifications need a SAQA evaluation report, which several departments ask for from shortlisted candidates.
• Employment equity. Departments fill posts in line with their Employment Equity Plans under the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, and some adverts say they encourage applications from women and people with disabilities. The DPSA directions tell departments to state when a vacancy is meant to promote representativeness.

For these applications, your CV should match the Z83 exactly: the same dates, the same job titles and the same qualifications.

Employment Equity on Private-Sector Applications

Some private employers with Employment Equity plans ask applicants to indicate race, gender or disability status for reporting. Answer it where the application form or careers portal asks. It does not need to be on the CV itself, and the CV should be judged on your experience.

Full Sample: South African CV

THANDIWE MOKOENA
Randburg, Johannesburg | 082 555 0134 | thandiwe.mokoena@email.co.za
linkedin.com/in/thandiwemokoena

PROFILE
Payroll administrator with five years running monthly and weekly payrolls
for up to 400 employees on Sage 300 People. Prepares EMP201 and EMP501
submissions and UIF declarations. Looking for a senior payroll role in a
Johannesburg-based group.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Payroll Administrator                                 Mar 2022 – Present
Highveld Logistics (Pty) Ltd, Midrand
• Run monthly salaried and weekly wage payrolls for about 400 employees
• Prepare EMP201 returns and the bi-annual EMP501 reconciliation
• Rebuilt the leave-accrual report used by HR for audit queries

Payroll and HR Assistant                              Feb 2020 – Feb 2022
Kopano Retail Group, Johannesburg
• Captured new starters, terminations and overtime on VIP Premier
• Submitted monthly UIF declarations via uFiling

EDUCATION
BCom Accounting (NQF 7), [University], Johannesburg               2019
National Senior Certificate (Matric), [School], Soweto            2015

CERTIFICATIONS
Payroll Administration short course, [Institution]                2021

SKILLS
Payroll: Sage 300 People, VIP Premier, statutory deductions, leave
Compliance: EMP201, EMP501, UIF uFiling, IRP5 reconciliation
Office: Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP), Microsoft 365

LANGUAGES
English (fluent), isiZulu (home language), Afrikaans (conversational)

DRIVER'S LICENCE
Code B, own transport

REFERENCES
Lerato Dlamini, Payroll Manager, Highveld Logistics | 011 555 0101
Johan van Wyk, HR Manager, Kopano Retail Group | 011 555 0102

Common Mistakes on South African CVs

1. Putting your ID number, marital status and photo on the CV. Keep them for the official form or the joining paperwork.
2. Qualifications with no NQF level when the advert specifies one.
3. A Z83 and CV that disagree on dates or job titles.
4. Sending certified copies to a department that only wants them from shortlisted candidates.
5. Unevaluated foreign qualifications for posts that require SAQA evaluation.
6. Old licence names without the current code.

Build It in ResumeFast

In the ResumeFast resume builder, keep the paper size on A4, use the Languages section for your home and working languages, and add a References section with your referees' details. Building is free and your first PDF or Word download is free; plain text downloads are always free. Compare your CV with the advert using the free keyword matcher, and for finished layouts see the accountant and administrative assistant examples.

Related Guides

• The international CV guide compares South Africa with the UK, Nigeria, India and other markets.
• Applying elsewhere in Africa? See the Nigerian CV format guide.