Every South African government job is advertised in a document called a DPSA Vacancy Circular. If you have ever searched for a government job online and landed on a confusing PDF full of tables and reference numbers — that was the circular.
This guide explains exactly what the circular is, how it is structured, and how to find the post that matches your qualifications.
What is the DPSA?
DPSA stands for the Department of Public Service and Administration. It is the central government department responsible for managing and coordinating the South African public service.
One of its core functions is publishing all government vacancy advertisements in a single, standardised document — the Vacancy Circular. This ensures that every South African has equal access to government job opportunities, regardless of which department is hiring.
What is the DPSA Vacancy Circular?
The DPSA Vacancy Circular is a weekly PDF document that lists all open positions across every national and provincial government department.
Key facts:
- Published every Friday afternoon (approximately)
- Covers vacancies from all nine provinces
- Includes posts from national and provincial departments simultaneously
- Available as a free PDF download on dpsa.gov.za
Each circular is numbered — for example, PSV Circular 16 of 2026 — and contains between 100 and 500 individual job posts depending on the week.
How is the circular structured?
The circular follows a consistent structure every week:
Annexures (by department)
Each government department gets its own annexure, labelled alphabetically:
- Annexure A — Department of Basic Education
- Annexure B — Department of Health
- Annexure C — Department of Public Works
- (and so on)
Within each annexure, posts are listed as POST [circular number]/[post number]. For example, Post 16/04 is the fourth post in Circular 16.
What each post contains
Every individual vacancy listing includes:
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Post number | Unique identifier within the circular (e.g. 16/04) |
| Reference number | The code you write on your Z83 form to identify the specific post |
| Salary | The salary level (e.g. Level 8) and the rand amount per year |
| Centre | The office or city where the post is based |
| Requirements | The minimum qualifications, experience, and skills required |
| Duties | What the job involves day-to-day |
| Enquiries | A contact name and phone number for questions about the post |
| Applications | Where to send your application (email address or physical address) |
| Closing date | The deadline — applications received after this date are not accepted |
The most important field: the reference number
The reference number is the single most important piece of information in any vacancy listing.
You must write this number on Section A of your Z83 form. Without it, the department has no way to match your application to the correct post. Many applications are rejected simply because the reference number was left blank or copied incorrectly.
Reference numbers follow various formats depending on the department — for example:
DBE/27/2025(Department of Basic Education)REFS/015603/2026(generic reference format)HRMC 23/26/2a(Health-related departments)
Copy the reference number character-for-character, including any slashes, spaces, or letters.
What the closing date means
Every post has a closing date, typically two to three weeks after the circular is published.
Government departments are legally required not to accept late applications. This is not a suggestion — it is enforced. An application received one minute after 16:00 on the closing date may be binned without being read.
Best practice: submit at least three business days before the closing date. Email delays, server outages, and public holidays all happen.
How Groco simplifies the circular
Reading a 300-page PDF every Friday to find one or two relevant posts is time-consuming. Groco solves this by:
- Importing every circular automatically as soon as it is published
- Letting you search and filter by province, salary level, and closing date
- Pre-filling your Z83 using your saved profile — so applying takes seconds, not an hour
You do not need to download or read the circular PDF at all. Everything you need is on groco.co.za.
How to use the circular effectively
If you do prefer to read the raw PDF yourself, here is a workflow that saves time:
- Download the latest circular from dpsa.gov.za or groco.co.za
- Search (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) for your field — e.g. "nursing", "finance", "administration"
- Check the salary level — government salaries are tied to levels 1–16. Most entry-level posts are Level 5–8; management posts are Level 11–15
- Read the requirements carefully — if you do not meet the minimum requirements, your application will be rejected during the screening process
- Note the reference number and closing date before anything else
- Read the "Applications" section for where to send your Z83
The DPSA Circular is the starting point for every government job application in South Africa. Once you understand how it is structured, you will be able to find relevant posts in minutes rather than hours.
Next step: Browse the current circular on Groco — already filtered, searchable, and ready to apply.