Registered. SACE registration and CPTD points, explained by a teachers' union

It depends which SACE booklet applies to you: there is no single checklist that covers everyone. For registration as an educator or a student teacher, SACE publishes four separate Version 2025 booklets, all headed "Compulsory documents required for registration with SACE", and the list you must follow is the one for your category:

Professionally qualified educators, SA citizens · Professionally qualified educators, non-SA citizens · Student teachers, SA citizens · Student teachers, non-SA citizens

All four are marked Version 2025, and all four PDFs carry a 2025-11-24 stamp in their file paths on sace.org.za, which is the most recent dating available for them — the booklet pages themselves show no publication date.

These four are not the only applicant categories SACE recognises. Its registration requirements page also lists, among others, a person not in possession of a professional teaching qualification, foreign educators, ECD practitioners, AET educators, FET educators, Montessori educators, Waldorf educators, Islamic educators and Catholic educators, plus replacement of a lost certificate and provisional registration updates. If you are in one of those categories, the checklist below is not your list — go to that page or phone SACE.

What every applicant submits, in all four booklets

1. 01Proof of identity. SA citizens: "Copy of Identity Document (Both side if it is a smart ID card)." Non-SA citizens: a valid passport plus a permit — a work permit if you are professionally qualified, where "The conditions of the permit must allow one to teach in SA", or a study permit if you are a student teacher, or "Any other valid and relevant permit, which does not prohibit one to study in SA". Every permit must be "valid for a period of six months or more at the time of submission to SACE". The refugee-permit rule is narrower than it is usually quoted: only the professionally qualified non-SA booklet carries it, and it reads "If using a refugee Permit, a valid Refugee ID must also accompany the refugee permit". The student teacher non-SA booklet does not mention refugee permits at all, so a student teacher on one should ask SACE rather than assume either way.
2. 02A school-leaving certificate — National Senior Certificate, Senior Certificate, NASCA, or Level 4 National Certificate (Vocational). Each is marked "NOT A STATEMENT OF RESULTS". This appears in all four booklets, including both non-SA ones.
3. 03A police clearance certificate — "Not a name/ fingerprint clearance OR proof of payment for application", and it "must not be older than six months at the time of submission to SACE". SACE verifies these: "All Police Clearance /Certificates will be subjected to verification and unverifiable clearances will not be accepted."
4. 04An academic record. Professionally qualified SA citizens: "Copy of a complete academic record indicating that the qualification has been completed, indicating the date of completion and relevant credits." Professionally qualified non-SA citizens: the same, tied explicitly to the degree — "A Copy a complete academic record for the NQF Level 7 Teaching qualification (as indicated above)". Student teachers, both booklets: "Copy of an academic record post first year of study", together with "A copy of current Proof of registration" for the qualification being studied.
5. 05Five conditions attach to that academic record, in every booklet, word for word. It "must be on the University letter head, have an OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY STAMP, be dated, signed, and be CERTIFIED." A record missing the letterhead, the stamp, the date, the signature or the certification does not meet the requirement.
6. 06Proof of payment — R200 for SA citizens, R400 for non-SA citizens, R50 for an update. The booklets add "Note that Council Fees are subject to change", and that the registration fee is non-refundable.

If you are professionally qualified: the qualification itself, in both booklets

1. 07The teaching qualification and its transcript — not only the academic record. SA citizens: "Relevant NQF level 7 Teaching Qualification and certified transcript." Non-SA citizens: "A copy of a relevant NQF Level 7 Professional Teaching Qualification, e.g., B.Ed. certificate and certified Transcript." This binds both professionally qualified booklets. It is not an SA-only item.

If you did a PGCE, one more record — and only then

1. 08The junior-qualification academic record. This is the item most often listed as if it applied to everyone. It does not. Professionally qualified SA citizens: "PGCE qualified applicants MUST also submit a copy of a complete academic record for the JUNIOR QUALIFICATION". Professionally qualified non-SA citizens: "PGCE graduates, must also submit a copy of a complete academic record for the JUNIOR QUALIFICATION". Both student teacher booklets widen it: "PGCE and ADVDip TVET student teachers MUST also submit a copy of a complete academic record for the JUNIOR QUALIFICATION". The same five conditions apply to that record. Note that the Advanced Diploma (TVET) route is named only in the two student teacher booklets; neither professionally qualified booklet mentions it.
2. 09A copy of the junior qualification certificate — and here the booklets disagree with each other. The two SA-citizen booklets set "Copy of the junior qualification certificate." as its own bullet in the compulsory list, immediately after the PGCE bullet, which read literally makes it compulsory for every applicant. The two non-SA booklets fold the identical words into the end of the PGCE sentence, where it plainly binds PGCE applicants only. SACE has not resolved this in the Version 2025 text. If you are an SA citizen who did not do a PGCE, ask your SACE office rather than guessing.

Items that depend on your circumstances

1. 10A copy of your A and O Levels, only "if matriculated outside the republic of SA (international matric)".
2. 11A marriage certificate, divorce decree or assumption of new name, "where applicable".
3. 12"A copy of a computerised SAPS 69 report for all those with criminal offences (SAPS verification)."
4. 13"Copy of a QR Coded SAQA Evaluation report for all qualification obtained outside of the Republic of South Africa, including A/O Levels."
5. 14A copy of your old passport — in the two non-SA booklets only, where you were previously registered with SACE under a different passport number.

Certification and file format

Every booklet repeats the same block: "All copies must be recently certified (not older than 6 months)", "Certification must indicate true copy of original and be dated", all documents "must be saved in PDF", "Pictures and screenshots will not be accepted", and "All copies must be clear when submitted." The four booklets agree with each other on all of this, and none of them says who may certify a copy.

SACE’s undated registration requirements page says something stricter and different: "Certification should not be older than 3 months." and "Only certification done by Commissioners of Oaths, SAPS and Post office will be accepted." That page carries no date or version marker and still describes a paper, post-only process which the Version 2025 booklets have replaced with the online portal, so we treat the dated booklets as current. The safe course satisfies both: have your copies certified by a Commissioner of Oaths, SAPS or the Post Office, within the last three months.

Note what the six-month rule covers. It attaches to the certification stamp on a copy, and separately to the police clearance and to permit validity. The booklets set no expiry on a qualification or an academic record itself — but they do not say an old one is accepted either. They are silent on it. If your degree is many years old, confirm with SACE rather than assuming.

Two gaps worth naming. The student teacher booklets require an academic record "post first year of study", and do not say what a first-year student teacher, who has no such record, should submit — ask your SACE office. And none of the four booklets asks for a CV, a letter of employment, a school appointment letter, testimonials or a passport photograph.

Where the documents go

All four booklets say the same thing: "All applications must be submitted Online via the eservice's portal: www.eservices.gov.za" — Education, then SACE professional registration.

Sources: SACE’s four Version 2025 registration booklets, listed on the registration booklets page — professionally qualified SA citizens, professionally qualified non-SA citizens, student teachers SA citizens and student teachers non-SA citizens — and SACE’s undated registration requirements page. All accessed 18 September 2026.

How do I check if I am registered with SACE?

Use the status check on SACE’s own home page: it takes your ID or passport number and returns your educator status on screen. There are two routes, and they do different jobs.

1. The instant status check on the SACE website

The SACE home page carries a button marked "Verify My Educator Status". Clicking it opens a box headed "Educator Status Verification" which reads: "Please enter your South African ID number or your Passport number to verify your educator status." One field is required, labelled "South African ID number or Passport Number*". Press Verify and the page displays the status it gets back.

That single field is all the form asks for. No SACE number, no documents, no upload. SACE does not publish a charge for this check and the form has no payment step, but SACE does not state anywhere that it is free either.

Two things are worth knowing. The form does not ask who you are, so it is not restricted to looking yourself up — a school checking a teacher’s status can use the same box. And SACE does not publish what the returned wording means, so treat an answer you did not expect as a reason to phone rather than as the final word.

2. Formal verification of a SACE certificate or letter, by email

This is a different thing: asking SACE to confirm that a registration certificate or letter in someone’s hands is genuine. SACE’s verification process page says, in full:

"For verification of SACE registration letters/ certificates an email must be forwarded to verification@sace.org.za in the following format: Surname and Initials · ID number · SACE number · SACE comments"

The email must carry those four lines. SACE does not explain anywhere what it means by "SACE comments", so we quote the page exactly as SACE has written it rather than guess. SACE also states no turnaround time and no fee for a verification request. The six weeks you may have seen quoted is on SACE’s undated registration FAQ and is about processing a registration application and issuing a certificate, not about verification. If you need an answer by a date, phone 012 663 9517 in office hours, Monday to Friday 08h00 to 16h30, and ask.

The general enquiry address is info@sace.org.za. SACE’s contact page also lists Fraudalert@sace.org.za, filed under the heading "Call Centres" with no explanation of its purpose, so ask before using it.

If you cannot remember whether you ever completed it

Assume you did not, and check. A registration that was never finalised looks identical to one you have simply forgotten, and the free-text status box will tell you in seconds which it is.

Note for Western Cape educators: SACE’s contact page lists provincial offices in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, and none in the Western Cape. Head office is in Centurion, so expect to do this by the online check, by phone or by email.

Sources: SACE home page (the "Verify My Educator Status" button and the "Educator Status Verification" form), SACE Verification Process page, and the SACE contact page. Accessed 18 September 2026.

How do I sign up for CPTD and get my points recorded?

Sign up on the CPTD Information System at www.sace.gov.za first — you cannot earn or record points until you have. SACE’s CPTD Management System page states it plainly: "All educators must sign-up manually or electronically on the CPTD-IS before they participate in their 1st CPTD Cycle."

Signing up

The live portal is at www.sace.gov.za, titled "SACE CPTD Management System", with Sign-Up and Log-In in its top menu. SACE’s current CPTD self-service portal manual, downloadable from that portal, gives the steps: "Open your web browser and go into www.sace.gov.za", then click the CPTD-IS tab and choose Educator sign up. You complete the form and a security check, and "the system will give you the username and password which will also be sent to the cellphone numbers captured when signing up."

The same current manual says "BOTH your SACE Registration number and ID/Passport Number are compulsory", and that "Only student educators can sign-up without SACE number."

SACE’s older, undated CPTD sign-up manual says something different on both points. It sends educators to www.sace.org.za and a "CPTD Self-service portal" tab, and it says that if you do not enter a SACE registration number the system will issue a temporary username and password and give you 60 days to register with SACE and update your CPTD records. SACE’s own CPTD forms page resolves the address question in practice by linking "CPTD-IS" to sace.gov.za, and that is the site that currently works. On the SACE-number question the two manuals simply disagree, so go by the current one and have your SACE number ready.

There is also a manual route, set out in that older sign-up manual: you complete a printed profile form obtainable "from the SACE website/offices, CPTD system workshop sessions, and provincial education departments' teacher development units", and the completed form is "faxed to SACE (086 571 5260)", "Posted to SACE (Private Bag x127, CENTURION, 0046)" or "E-mailed to member@sace.org.za". Your username and password then arrive by SMS. Because that document predates the move to sace.gov.za, phone SACE before using the paper route.

What the portal does

Once you are logged in, the portal is where you keep your record. SACE lists its uses as "Updating your Personal Details on a Regular Basis... Log and Track a Query on the CPTD System Matters... Access the Database of Endorsed PD Activities / Programmes... Access the Database of Approved Providers... Upload/Report PD Activities / Programmes you Participated in (Type 1, Type 2, Type 3 Activities)... Upload/Report Earned PD Points... View Your Annual and Three Years Cycle PD Activities and Points Report... Work on the PDP online."

Who reports your points, and why you should not leave it to someone else

A personal PD points account is created for you when you sign up. Reporting is meant to be shared between you, your school and providers — but SACE’s own documents do not agree on where the line falls, so record everything yourself and check what lands in your account.

On one reading, the PD Points Schedule splits the duty: "Teachers must REPORT their participation in type 1 activities to SACE. Schools must REPORT the participation of teachers in type 2 activities to SACE and teachers must be able to verify these reports... Providers must REPORT the participation of teachers in type 3 activities to SACE and teachers must be able to verify these reports."

But three other passages put Type 2 back on you. The same schedule’s Type 2 section says "it is very important for you to record your participation in type 2 activities in your Professional Development Portfolio and report them to SACE twice a year (May/June and October/November)." The CPTD Handbook says "A teacher will record Type 1 and Type 2 PD points in the personal PDP... Teachers will send their PD activities and points to SACE by uploading them electronically on the CPTD self-service portal... post, e-mail or fax." And the portal itself is built for all three types: when you record an activity you choose "Teacher Initiated, or School Initiated or Externally Initiated".

The practical position. Report your Type 1 activities yourself, without fail. Do not assume your school has reported your Type 2 activities — log them too, or confirm with your principal that the school has signed up and has reported for you. Type 3 activities are reported by the approved provider or employer, and your job is to check that they appear. Keep your own record in your Professional Development Portfolio in every case, because SACE says it "expects teachers to record their points honestly. Dishonest reporting is unprofessional conduct."

When and how to report

For your own Type 1 activities the PD Points Schedule sets the rhythm: "As a teacher you are responsible for reporting your Type 1 (Teacher Initiated) PD activities to SACE twice a year (each semester) in May/June and October/November OR as soon as you are done with it." The older CPTD Handbook describes the same two rounds as June and November.

Either route works: "Reporting could be done manually by sending selected templates from your PDP to SACE OR online through the CPTD Self-Service Portal." If you use paper, send only the relevant pages — the schedule is emphatic: "DO NOT SEND YOUR WHOLE PDP TO SACE." And if you keep the portfolio on the portal there is nothing further to send: "If you complete your Professional Development Portfolio Online, there is no need for you to report because your participation in PD activities and points earned are populated to your online CPTD records automatically."

Points do not always appear immediately. Some activities need a minimum number of occurrences before they credit — the schedule requires you to "attend at least 8 relevant educational meetings per annum in order to claim 10 PD Points for the year."

Where the points come from

Three kinds of activity: Type 1, which you initiate yourself; Type 2, initiated by your school; and Type 3, initiated externally by employers or SACE-approved providers. You must draw on all three. The PD Points Schedule states: "You have to earn at least 150 Professional Development (PD) Points in every three years of your CPTD cycle. You must participate in all three different types of professional development activities/programmes to earn the 150 PD Points", and warns in capitals: "YOU MUST ALSO REMEMBER THAT YOU CANNOT EARN ALL 150 PD POINTS FROM TYPE 1 ACTIVITIES ONLY."

Each listed activity carries a set value, shown per semester, per year and per three-year cycle. The examples below are quoted with their activity type, because the type is what you need when you are planning:

1. 01Type 1, your own. "You need to read at least FOUR (4) educational articles... in order to earn 10 PD points per annum", rising to 30 points across the three-year cycle.
2. 02Type 3, employer or provider-led. "Attending one day District workshop session on new policies and legislation and earn 10 PD Points."
3. 03Type 3, employer or provider-led. "Attending a half- day conference/seminar session will earn you 5 PD Points."
4. 04Type 3, employer or provider-led. "Attending 2 days Provincial conference/seminar will earn you 15 PD Points."

Beyond the rule that Type 1 alone cannot make up the 150, SACE publishes no overall ceiling per type. The schedule also notes that its lists are examples: "If you participate in an activity that is not listed in this PD Points Schedule, please contact SACE so that we can assist you with the correct PD Points allocation."

On the scheme set out in SACE’s CPTD Handbook — which is undated, is 2013 or January 2014 vintage, and has not been republished — a Certificate of Achievement is issued at the end of a cycle: "150 points: Certificate of Achievement (Bronze); 151-300 points: Certificate of Achievement (Silver); 300+points: Certificate of Achievement (Gold)." As written, exactly 300 points falls in both the Silver and the Gold band; SACE has not resolved that. The same Handbook says unused points do not carry over: "At the end of each teacher's three year cycle the PPDPA is re-set to zero."

Is it compulsory?

Yes, on two separate grounds, both from SACE’s CPTD Handbook, which asks and answers the question directly: "Is participation in professional development compulsory? Yes. Participation in professional development is mandatory for all teachers." The first ground is the Code of Professional Ethics you accept on registration, whose section 7 requires educators to keep abreast of educational trends and developments. The second is your employment: "all state-employed teachers and many privately-employed teachers are required to undertake professional development as part of their conditions of service." SACE’s own duty to run the system sits in section 5(b)(iv) of the SACE Act.

What happens if you do not reach 150 points

SACE’s published position, from the Handbook and repeated on its teacher professionalisation page: "For the first six years (from 2014-19) SACE will not impose a penalty on teachers who don't achieve the PD points target within their three year cycle. After six years (in 2019) SACE will review the situation and make a decision about sanctions for non-compliance. However, educators who decide not to engage in the CPTD system deliberately will be dealt with through section 7 of the SACE Code of Professional Ethics."

The same Handbook flags where this could go: "All professional bodies require that their members must continuously develop and many require their members to achieve a target number of PD points as a condition of retaining their registration. This is one of the options SACE may consider when it reviews teachers' participation in the CPTD Management System." That is a stated option, not a rule in force. We could find no published SACE decision on sanctions following the 2019 review, and nothing in SACE’s published sources tying the 150-point target to registration, to renewal or to a letter of good standing today.

SACE’s own Annual Performance Plan for 2025/26 — a planning document SACE tables and reports on, not a statement to educators — describes the position this way: "compliance remains low, particularly in rural areas... The absence of a structured compliance tracking mechanism has resulted in inconsistent enforcement of CPTD participation."

So: participation is compulsory as a professional duty and, for most teachers, as a condition of service; deliberate non-engagement can be handled as an ethics matter; and SACE has published no active penalty for missing the 150-point target, while saying openly that linking points to registration is an option it may consider.

Which cycle am I in?

SACE has published only the first cycle for each cohort: principals and deputy principals from January 2014 to December 2016, heads of department from January 2015 to December 2017, and post-level-1 teachers from January 2016 to December 2018, each "and thereafter every three years". We could not find any SACE publication stating which three-year cycle is running now, and rolling those dates forward ourselves would be arithmetic rather than a published fact. Log in at www.sace.gov.za and check your own cycle status there. The portal lists 086 1007 223 as its contact number, and SACE’s CPTD page gives 012 663 9517 for the CPTD unit.

Sources: SACE CPTD Management System page; the current CPTD self-service portal manual and Professional Development Points Schedule, both served from sace.gov.za; the undated CPTD Handbook and CPTD Sign Up Manual; SACE’s teacher professionalisation page; and SACE’s Annual Performance Plan 2025/26. All accessed 18 September 2026.