I am struggling to get my ID. My guardian who signed my birth certificate has died. I don't have his death certificate and Home Affairs says he is still alive. What can I do?

The long answer

It is always a long and tiring business to deal with ID problems, but always remember that Section 28 of the Constitution says that “every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth”. 

Your ID number will be on your birth certificate, and your grandfather’s ID would also be on your birth certificate, if he was the one registering your birth. 

As Home Affairs is saying that he is still alive on their system, you will need to find proof that your grandfather is indeed deceased.

When a person dies, their death must be reported within 14 days of the person dying to the Master’s Office, which deals with deceased estates. If his death was not reported, your grandfather’s status in the National Population Register would stay “alive” until his death had been formally reported. A death certificate, which is the official poof of death, is issued by Home Affairs after the death has been registered. 

Perhaps you could start by making an affidavit at the police station saying that while you know your grandfather is no longer alive (give his name and ID number and approximate date or year of death), the Home Affairs system says he is still alive. You should give details of your relationship with your late grandfather. If you have any relatives or friends of your grandfather who could also give details of his passing, you could ask them to join you in making the affidavit, which would make it stronger.   

You should then take this affidavit to the Master’s Office and ask the Master of the High Court to do a search on your grandfather’s name and ID. This search is to find the estate late file, which would have a copy of the death certificate.   

There is no fee charged for doing this search. There are Master’s Offices in all the provinces. You can also contact the Master’s Office through their helpline at 012 406 4805, or by emailing chiefmaster@justice.gov.za.

If your grandfather’s death was indeed reported, you can get a copy of the death certificate from the Master’s Office. The death certificate is issued by of Home Affairs after a death has been registered. It is this certificate that is the official proof of death.

If his death was not reported, you would need to report it to the Master’s Office, so that Home Affairs could issue you with a death certificate.  

To receive an official death certificate from Home Affairs, a person would need to submit a notification of death (Form B1-1663) and the Death Report (Form B1-1680). 

Form B1-1663 has to be completed by three parties: the person reporting the death, a medical practitioner and the Home Affairs official or, if unavailable, a police officer. One of the items on this form is the deceased person’s ID number.

Form BI-1680 is issued after a death has been registered by an authorised person, such as a member of the SAPS, an authorised undertaker, or a traditional leader, and is required for obtaining a death certificate.

Home Affairs will not automatically assume a person is dead if a death is not reported. The person's status in the National Population Register would stay “alive” until a death was formally registered. 

You could also ask one of the following organisations to help you:

• The Black Sash

Email: help@blacksash.org.za

Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865.

• Lawyers for Human Rights

Email: info@lhr.org.za

Tel: Musina 015 534 2203

Durban: 031 301 0531

Pretoria: 012 320 2943

Johannesburg: 011 339 1960

Cape Town: 021 424 8561

• Legal Resources Centre

Email: info@lrc.org.za

Johannesburg: 011 836 9831

Cape Town: 021 481 3000

Durban: 031 301 7572

Wishing you the best,
Athalie