156,000 sign up for 5,500 SAPS posts in a day. How to stand out

SAPS recorded 156,131 profile registrations for its 5,500 police trainee posts in less than 24 hours after the portal opened at midnight on 21 October 2026 (IOL). That works out to about 28 registrations for every post.

Most of those people have not applied yet. Only 78,473 finished verifying their profiles, 53,716 started an application and 29,013 completed and submitted one, SAPS spokesperson Colonel Amanda van Wyk said (TimesLIVE). A profile on its own does not count as an application.

Applications close on 13 November 2026 on the SAPS eRecruitment portal. Applying is free. SAPS has asked people to be patient with the site because of the heavy traffic (IOL).

Last updated: 22 October 2026, 17:37 SAST.

Who gets preference?

The minimum requirements are South African citizenship, age 18 to 35, matric or an equivalent, no criminal record or pending case, and no tattoos visible in uniform (SAPS advert). Meeting them only gets you into the pool.

SAPS says preference goes to applicants with (TimesLIVE):

• a valid driver's licence
• a relevant three-year qualification at NQF level 6 or higher, such as criminal law, policing or forensic investigation

Graduates in law, policing, criminology, law enforcement, forensic investigation and IT may be considered for the Hawks, Detective and Forensic Services or Crime Intelligence, Van Wyk said (IOL).

Why is SAPS targeting certain race groups?

SAPS also wants suitably qualified applicants from under-represented race groups (IOL). Its Employment Equity Plan targets are 80.93% African, 7.70% white, 8.88% coloured and 2.49% Indian, according to a written reply to Parliament dated 15 October 2026 (PMG).

An MP's question in that reply put the recent intake at 1.4% white, 1.2% Indian and 6.4% coloured. SAPS answered that the intake "does not fully align" with its targets, blaming too few applications from those groups and some applicants failing the minimum requirements (PMG). Of the 1,049,998 applications in that round, 94.48% came from African applicants, 5.12% from coloured, 0.29% from Indian and 0.10% from white applicants (PMG).

What happens after you submit?

Every applicant faces fitness, psychometric and integrity tests, a medical evaluation and an interview (TimesLIVE). SAPS checks qualifications, driver's licences, citizenship and home addresses, then does vetting that includes security screening, reference checks, your social media presence and fingerprints.

SAPS will not consider people dismissed from a government department for misconduct, or those with chronic diseases, physical impairments or other severe health conditions. Failing to disclose a health condition can get you removed from the programme later (TimesLIVE).

How long is training and what does it pay?

Trainees get R5,000 a month while training. Recruits with a relevant NQF 6 or higher qualification train for six months at a SAPS academy, and everyone else does nine months (IOL).

For the full requirements and step-by-step application guide, see our earlier explainer on how to apply for the SAPS trainee posts.