Skills books › Studying and Succeeding at College

How to apply for NSFAS at a TVET college

NSFAS pays tuition and allowances for qualifying students at public TVET colleges. This guide explains who qualifies, how to apply step by step, and how to keep your funding. It describes the rules as they stood in 2026.

NSFAS publishes its rules, dates and allowance amounts every year. Always check the current ones on the NSFAS website and with your college's financial aid office before you rely on them.

Who qualifies

NSFAS gives bursaries to South African citizens registered at public TVET colleges and universities. It does not fund private colleges. Under the 2026 rules, in general terms:

• If you are, or have been, a SASSA grant recipient (the Child Support, Foster Care or Care Dependency grant), you automatically meet the money test.
• Otherwise you qualify if your combined household income is R350 000 a year or less, or R600 000 or less if you have a disability.
• You must be registered for a programme that NSFAS funds, and you must keep to the academic rules.

NSFAS checks what you declare against other data sources, so declare honestly.

How to apply, step by step

1. Create your myNSFAS account on the official NSFAS website. Use your own ID number, your own cellphone number and an email address you check.
2. Apply in the application period. It usually opens in the second half of the year for the following year.
3. Upload clear documents: your ID, the IDs of your parents, guardian or spouse, proof of income if needed, and a signed consent form.
4. Submit, and keep your reference number.
5. Check your status on myNSFAS. If NSFAS asks for outstanding information, send it quickly. The 2026 rules allow 30 working days.
6. Register at your college. NSFAS funding follows your registration.
7. Sign the bursary agreement when it is sent to you. Read it first.
8. Your allowances are paid once you are registered and the agreement is signed.

If NSFAS asks for a document you cannot give, such as the ID of a parent you have no contact with, go to your college's financial aid office. They will tell you what to send instead, which is often a sworn statement made at a police station.

What NSFAS pays for

NSFAS pays tuition, including registration, directly to the college. TVET students may also qualify for:

• a personal care allowance;
• an accommodation allowance or a transport allowance, but not both;
• a living allowance, if you are not in a catered residence;
• extra allowances for students with disabilities, on application.

How to stay funded

Under the 2026 rules, a continuing TVET student must pass 70% of the subjects they registered for. To be funded for the next NC(V) level you must have passed at least 5 subjects, and for the next N-level at least 3 subjects.

Changing programmes can cost you your funding. Speak to the financial aid office before you change anything.

Scams to avoid

• Anyone who charges you to apply. Applying is free.
• Messages that claim to be from NSFAS and ask for your password, a PIN or a payment to "release" your funds.
• People who offer to upload your documents using their own cellphone number or email.
• Private colleges that claim to be "NSFAS-accredited".

Use only the official NSFAS website and your college's financial aid office.

This article is based on Chapter 2 of Studying and Succeeding at College, which also covers applying to a college, registration, appeals and other ways to pay.