How to Complete the Z83 Form

Quick answer

Use the current Z83 from the DPSA, quote the post and the reference number, complete the information that applies to you, sign the declaration, and attach the CV. Send the pack the way the advertisement instructs. Download the form again if you are unsure yours is the current one.

What the form is for

The form states that its purpose is to help a department select a person for an advertised post, and that it may be used to identify candidates to be interviewed. It says only people applying for an advertised position in a government department should complete it. It also says you need to fill it in completely, accurately and legibly so the application can be processed fairly.

In 2025 the DPSA issued a circular because departments had been applying those instructions inconsistently. Circular 3 of 2025 says the form must give sufficient information about the candidate and the post.

The circular says relevant fields should be completed and the declaration must be signed. Questions that do not apply may be left blank or marked not applicable. The selection committee must read the CV with the form. Initials on the signature page are not mandatory.

Practically, answer every question that applies to you and to the post. Use not applicable rather than leaving a relevant question blank. Sign the declaration. Do not rely on a clerk to guess a missing reference number from your CV.

The advertised post and reference number

Copy the job title, the department and the reference number from the advert. The Public Service Vacancy Circular tells applicants to indicate the reference number. If you apply for more than one post, complete the application the advert requires for each reference. A wrong reference can attach your form to a different post.

Personal information

Use the names and identity number on your identity document. Contact numbers must be numbers you answer, because that is how the department will reach shortlisted candidates. Give an address where you can receive a message if the department still uses post.

The form asks for information a private CV often should not include. Put it on the Z83 because the form asks for it. You do not need to repeat your identity number in the header of the CV as well.

Qualifications and experience

List qualifications you have completed, with the institution and the year. If you are still studying, say so. Do not enter a qualification you expect to finish as if the certificate has been issued.

Experience includes paid work, internships and other relevant workplace experience. Give the employer, the post and the dates. The form is not a substitute for the CV. The DPSA circular says committees should use the CV for additional relevant information. Make the dates on the form and the CV match.

Declarations and signature

The declaration includes questions about previous public-service employment and conditions that could affect re-employment. Circular 3 of 2025 says the questions about conditions that prevent re-appointment must be answered where they apply, and that people currently employed in the public service do not need to complete a section aimed at people seeking re-employment, because their employment can be checked.

Sign the form. The form itself warns that failure to sign may lead to disqualification. An unsigned declaration is not a complete application. You do not need a commissioner's stamp on the signature unless the advert asks for something more.

CV and documents the advert requests

Send the CV with the Z83. Add certified copies, a transcript or a driver's licence only when the advert says to include them with the application. If the advert says shortlisted candidates will be asked for certified copies, do not delay the application while you wait for certification, and do not ignore the request later.

Keep a copy of the completed Z83. You will need it if the department asks you to explain a date, and you should not be reconstructing it from memory.

Common mistakes

• Submitting a photo of an old Z83.
• Leaving the reference number blank.
• Signing the CV but not the Z83.
• Marking every question not applicable, including the ones about the post.
• Treating this website as if it submits the form to the department.
• Paying a person outside the department to submit or to sign the form.

Checklist

• Current Z83 downloaded from the DPSA.
• Post title and reference match the advert.
• Relevant fields completed, and the rest marked not applicable.
• Declaration signed.
• CV dates match the form.
• Pack sent only to the address in the advert.

Information can change

Rules, forms, closing dates and programme requirements change. Treat this guide as a way to prepare and to know what to check. The official page for the institution, employer or funder is the version that applies to your application.

Official sources

• New Z83 formThe editable Z83 the DPSA published as effective from 1 January 2021.
• DPSA Circular 3 of 2025The DPSA clarification on which fields must be completed and on signing the declaration.
• Public Service Vacancy CircularCandidate directions, including the instruction to use the new Z83.