Still searching for the “R350”? The Social Relief of Distress grant has paid R370 a month since April 2024, but the reasons SASSA gives for declining a month have barely changed since the R350 days. Each reason points to a specific record that SASSA matched against your name. Knowing which record tripped the decline tells you whether an appeal can win, or whether you need to fix something first.
The reason appears next to the declined month on your status result at srd.sassa.gov.za. Find yours below. The online appeal form mainly asks you to pick a reason, so keep the evidence listed for your case on hand in case the tribunal asks for it. For the full set of rules SASSA applies every month, see how eligibility decides your R370 result.
Reasons that often deserve an appeal
Alternative income source identified
Trigger: SASSA checks bank data every month, and money coming into your account took you above R624 for the month. Worth appealing when that money was not really your income: a family member’s cash passing through your account, a refund, a loan repaid to you, or a once-off amount for someone else. Evidence: the bank statement for that month, with each deposit explained. If the money was genuinely yours and above the limit, an appeal is unlikely to succeed.
UIF, SARS or government payroll registered
Trigger: you appear on the UIF database, on SARS as having an IRP5 (an employee tax certificate), or on Persal, the government payroll. Worth appealing when the record is out of date, for example a job that ended or a UIF claim that has finished. Evidence: proof the job ended, such as a dismissal or resignation letter, and payslips showing the last payment. Ask the former employer to make sure its UIF records show you as no longer employed.
NSFAS registered
Trigger: NSFAS has you as a funded student. Worth appealing when you were not funded for that period, left your studies or never took up the funding. Evidence: a letter or record from NSFAS or your institution showing your funding status for the months concerned.
Reasons to fix before (or instead of) appealing
Identity verification failed
Trigger: your name, ID number or other details did not match Home Affairs. A tribunal cannot change Home Affairs records, so correct the mismatch first, then appeal the month. Our page on fixing identity and ID number errors covers this step by step.
Deceased per Home Affairs
Trigger: Home Affairs lists the ID holder as dead. If that is a mistake, go to Home Affairs in person to correct the population register; nothing SASSA or the tribunal does can override it. Then appeal with proof of the correction.
Age outside range
Trigger: you are under 18 or have turned 60. If you are 60 or over, SASSA expects you to apply for the older persons grant instead, at a SASSA office or through services.sassa.gov.za. An appeal only helps if Home Affairs has your birth date wrong, and that needs fixing at Home Affairs first.
Reasons an appeal rarely changes
- Existing SASSA grant: you already receive another grant for yourself. You cannot hold both. A grant you collect for a child, such as the child support grant, is a different matter; if that caused the decline, appeal and explain it.
- Correctional services database: people in a state-funded institution do not qualify. Appeal only if the record is wrong or you have been released, with proof of release.
When you have decided a month is worth contesting, follow the SRD appeal process within 90 days of the decline. If the problem has now been fixed and only future months matter, compare appealing against reapplying first.