The 10 year rule, and it costs nothing
Criminal record expungement in South Africa is free and is governed by section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. You can apply to have a qualifying conviction removed once 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction, not the date of the offence.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development administers the process. If the application succeeds, the conviction is removed from the criminal record database kept by the SAPS Criminal Record Centre, and a police clearance certificate issued afterwards will not show it.
Those rules are now under review. The South African Law Reform Commission published Discussion Paper 179 on the expungement of criminal records on 26 August 2026 and is taking written submissions until 2 October 2026.
Who qualifies
The standard route requires all of the following.
- At least 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction.
- You have not been convicted and sentenced to direct imprisonment without the option of a fine during that 10 year period.
- The sentence for the conviction falls within the list in section 271B(1), which includes corporal punishment, a caution and discharge, a wholly suspended sentence, correctional supervision and periodical imprisonment.
You do not qualify if you were sentenced to direct imprisonment without the option of a fine. If your name was placed on the National Register for Sex Offenders or the National Child Protection Register, you must first show that it has been removed.
Attorneys working in this area commonly state that a fine of more than R20 000 disqualifies the conviction. That ceiling is not stated on the Department of Justice expungement page, so confirm it against the wording of section 271B(1) before you rely on it.
What you need and where it goes
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Form | J744, Form A, available from the Department of Justice website |
| Clearance certificate | Issued by the SAPS Criminal Record Centre, dated 10 years after the conviction and sentence |
| Register confirmation | Proof of removal from the sex offenders or child protection register, if applicable |
| Where to send | Directorate Legal Process, Private Bag X81, Pretoria, 0001, or Govpret Building, 319 Pretorius Street |
| Cost | Free |
| Processing time | 60 working days from receipt of a complete application |
Your nearest police station can help you obtain the clearance certificate. If you are unsure whether you even have a record, that is the document that tells you, and our guide to the police clearance certificate covers how to get one.
The Department asks that you do not follow up before the 60 working days have passed, because early enquiries slow down the processing of applications generally.
After approval
If the Director-General is satisfied that you meet the section 271B(1) requirements, a certificate of expungement is sent to the head of the SAPS Criminal Record Centre within 14 working days.
The Criminal Record Centre then confirms in writing, within 21 working days, that the conviction and sentence have been expunged. At that point you can apply for a fresh police clearance certificate, which will come back clear of the expunged conviction.
If the application is refused, you are informed by post together with the reasons.
What the Law Reform Commission is proposing
Discussion Paper 179 is not law. It is a consultation document, and it asks whether the current dispensation should be reformed in three specific directions.
- Automatic expungement in deserving cases. At present there is no automatic expungement. A conviction from decades ago still has to be removed by application, which means people who qualify stay burdened simply because they never applied or did not know they could.
- Different waiting periods for different categories of conviction. The single 10 year period applies regardless of how minor the offence was.
- Categories of conviction that should not qualify for expungement at all. This would draw a firmer line at the serious end.
Written submissions must reach the Commission by 2 October 2026. The central email address for all the discussion papers in this review is [email protected], and each paper also has its own address. Submissions can be hand delivered to the South African Law Reform Commission, Spooral Park Building, 2007 Lenchen Avenue South, Centurion, 0157. Enquiries go to the Secretary of the Commission, Mr Nelson Matibe, on 012 622 6306.
Discussion Paper 179 is one of six published on 26 August 2026 as part of a wider review of the Criminal Procedure Act, alongside papers on offences and competent verdicts, the right to legal representation, mercy and pardon, criminal jurisdiction and contempt of court.
Why it matters for work and travel
A criminal record shows up when an employer runs a background check, and many employers ask for a police clearance certificate as a condition of appointment. That is a lawful request, and it sits alongside the other documents an employer may require under an employment contract.
It also matters for visa applications. Several countries require a police clearance certificate from every country you have lived in, and Home Affairs and SAPS documents are usually needed together. Our overview of Home Affairs services covers the identity documents that go with those applications.
A record for a minor offence from 12 years ago can still cost someone a job. The application to remove it is free, and most people who qualify simply never make it.
Where to check
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development publishes the expungement requirements, the J744 forms and the postal and street addresses at www.justice.gov.za. The South African Law Reform Commission publishes Discussion Paper 179 and the other papers in the Criminal Procedure Act review at www.justice.gov.za/salrc. Submissions close on 2 October 2026.
