Every Reason Your SRD R370 Was Declined — And What You Can Do About It
What SRD Declined Means
When your SRD R370 grant application shows as Declined, it means the automated monthly eligibility check found a reason why you do not qualify for the grant for that specific assessed month. SRD eligibility is checked every month independently. A decline for one month does not mean you will be declined forever. If your circumstances change, or if the record that caused the decline is incorrect and gets corrected, future months can still be approved.
The decline is not a final decision on your eligibility as a whole. It is a monthly assessment outcome. Each declined month can be appealed separately within 90 days of the decision.
How to Find Your Decline Reason
Your decline reason is shown on the official SRD status portal. Each month that was declined will show a specific reason code. You need the exact reason code before you can appeal, because the appeals portal requires you to select the correct appeal reason that corresponds to your decline code.
To find your decline reason, go to the SRD status portal, enter your ID number and phone number, and request the OTP. Once logged in, select the month that shows as Declined. The reason code for that month will be displayed. Write it down exactly as it appears before navigating away from the page.
If more than one month is declined, each month may show a different reason code. Check each month separately and note the code for each one.
The 14 SRD Decline Reasons and What Each One Means
Each decline reason below links to a dedicated page covering exactly what the reason means, why it happens, how to get evidence, and how to appeal. Find your reason code and follow the guide for that specific reason.
Income and Employment Related Declines
Means Income Source Identified Portal code: means_income_source_identified | Appeal reason: no_alternative_income_source
The SRD check detected income linked to your ID for the assessed month, either through a bank deposit pattern, a registered income source, or a cross-reference with another database. This is the most common decline reason. It includes situations where money received on behalf of someone else, a once-off payment, or a deposit that is not actual income triggers the match.
UIF Registered Portal code: uif_registered | Appeal reason: not_uif_registered
The SRD check found a UIF registration record on your ID for the assessed month. Being registered with UIF is different from actively receiving UIF payments. Many former employees remain registered with UIF long after their employment ended, causing incorrect declines.
IPR5 Registered Portal code: ipr5_registered | Appeal reason: not_ipr5_registered
The SRD check detected an IRP5 or PAYE employment record linked to your ID for the assessed month. An IRP5 is the tax certificate an employer submits to SARS when deducting PAYE. Backpay, bonuses, and payroll update delays can cause this decline even after employment has ended.
Government Payroll Registered Portal code: gov_payroll_registered | Appeal reason: not_gov_payroll_registered
The SRD check found a government payroll record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers national and provincial government departments, municipalities, public entities, schools, hospitals, the SANDF, and SAPS. Contract and short-term work processed through a government payroll also triggers this decline.
Government Employee Pension Portal code: gov_employee_pension | Appeal reason: no_gov_employee_pension
The SRD check found a Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers retirement pensions, early retirement, medical disability pensions, military pensions, deferred pensions, and surviving spouse or dependant benefits linked to a GEPF member.
Government Support and Programme Related Declines
Existing SASSA Grant Portal code: existing_sassa_grant | Appeal reason: not_existing_sassa_grant
The SRD check found another active SASSA grant registered under your ID for the assessed month. SRD cannot be received at the same time as any other SASSA grant. This covers the Older Persons Grant, Disability Grant, Child Support Grant, Foster Child Grant, Care Dependency Grant, Grant-in-Aid, and War Veteran’s Grant.
NSFAS Registered Portal code: nsfas_registered | Appeal reason: not_nsfas_registered
The SRD check found an NSFAS funding or registration record on your ID for the assessed month. This commonly affects former students whose NSFAS records were not closed after graduation or dropping out, and students whose academic period overlaps the assessed month.
SETA Intern Portal code: seta_intern | Appeal reason: not_seta_intern
The SRD check found a SETA learnership, internship, apprenticeship, or related programme record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers all 21 SETAs and any workplace-based learning programme that captures stipend payments under a SETA-linked database.
Debt Relief Portal code: debt_relief | Appeal reason: no_debt_relief
The SRD check found a government debt relief programme record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers COVID-19 TERS payments, SMME debt relief funding, National Credit Act debt counselling, and various other government-administered relief measures.
Spaza Shop Relief Portal code: spaza_shop_relief | Appeal reason: no_spaza_shop_relief
The SRD check found a spaza shop support or relief programme record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers SEDA and SEFA spaza shop programmes, municipal township trader relief, COVID-19 informal sector support, and spaza shop formalisation and registration records.
Farmer Relief Portal code: farmer_relief | Appeal reason: no_farmer_relief
The SRD check found a farmer relief or agricultural support programme record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers CASP, Ilima/Letsema, COVID-19 Agricultural Disaster Relief, drought and flood disaster relief, Land Bank measures, PESP agricultural components, and provincial farmer support programmes.
In Government Facility Portal code: in_gov_facility | Appeal reason: not_in_gov_facility
The SRD check found a government facility admission record on your ID for the assessed month. This covers correctional facilities and prisons, state psychiatric hospitals, state rehabilitation centres, government old age homes, and extended state hospital admissions.
Identity and Age Related Declines
Identity Verification Failed Portal code: identity_verification_failed | Appeal reason: identity_verification_fixed
The SRD check could not verify your identity for the assessed month. This covers two distinct situations: a detail mismatch where your ID number, name, surname, date of birth, or residency status does not match the Department of Home Affairs record, and an incomplete OTP or PIN step during the verification process itself.
Age Outside Allowed Range Portal code: outside_qualifying_age | Appeal reason: not_outside_qualifying_age
The SRD check determined your date of birth places you outside the qualifying age range of 18 to 59 years for the assessed month. This is the correct decline for applicants who are under 18 or 60 and older. Where the decline is caused by a date of birth error or ID number digit error, it can be appealed.
Which Decline Reasons Can and Cannot Be Appealed Successfully
Not every declined month can be overturned on appeal. Understanding which situations are worth appealing saves time and helps you focus your efforts.
Appeals are appropriate when:
The record is incorrect and does not belong to you. Your employment, programme participation, or grant status genuinely ended before the assessed month. A detail such as your date of birth or ID number is captured incorrectly in the system. A once-off payment or registration is being incorrectly interpreted as ongoing income or support. The automated check matched a record that was not updated after your circumstances changed.
Appeals are unlikely to succeed when:
You genuinely received the income, grant, pension, programme benefit, or support during the assessed month. You were actively on government payroll, receiving UIF, registered with NSFAS, or in a government facility throughout the assessed month. Your age falls outside the 18 to 59 qualifying range and your date of birth is correctly recorded.
How the SRD Appeals Process Works
The SRD appeals process is administered by the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA). ITSAA is independent from SASSA and reviews each appeal on its own merits.
Step 1. Confirm the exact month and decline reason code on the SRD status portal.
Step 2. Gather month-specific evidence that directly addresses your decline reason. Evidence must cover the specific assessed month, not your general current situation.
Step 3. Submit your appeal at the SRD appeals portal within 90 days of the declined month. Select the correct appeal reason that matches your decline code. Upload your supporting documents.
Step 4. You will receive an SMS confirming your appeal was submitted. Track your appeal status at the SRD appeals portal.
Step 5. ITSAA will review your appeal and notify you of the outcome by SMS.
The 90-Day Rule and What To Do If You Miss It
Each declined month must be appealed within 90 days of that month’s decision. If the 90-day window has passed, the online appeals portal will block that month and you will not be able to select it.
If your declined month is older than 90 days, you can still submit a written appeal. Download the official SASSA appeal form from sassa.gov.za, complete it for the specific declined month, attach certified copies of your supporting documents, and submit in person at your nearest SASSA office or by registered post to your provincial SASSA office. Keep your proof of submission.
Written appeals follow the same ITSAA review process and carry the same weight as online submissions.
If Your Appeal Is Declined
If ITSAA declines your appeal, that outcome is the final internal decision for that month. Two further options remain outside the internal process.
Judicial review through the High Court. You have 180 days from the final ITSAA decision to apply for judicial review under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA). This is a formal legal process and requires legal assistance to pursue effectively.
Free legal assistance. Both Legal Aid South Africa and Black Sash provide free advice and assistance to grant applicants who believe a decline was incorrect. Contact either organisation before pursuing a court process to understand whether your case has merit.
Common Reasons Appeals Fail
Evidence covers the wrong month. Your documents must specifically address the assessed month shown on your portal. A bank statement from a different month or a letter that does not reference the assessed month is unlikely to be sufficient.
General statements instead of specific confirmation. Affidavits stating you are unemployed or general letters saying you are not currently receiving support do not directly rebut a specific database match. You need official written confirmation from the specific organisation whose record triggered the decline.
Appealing the wrong month. Check the exact month on the portal before submitting. If you appeal a different month from the one that shows the decline code, the appeal will not address the correct assessment.
Missing discharge or end dates. For facility, employment, pension, and programme-related declines, your evidence must show both a start date and an end date that falls before the assessed month. A document showing only a start date without an end date does not prove you were not still covered during the assessed period.
Uploading unclear or cropped documents. ITSAA reviewers need to read ID numbers, dates, and signatures clearly. Blurred photographs or cropped letters where key information is cut off are a common reason reviews are delayed or rejected.
Scam Awareness for Declined SRD Applications
People who have received a decline notice are frequently targeted by scammers. The most important things to know are:
SRD appeals are completely free. Any person or service charging a fee to submit an appeal, remove a record, or fix your status is a scam.
SASSA and ITSAA will never contact you asking for your SRD PIN or OTP. Never share these with anyone.
No private person or service has access to government databases. Nobody can delete a payroll record, remove a grant link, or correct a SARS record for a fee.
Official appeals are submitted only at srd.sassa.gov.za/appeals/appeal. Do not use any other website claiming to submit SRD appeals.
SRD Declined FAQs
Does declined mean I will never get SRD? No. Declined means you did not qualify for that specific assessed month. SRD is assessed monthly and your status can change from month to month as your circumstances or the records linked to your ID change.
Can I appeal all my declined months at once? No. Each declined month must be appealed separately on the portal. Each appeal requires its own month-specific evidence and its own appeal submission.
What if I have multiple declined months with different reasons? Each month must be appealed separately using the appeal reason that matches the decline code shown for that specific month. Check each month individually on the status portal before starting any appeal.
My appeal was approved but I have not been paid. What do I do? An approved appeal means you qualify for that month but payment still needs to be processed. Check your banking details are correct on the SRD portal and allow time for payment to be scheduled. If payment has not arrived after a reasonable period, contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11.
I was approved for some months and declined for others. Is this normal? Yes. SRD is assessed independently every month. Approved and declined months in the same application period are common, particularly where circumstances changed between months or where database records updated part way through the year.
Can someone else submit my appeal for me? The SRD appeals portal requires the OTP sent to the phone number registered on your application. If you cannot access that number, you will need to update your SRD phone number before submitting. Contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 for assistance.
I reapplied instead of appealing. Is that a problem? Reapplying creates a new application and does not resolve the declined months from your previous application. Declined months from a previous application must be appealed through the appeals portal, not through a new application.
How long does an ITSAA appeal review take? ITSAA processing times vary. Track your appeal status at the SRD appeals portal for updates. If you have not received a response after 90 days, contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 to follow up.
Official References
- SRD status portal
- SRD appeals portal
- SRD appeals guidance
- SASSA website
- SASSA helpline: 0800 60 10 11 (free, Monday to Friday)
- SASSA WhatsApp: 082 046 8553
- Legal Aid South Africa
- Black Sash
Information on this page is sourced from official SASSA announcements and verified against www.sassa.gov.za. For official queries contact SASSA directly at www.sassa.gov.za or call 0800 60 10 11.
