How to read a DPSA circular
The Public Service Vacancy Circular (PSVC) is the single official source for every national and provincial government vacancy in South Africa. It's published as a PDF by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), and every listing on iSebenza's government jobs page is pulled directly from it. This guide walks through how a circular is actually structured, using a real recent circular as the example.
What the circular is, and when it's published
DPSA publishes a new circular weekly, except during December, each numbered sequentially within the year (for example, "Circular 25 of 2026"). It's issued from the DPSA Public Service Vacancy Circular hub. The circular itself is explicit that DPSA publishes it but isn't responsible for the content of individual adverts — enquiries about a specific post go to the advertising department, not DPSA.
How a circular is laid out
A circular opens with a short set of numbered instructions — directions to candidates (use the current Z83 form, quote the reference number, get your application in before the closing date) and directions to departments. After that, a recent circular's structure typically runs:
- Amendments — corrections to posts advertised in a previous circular: extended closing dates, corrected requirements or centres, or posts withdrawn entirely for re-advertising. If you applied for something a few weeks ago, it's worth skimming this section in the following circulars.
- An index listing every department and provincial administration with vacancies that week, each mapped to an annexure letter (Annexure A, B, C…) and the page range where it appears.
- The annexures themselves — one per department or province, each containing that department's individual post entries.
Anatomy of a post entry
Within an annexure, each vacancy is laid out in the same set of labelled fields. A real entry from a recent circular (Circular 25 of 2026, Department of Agriculture, Annexure A) looked like this:
- Post title and reference number — e.g. "DIRECTOR: DEMAND AND ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT REF NO: 3/3/1/57/2026", under the heading "Management Echelon" for a senior post.
- Salary — for that post, given as an annual all-inclusive package amount tied to a specific salary level (see salary levels explained), sometimes with a note on how the package is structured.
- Centre — where the post is based (in this case, Gauteng, Pretoria).
- Requirements — the minimum qualification, NQF level, and years of relevant experience. This is the exact wording your CV needs to match.
- Duties — a summary of what the role actually does.
- Enquiries — a named contact and phone number or email for questions about that specific post.
- Applications — the department's submission instructions (email, postal or hand-delivery address, or an online portal), which are usually set once for the whole department at the top of its annexure rather than repeated per post.
- Closing date — also usually set once per department for all its posts in that circular, with a specific time (for example "16:00").
- Note — department-specific instructions: document formats, certified-copy requirements, assessment processes for Senior Management Service (SMS) posts, and standard disclaimers (late applications not considered, no acknowledgement of receipt, consider yourself unsuccessful if you haven't heard back within a stated period).
Multiple posts and the "(X posts)" notation
The same post title is often advertised more than once in one circular — the same role needed at several centres, or several identical vacancies in one unit. You'll see this written as a count next to the post title, for example "Administration Clerk (Salary Level 5) (X16 Posts)", followed by a separate reference number for each individual post or centre. Each reference number is a distinct vacancy — if you want to be considered for more than one of them (say, two different centres), submit a separate application quoting the specific reference number for each one; a single application against one reference number won't automatically be considered for the others.
What to copy onto your Z83
Your Z83 needs the exact post title, the department, and the specific reference number from the circular entry — Section A of the form is built for this. Copy them exactly as printed; the circular's own instructions warn that a missing or incorrect reference number can mean an application isn't considered.
The advert always wins. Application instructions, closing times, and document requirements are set per department and sometimes per post — always follow what's printed in the specific circular entry over any general pattern described here.
Related
See how to fill in the Z83 form, salary levels explained, and browse current government jobs sourced from the circular.