What is PERSAL?
PERSAL is the government's personnel and payroll system — short for Personnel and Salary [Administration] System. If you've applied for or worked in the public service, you'll run into the term sooner or later.
What it is
PERSAL is a single, standardised human resource and payroll system used across national departments, provincial administrations, the South African Police Service, the education sector and correctional services. It's administered by National Treasury and is the system that actually records who's employed where, at what post, on what salary level, and pays them each month.
If an advert asks for a PERSAL number and you're unsure. Practice varies between departments, and the request usually applies to people already employed in the public service. If you don't have one, or can't tell whether it applies to you, ask the HR contact listed on the advert rather than guessing — leaving a required field blank is the riskier option.
Why job adverts mention it
Some adverts or application forms ask whether you have (or previously had) a PERSAL number — the unique number the system assigns to each person once they're appointed in the public service. This is generally used to identify former or current government employees, for example to check re-employment conditions or link an application to an existing personnel record. If you've never worked in the public service, the honest answer is simply that you don't have one.
What it means for applicants
As a job seeker, you don't need direct access to PERSAL and won't be asked to use it — it's an internal HR/payroll system, not an application portal. The Z83 form and the department's own submission instructions are what you actually use to apply. Once appointed, your new employer creates or updates your PERSAL record as part of onboarding — that's the point at which your salary level (see salary levels explained) and notch actually get set up for payment.
Related
See how to apply for government jobs in South Africa and browse current government jobs.