Is SassaCheck legit? Who runs this site, and why our domain contains sassa
SassaCheck is an independent SRD status checker run by a private South African company, not by SASSA, and this page shows you how to check that for yourself.
Is SassaCheck legit?
Yes. SassaCheck is a real, independent website run by a private company registered in South Africa. It is not SASSA and not a government website.
SassaCheck checks your SRD (Social Relief of Distress) grant status. The grant is R370 a month. You type your ID number and cellphone number, we pass them to SASSA's public status service, and we show you what comes back. Then we explain what the status means and what you can do next.
We cannot approve, decline, suspend, reinstate or change any grant, and we cannot change your banking details. Only SASSA can do those things.
This page exists so you can decide for yourself whether to trust us. It lists what we will never do, what happens to your details, how to check the operator, and how to spot a fake SASSA site. At the end is a link to do the same check without us.
Why does sassacheck.org.za contain the word sassa?
Because that is what the site checks. SassaCheck checks SRD grant status, and the name says what the site does.
We are not SASSA, we are not a government website, and we have no connection to the South African Social Security Agency beyond the public web page that anyone can open.
We know how this looks. A website with "sassa" in its address, asking for an ID number, has exactly the shape of a phishing site. So here is everything you need to check us out. If you would rather not use an independent site at all: don't. Use srd.sassa.gov.za ↗ (opens in a new tab). It does the same check and costs you nothing.
Who runs SassaCheck?
SassaCheck is run by a private company registered in South Africa, not by SASSA, the Department of Social Development, or any part of the South African government.
Operator, registration and Information Officer details are available on request. Contact us at hello@sassacheck.org.za.
We keep those details off the site and send them on request, so that anyone can ask for them directly. You can then check a company registration against the CIPC record, and an Information Officer registration against the Information Regulator's register.
SassaCheck is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by SASSA, the Department of Social Development, or the South African government.
What will SassaCheck never do?
We will never ask you to pay, and we will never ask for your PIN, password, OTP or bank card number.
- We will never ask you to pay to check a status. There is no fee on this site, ever, and there is no paid tier.
- We will never ask for your bank PIN, your password, or your OTP.
- We will never phone you.
- We will never ask for your bank card number.
- We will never promise to approve, decline or change a grant. Nobody outside SASSA can.
- We will never ask you to send money to release a grant.
An OTP is sent by SMS to the number you applied with. Nobody needs it except you. If anyone asks you to forward it, they are stealing your grant.
We also cannot look inside SASSA's systems. We cannot see why your status is what it is when SASSA does not publish a reason. When we do not know something, we say so.
What happens to your ID number and cellphone number?
We do not save raw ID numbers, cellphone numbers or status results in our application database. Keyed security hashes, request counters and operational logs are retained separately; see our data-handling explanation.
The form holds the result in the current page memory. It does not write the result to cookies, local storage or session storage. Reloading or closing the page clears that page state; browser history, autofill and device behaviour remain under your control.
Here is what we do keep, and for how long:
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Keyed, one-way hashes of the IP address and applicant ID, with request counters | Rate limiting, so nobody can use this tool to guess other people's ID numbers | Counters expire after 10 minutes; Firestore TTL deletion happens asynchronously after expiry. |
| Operational hosting logs, including connection metadata and IP addresses | Security and uptime | 30 days for the default operational log bucket |
| Administrative audit logs (Google Cloud) | Records of administrative actions, separate from status-result storage | 400 days in the required audit-log bucket |
| Anything you email us | Replying to you | For handling the enquiry and any applicable recordkeeping obligations; contact us to request deletion. |
For status-check data, security-record retention and advertising cookies, read our privacy policy and cookie policy.
How can you check that SassaCheck is what it says it is?
Test how the site behaves, and ask us for the operator details. Both take a few minutes.
Test the behaviour
- There is no fee, and no paid tier.
- No page on this site accepts a PIN, OTP, password or bank card number.
- We put SASSA's own portal above our own tool, on purpose.
- Our domain does not end in sassa.gov.za, and we say so on every page.
- We do not use padlock emojis, security badges or trust seals. Those are scam tropes.
- We do not accept payment to feature a grant, a service or a website.
Ask for the details
Email hello@sassacheck.org.za and ask for the operator, registration and Information Officer details. We reply within two business days.
Watch where your ID number goes
Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and press Check. You will see one request to our Johannesburg-hosted Google Cloud Run API. The server then forwards the lookup to SASSA. Browser tools cannot prove server-side retention. Separate AdSense requests also occur; our code does not attach status-form values or results to them.
How do you spot a fake SASSA site?
SASSA can send an OTP for entry on its official website. Do not disclose or forward the code to another person, including anyone claiming to work for SASSA. Never share your bank PIN or password.
- SASSA will never ask you to pay to check a status. There is no fee, ever.
- SASSA can send an OTP for you to enter on its official website. Never disclose or forward that OTP to a caller, helper or anyone claiming to be an agent. Never share your bank PIN or password.
- An OTP is sent by SMS to the number you applied with. Nobody needs it except you. If anyone asks you to forward it, they are stealing your grant.
- Real SASSA websites end in sassa.gov.za. Ours does not. We are an independent checker, and we will keep saying so on every page.
- If someone phones you and says they can release your grant for a fee, put the phone down. It is a scam.
Before you type your ID number anywhere, look at the address bar. If the address does not end in sassa.gov.za, you are not on a SASSA site. No grant service needs your bank card number, your PIN or your password. Not SASSA, and not us.
Our page with SASSA's contact details lists the numbers and the date we last checked them.
Can you check your SRD status without SassaCheck?
Yes. Go to srd.sassa.gov.za ↗ (opens in a new tab). It does the same check and costs nothing.
You need your ID number and the cellphone number you used when you applied.
The status page is srd.sassa.gov.za/sc19/status ↗ (opens in a new tab). The appeal page is srd.sassa.gov.za/appeals/appeal ↗ (opens in a new tab).
If you would rather speak to someone, SASSA's toll free number is 0800 60 10 11. The SRD WhatsApp number is 082 046 8553. The SRD email address is srd@sassa.gov.za.
How do you report SassaCheck?
Email hello@sassacheck.org.za. If you believe the site is impersonating SASSA, also report it to the registry that manages .org.za.
We answer within two business days. We keep a record of every complaint, what it said and how we answered it, and we will cooperate with any question the registry asks us.
If you think something on this page is wrong, tell us and we will check it. We would rather correct the page than defend it.
Frequently asked questions
SassaCheck is not SASSA, does not charge, and cannot change your grant. Here are the questions people ask most.
Is SassaCheck safe to use?
We do not save raw ID numbers, cellphone numbers or status results in our application database. Keyed security hashes, request counters and operational logs are retained separately; see our data-handling explanation. SassaCheck never asks for a PIN, OTP, password or bank card number, and never charges a fee.
Is sassacheck.org.za a SASSA website?
No. It is an independent service run by a private company. SASSA's own websites are sassa.gov.za and srd.sassa.gov.za.
Does SassaCheck charge a fee?
No, and there is no paid tier.
Can SassaCheck approve or speed up my grant?
No. Nobody outside SASSA can.
Does SassaCheck store my ID number?
No. It is passed through and discarded. See how it works.
Why does the site use the word SASSA?
Because it describes the grant we check. Read the explanation above.
Who do I contact if I think this site is a scam?
Email hello@sassacheck.org.za, and report it to the registry that manages .org.za.
Sources
These are the SASSA pages we used for the facts on this page. Every SASSA link opens in a new tab.
- SASSA, SRD status check, srd.sassa.gov.za/sc19/status ↗, checked 29 October 2026.
- SASSA, SRD appeals, srd.sassa.gov.za/appeals/appeal ↗, checked 29 October 2026.
- SASSA, SRD grant amount of R370 a month, sassa.gov.za ↗, checked 29 October 2026.
- SASSA, SRD contact channels: toll free 0800 60 10 11, WhatsApp 082 046 8553, srd@sassa.gov.za, published on gov.za ↗, checked 29 October 2026.
If any of these links no longer work, tell us and we will fix it.
Last reviewed: 29 October 2026
Your ID number and cellphone number are sent over HTTPS through our server to SASSA to retrieve your status. Our checker does not save the raw ID number, cellphone number or result in its application database, and its application logging code does not record those values. The result is held in the current page memory, without saving it to cookies, localStorage or sessionStorage. For rate limiting, keyed hashes of your IP address and applicant ID are stored with request counters; their expiry is set to 10 minutes after an allowed request, and Firestore deletes expired records asynchronously. Google Cloud request logs can contain your IP address and connection metadata: the default operational log bucket retains records for 30 days, while the separate administrative audit log bucket retains records for 400 days. These audit logs are administrative records, not a 400-day database of status results. Google AdSense may use cookies and process IP, device and ad-interaction data; our code does not send status-form details or results to AdSense. We do not use a separate Google Analytics tag. See our Privacy Policy for details.
See the SASSA contacts page for current official guidance.