
Adult Matric: Amended Senior Certificate
Adult Matric Certificates are exactly the same certificates as traditional matric certificates. Both of these Matric Certificates are awarded by UMALUSI.
Get Your Amended Senior Certificate Brochure!
Get Your Amended Senior Certificate Brochure!
Our Amended Senior Certificate Programmes offer you the chance to get your adult matric, rewrite your matric exam, or upgrade your matric results to help you to get a Matric Certificate, if you failed at first, or to improve your current marks.
If you don’t want to wait for us to send you a brochure you can download it now by clicking the button below. OR If you need help you can speak directly to one of our course specialists.
Complete the form below to download a brochure.
An Amended Senior Certificate, more commonly known as a Senior Certificate (Amended), is awarded to adult students after they successfully complete their Adult Matric Programme.
Once you have completed our Adult Matric Programme, you will receive an Amended Senior Certificate. This certificate is also known as the Senior Certificate (Amended). Such a certificate is for adult students who did not complete their Matric Certificate during high school.
Other commonly used names for this certificate include:
Adult Matric Certificates are exactly the same certificates as traditional matric certificates. Both of these Matric Certificates are awarded by UMALUSI.
Using Matric Upgrade you can select subjects from your Matric Exams. You have the chance to improve the results for these subjects with supplementary exams.
Rewriting your Matric Exams offers you the chance to improve on your initial exam results. This can be done for a number of reasons, and is a good idea for all.
Dit is nooit te laat vir enige iemand om hul matriekjaar te voltooi en ‘n Nasionale Senior Sertifikaat te ontvang nie. Met Bellview Instituut vir
Currently offered to individuals in South Africa are several different Senior Certificates. It is important to take note that all of these certificates lead to the same educational qualification but how this is done is different for each certificate.
The options currently available include:
This certificate is awarded to individuals between the ages of 18 and 21 and is done during high school. This is commonly known as being your Grade 12 Certificate or your Matric Certificate.
As an alternative to a National Senior Certificate, this certificate is available to anyone 21 years and older. This is done through our Adult Matric Programme. The only two requirements for this certificate are:
Registering for this programme requires you to either already has completed your matric before or after 2008 because of one of the following reasons:
At Bellview Institute of Distance Learning, we offer our Matric Upgrade – Amended Senior Certificate (NQF Level 4) – SAQA ID: 49647 programme that allows you to get this certificate. With this programme you can achieve one or more of the following:
Choosing to rewrite your Matric exams, will allow you the opportunity to improve on your original results. Rewriting your Matric exams can be several reasons, for example, either you failed, or you did not get the results you wanted and wish to better them.
Introduced by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the second chance programme aims to give students who want to improve their original results, the chance to do so. By using the second chance programme as offered the DBE will help students to meet the minimum requirements to pass.
This means that students will have the chance to get their National Senior Certificate or a Senior Certificate.
Registering for your Matric Rewrite via Bellview allows you to use this programme for a variety of reasons, and is not only offered to students who previously failed their exams.
To complete your Matric Rewrite through Bellview, you will need to meet a certain number of requirements, these are:
After completing our Adult Matric Programme you will be awarded your Amended Senior Certificate.
Keep in mind that this certificate is awarded to you by Umalusi. Umalusi is the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training. This means that it is an accredited course that is recognised by a professional body.
One of the biggest benefits of getting an Amended Senior Certificate is that if you complete our Adult Matric Programme and you do so with a Bachelor’s Degree Pass you can apply for admission to a University.
Remember that doing research about what degree you want to study and where is always a good idea. Each university has different admission requirements (with regards to general admission) and above that, they also have separate admission requirements for specific degrees.
If you are unsure about whether you qualify for an Amended Senior Certificate, these are the entry requirements for successful registration to our Adult Matric Programme:
ABET refers to the Adult Basic Education and Training initiative launched by the Department of Basic Education to provide them with a fundamental and basic understanding of general education. This is available to adults who aim to finish their basic education (up to Grade 9).
There are four ABET Levels:
This covers the basic education provided during Grades 1, 2, and 3.
This covers the basic education provided during Grades 4, 5, and 6.
This covers the basic education provided during Grades 7 and 8.
This covers the basic education provided during Grade 9.
Keep in mind: An ABET Level 4 qualification is NOT equal to a National Senior Certificate nor an Amended Senior Certificate. An ABET Level 4 qualification is rated as an NQF Level 1 education.
A National Senior Certificate and an Amended Senior Certificate are both rated as an NQF Level 4 education.
Designed to be accessible to both South African and non-South African citizens, an Amended Senior Certificate can be applied for by anyone, keeping in mind they meet the requirements stated earlier.
As for which documents you will need to apply, here is the full list of required documents:
Note: If you are a South African citizen, but you live abroad, you are still able to apply. You will however need to be in South Africa when you write your exams, as these exams are not done online.
You can register for your Amended Senior Certificate (Adult Matric Programme) at any time during the year with Bellview Institute of Distance Learning.
The registration process through Bellview takes place in the following order. You will register with Bellview first for our Adult Matric Programme. After this successful registration, we help you to register with the Department of Basic Education, during their registration window.
You can register manually at a variety of different provincial education offices. These offices include:
Each of the nine provinces has a collection of circuit and district offices, and a provincial office, thus you can register at the following provincial offices:
It is possible and much easier to register for your exams using the Department of Basic Education website. We will guide you through every step of this registration process.
Here is how to register for the exams online.
Note: Before attempting to register using your mobile phone, this is not possible. An application done using a mobile phone will not go through, you will be redirected to the first step of registration.
Thus it is important to know that you can ONLY apply using a PC or Laptop.
Visit the following link: https://www.eservices.gov.za/
This will take you to the following page:
Look for the ‘sign up/register’ tab at the top of this page.
Create an account once you open the ‘sign-up/register’ page.
After creating your account, you will be shown both the ‘terms and conditions’ and ‘privacy policy’ statements. It is recommended that you read through both and then tick the consent boxes. After this select ‘continue’
You will be taken to the next part of your registration process, which will require you to complete your personal information, indicated in the blue square. Double-check that your information is correct, and does not contain any spelling errors.
Indicated on the right-hand side of your screen will be a progress tracker. This represents your registration progress.
Sometimes this page automatically times out and needs to be refreshed.
The next page must be completed correctly as it contains your contact details. Here you are advised to give the correct contact details. If you do not know what your contact details are, please make sure of them before continuing.
This is important because an OTP (One Time Pin) will be sent to your provided phone number and/or current email address. This means that you must have your phone close by or your emails open.
See below an image of what this page looks like and what information you have to enter.
Next, you will be asked to enter your address details. Enter your correct residential address as this will determine where you will be writing your exams.
In this step, you will need to create a strong password for your account registration. Make it a password that only you know and will be easy to remember. If need be, write it down for yourself somewhere.
The requirements for this password are the following:
If your password does not meet these requirements, you will not be allowed to progress to the next step.
Your final step in creating your account is to enter a certification code, which will be provided to you on the screen. If you struggle to identify it, select ‘refresh verification code’.
The next page will confirm whether or not you have successfully completed your account creation and registration.
Below is an image of what the screen will look like if you were successful.
After you successfully create your account you can register for the specific subjects you are aiming to write. You have the following option after logging into your account:
The following step will be to select if you want to receive your OTP via SMS or email. Remember to select the most appropriate method before moving on to the step.
If you did not enter the correct details during step five, you will not receive an OTP.
After selecting which option you prefer, select ‘Ok’. After this, an OTP will be sent to you.
Check that you have received an OTP either by SMS or email. If not, refresh your email inbox or reboot your mobile phone. If you are still experiencing any issues, they could be network-related or you can select ‘cancel’ and then request a new OTP.
After receiving your OTP, enter it as is indicated below.
Upon verification of your OTP, you will move onto the next page. Here you will enter your identification number and other personal information.
It is essential that you enter the correct identification number, if this is entered incorrectly you will not be able to write your exams.
Keep in mind to constantly save the information that you enter by using the bottom right corner button of the page.
Remember to select ‘yes’ to give consent that you accept all the conditions of your registration.
After doing so, select the ‘NEW REGISTRATION TAB’ at the top.
On the next page, you will select which type of certificate you received most recently. This can be a Grade 9 certificate or a previously written National Senior Certificate. Shown below are the possible options, after selecting the relevant certificate, save the information and then press next.
On this page, you will provide the information of where you previously wrote your exams, and where you would like to write your next exams. The system is designed to give you only the options closest to where you live.
Remember to save the information before moving on to the next step.
In this step, you will select the subjects in which you wish to write your final exam. Here you will also choose an examination center that is closest to where you live.
Note: If you can not find the exam center closest to where you live, we recommend scrolling through all the available locations to find the one closest to you.
Congratulations! You have now successfully registered for the Adult Matric exams. Note that you will receive an SMS and an exact date of when you will write the exams.
You can select a total of SIX subjects to write your Adult Matric exams in. Here is a full list of the subjects we offer:
Compulsory Subjects Elective Subjects
The subjects you choose all depend on what you wish to accomplish by completing an Amended Senior Certificate. Some of these reasons for example:
If this is your goal then we recommend you choose subjects that you can easily pass. Having a completed Senior Certificate will impress any future employers. Keep in mind that a subject you might find easy, another might not. Also remember that if you choose a subject in your previous exams and you failed, it might be a good idea to choose different subjects.
If your reason is to just achieve a higher passing grade then choosing subjects that you know you can exceed in will be the best ones to choose.
This is often the reason most people choose to complete an Amended Senior Certificate. Here it is a great idea to research the course you intend on studying to find out what the subject requirements are for that course. Doing so will show you exactly which subjects to choose.
When you complete your examination session for your Amended Senior Certificate, as prescribed by the Department of Higher Education and Training, you will need to meet the following result per subject for you to pass:
For the SIXTH subject, you must pass with a minimum of 20%.
Unfortunately, there is no way to fast-track your Amended Senior Certificate course. If, however, you are aiming to complete a Matric Upgrade, then you will be able to get your Amended Senior Certificate fast.
If so then you will need to register for our Matric Upgrade course as soon as you receive your Matric Results. This means that once you get your results in January, you can apply immediately and then write your exams during May and June of the same year. In total, completing your Matric Upgrade can take you just 3 to 4 months to complete.
Find the entry requirements for our Matric Upgrade course here:
This is all dependent on what type of student you are. Here are two of the major factors that play a part in how long it will take you to complete our Adult Matric Programme:
Yes, there are.
You can complete our Adult Matric Programme, which can be completed in the following time frames:
If you are someone who learns at a quick pace and you do not have any difficulties in understanding the course material, and you have no family commitments or career obligations, then you can complete your Amended Senior Certificate in one year.
If however, can you have certain circumstances that may influence the pace at which you study, then you can always spread your six subjects out over two years. This means you will complete 3 subjects per year.
This option is best for individuals who have a busy life and need to manage their time very well. You can thus complete two subjects per year.
There are FOUR potential certificates you can get:
This is the ideal result to get after writing your Adult Matric Exams. Some students achieve distinctions when they get this pass level. Meaning that there is a direct link between getting distinctions and receiving a Bachelor’s Pass.
The minimum requirements to get this certificate are as follows:
Obtain 40% for your Home Language
Obtain 50% for four other Higher Credit subjects
Obtain 30% for one other subject
Minimum APS Score For A Bachelor’s Degree Pass
Subjects Points
Four High Credit subjects 4 points
Home Language 3 points
Two other subjects 2 points
Total Points 23 points
When you obtain a Bachelor’s Degree Pass, you can apply to complete a degree course, a diploma course, a higher certificate course, and a certificate course.
If you pass your Matric with this pass grade, you are more likely to find employment.
Note: Each university has its unique admission requirements and on top of that they may also have different admission requirements for different degrees. This means that you might gain entry into a university but you might not be admitted because some of your results are too low, or you simply did not select the right subjects.
With this passing grade, you still have the opportunity to apply for admission to a university, but you will only be able to apply for admission to a diploma or a higher certificate course. Each university as already stated has a range of different admission requirements.
The minimum requirements to get this certificate are as follows:
Obtain 40% for your Home Language
Obtain 40% for four other High Credit subjects
Obtain 30% for one other subject
Minimum APS Score For A Diploma Pass
Subjects Points
Four High Credit subjects 3 points
Home Language 3 points
Two other subjects 2 points
Total Points 19 points
When you have successfully completed and obtained a Diploma Pass, you can apply for a diploma course, a higher certificate course, and a general certificate course.
The minimum requirements to get this certificate are as follows:
Minimum APS Score For A Higher Certificate Pass
Subjects Points
Home Language 3 points
Two other subjects 3 points
Three other subjects 2 points
Total Points 15 points
With a Higher Certificate passing grade, you can apply for a higher certificate or a general certificate course. Unfortunately, you will not be able to go to a university, but you can gain admission to a College or Distance Learning Institution.
The minimum requirements to get this certificate are as follows:
Minimum APS Score For A Senior Certificate (Amended) Pass
Subjects Points
Home Language 3 points
Two other subjects 3 points
Four other subjects 2 points
Total Points 14 points
You can further your studies by completing several short courses at certain Colleges. Each college has its own admission requirements. You can apply to complete all the courses we offer at Bellview Institute of Distance Learning, by using your Higher Certificate Pass.
If unhappy with your Amended Senior Certificate results you can complete our Matric Upgrade programme, which will allow you to improve your marks.
Remember that in South Africa, having a Matric Certificate is very important. Your employability is directly determined by your qualifications.
At Bellview Institute of Distance Learning, you can complete any of our courses with any of the pass levels. Here is a list of the courses we offer, that you can complete after your Matric:
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
Entry Requirements
Courses Offered
You can get your Amended Senior Certificate results online. You can view your results directly on the Department of Basic Education’s website.
If you passed on a Bachelor’s Degree level, you will meet one of the application requirements for university.
Keep in mind that this does not guarantee acceptance – you will need to meet all of the other university requirements, choose the right subjects and get high marks.
Both a National Senior Certificate and an Amended Senior Certificate look exactly the same. The only visible difference is that the Amended Senior Certificate says ‘Senior Certificate’, and a National Senior Certificate says ‘National Senior Certificate’.
See below an image of both the certificates. Remember that the only difference is in the title of the certificate.
Yes, you can consider an Amended Senior Certificate as an Umalusi certificate. Umalusi awards and issues you with your Amended Senior Certificate. If a certificate does not have the official emblem of Umalusi on it, then it is not accredited or issued by Umalusi.
See below for the official emblem of Umalusi.
Umalusi is one of three national quality councils. The remaining two are the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO).
As an educational institution, Umalusi is in control of developing and managing qualifications for both General and Further Education.
General and Further Education forms part of the National Quality Framework. The National Quality Framework determines at what level an educational qualification is.
See below for an image that explains everything you need to know regarding NQF Levels and our courses.
Umalusi currently certifies and issue three main qualifications, these being:
Umalusi awards, issues, and certifies the following Matric Certificates:
Umalusi awards, issues, and certifies the following Vocational Certificates:
Umalusi award, issues and certifies the following Adult Education and Training Certificates:
For you to verify your Amended Senior Certificate, all you need to do is contact any of the verification clients registered with Umalusi.
Umalusi does not directly verify certificates. Meaning that a member of the public can not apply to Umalusi for the verification of their certificates. See below for a list of some of these verification clients which you can contact:
Verification Client Telephone Number
SAQA (South African Quality Assurance) 012 431 5010
V-Report (Division of IndetiRisk South Africa) 011 432 8441/4416
Veri Source Consulting CC 011 794 1925
National Validation Services 010 593 1998
Fraudcheck (Pty) Ltd 011 262 5252
Dots Africa 010 446 7683
At the core of both these certificates, they are the same. They do have some minor differences, but you can achieve the same goals with both of them.
Here are some of these minor differences:
National Senior Certificate
Amended Senior Certificate
See here for the differences between an Amended Senior Certificate and a National Certificate (Vocational):
Amended Senior Certificate
National Certificate (Vocational)
When you aim to improve your Matric results, there are several ways you can do so. One of which is to combine your old results with a new set of results. You can combine your results under the following circumstances:
Yes, you can.
You can combine a set of results for your Amended Senior Certificate, with a set of results for your National Senior Certificate. To do so you will need to apply for a replacement certificate, under the ‘change of status’ option.
The government does not automatically combine your results. They only combine your results if you wrote the supplementary exams.
There are two methods you can use to apply for and receive your replacement certificate:
After paying the required fee by postal order at your nearest Post Office. You can do so either with cash or by cheque. After payment has been made take the following documents to your nearest Department of Basic Education Offices:
You can post your change of status application to Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001
After downloading and completing the correct application form, attach the following documents:
Combining your results will cost you R141. If you want a statement of your results after applying for a combination of your results, it will cost you R52.
Note that these prices are only valid until 31 March 2022.
Yes, they are equal.
Both of these certificates are at an NQF Level of 4, meaning that they carry the same educational weight.
The National Qualifications Framework, or NQF, is the grading scale of qualifications that ensure that different levels of qualifications are measured using the same criteria. Its basic function is to arrange different levels of academic achievement.
See here for a breakdown of the different NQF Levels:
Qualification NQF Level
General Certificate: ABET Level 4/Grade 9 1
Elementary Certificate: Grade 10 2
Intermediate Certificate: Grade 11 3
National Certificate (Including NSC, ASC, NCV & MEC) 4
Higher Certificate 5
Diploma & Advanced Certificate 6
Bachelor’s Degree & Advanced Diploma 7
Honours Degree & Postgraduate Diploma 8
Masters Degree 9
Doctoral Degree 10
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) consists of three bands, each of which focuses on a different aspect, are the following:
These bands each have the following different titles:
The first of the three bands, General Education and Training, ends in Grade 9. Students who attend private and public schools, or those completing an ABET Level 4 education, will fall into this band.
Otherwise known as the first exit level of the NQF Levels.
This band is made up of:
See the image below for more information on where this band is with regards to the NQF.
The second of the three bands, Further Education and Training, consists of levels 2, 3, and 4 of the NQF. High Schools, FET, TVET Colleges, and Distance Learning Institutions offer education under this band.
The FET band elaborates on the basic knowledge and skills that students gain during their GET band and aims to improve and increase their knowledge and skills even more.
These qualifications are assured by:
The third of the NQF bands, the Higher Education and Training band, is the final and last of the NQF bands. The qualifications awarded under this band range from NQF Level 5 to NQF Level 10, and are offered by Universities and Colleges.
The Council for Higher Education assures these qualifications.
Qualifications that typically fall in this band include:
You will need to meet the following requirements to pass matric on a Bachelor’s Degree level:
If you passed Adult Matric on a Bachelor’s Degree level, universities will accept your Amended Senior Certificate for their entry criteria.
Note that you will also have to meet the other requirements for university that are different for each study stream. You will also need to have high marks to increase your chance of being accepted.
Amended Matric Certificates are on the same level as a standard matric certificate. This course allows those who do not have a matric certificate or those who did not pass matric to get a matric certificate.
All of your assignments and studies will be handled online during your Adult Matric course. You will only need to go to an allocated examination venue when you write your final matric exam.
The accreditation of your course depends on the learning institution you choose. An accredited institution will provide you with an accredited course and, so, an accredited qualification.
The pass levels for an Amended Senior Certificate are as follows:
You can choose to complete your Adult Matric course in a period of:
It is recommended to complete this course in 12 or 24 months.
You need to meet the following criteria:
An Amended Senior Certificate is obtained by people who do not have a matric and are over the age of 21 years old. A National Senior Certificate is obtained when you complete your matric year and pass the grade in high school.
Matric Programmes available for you to do to get your Amended Senior Certificate Include:
To change the information on your Matric Certificate you will need to apply with the Department of Education and fill out what is called an (Application for Change/Correction of Personal Particulars: Administrative Errors or Application for re-issue of senior certificate/NSC due to change of personal information: Legal changes) form.
Yes, you can complete a Matric Rewrite course online through Distance Learning. However, you will have to write a sit-down exam at a venue determined by the Department of Higher Education.
The Amended Senior Certificate is on an NQF level 04.
You will receive the NSC upon completing Matric and having completed assessments and exams. You will receive the SC if you successfully complete your Adult Matric.
Yes, you can. You can combine your SC and your NSC. However, your best marks will be considered and will be the ones to appear on the certificate.
The May/June 2022 NSC exams have officially started. These exams are open for people who want to upgrade their marks or to obtain their NSC or SC. These exams are due to end on 23 June 2022.
Yes, you can. You can register for our No Matric courses, even if you did not pass your matric.
If you have completed your matric final exams and would like to improve your marks, you can register with Bellview Institute of Distance Learning. You can apply for our Matric Upgrade: Amended Senior Certificate course.
Yes, you can. If you apply for the Matric Upgrade, you can change your Matric subjects to subjects that you are more interested in.
Yes, you can. Unisa accepts students that have an Amended Senior Certificate as it is the same as a Matric Certificate.
Yes, they do. You can apply to university with your upgraded marks as long as you receive a Bachelor’s Degree Pass.
The different Matric Pass levels include:
No, you cannot. The recommended time for completing Matric courses is between 12 and 24 Months.
Yes, you can. The requirements to study NATED Legal Secretary courses is an Amended Senior Certificate or a National Senior Certificate.
You should study an Amended Senior Certificate because with the qualification you will be able to meet the requirements to study a variety of courses that will benefit your future career.
Yes, it is. With an Amended Senior Certificate you will be able to apply for any one of our courses which will set you up for a successful career.
Yes, you can. The minimum requirement for the Management courses are a Matric certificate or an Amended Senior Certificate.
The Adult Matric course is 12 – 24 months long.
Yes, you can. An Amended Senior Certificate is the same as the Matric Certificate that you would get at the end of your high school career. That means that you can use it to apply to further your education at higher learning institutions.
Yes. An Amended Senior Certificate is the same as the matric certificate that you would get at the end of your high school matric year. That means that you can use it to apply to further your education at higher learning institutions.
Yes, you can combine your National Senior Certificate with your Senior Certificate (Amended). You must apply for this process to be done.
It will cost R141 for a replacement certificate or a combination of results.
To obtain your Amended Senior Certificate, you need to pass at least 5 of the 6 subjects you registered to write exams on.
You need to be 21 years old or older when you are writing the final exam but you can apply when you are 16 years old.
The Amended Senior Certificate (Adult Matric) is an NQF level 4 qualification.
There is no difference between the Amended Senior Certificate course and the National Senior Certificate.
The Amended Senior Certificate is awarded by Umalusi.
The four types of Matric pass levels are:
The Amended Senior Certificate course is awarded by Umalusi.
The Matric courses available include:
The minimum requirements for a Diploma pass is:
The Adult Matric: Amended Senior Certificate course has a total of 130 credits.
No, the ABET level 4 and the NQF level 4 are not equal. The ABET level is a NQF level 1 which is the same as a Grade 9 certificate.
You are going to need the following documents:
No, you will not. You will be able to apply for the Amended Senior Certificate course as soon as you receive your results
You receive an Amended Senior Certificate once you successfully complete the Adult Matric programme.
Yes, you can apply for University with an Amended Senior Certificate.
The highest Matric pass level is a Bachelors Degree pass.
Author: Morné van Emmenis
Editor: Sanel Louwrens
Last Updated:
Complete the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.
For enquiries or registrations:
Call: 0800 39 00 27
Registered Students:
Call: 021 828 8290
International Students:
Call: +27 21 828 8290
Kenneth Chauke
0678545775
Debbie Richmond
0614243023
Leigh Van der Merwe
0614245037
Chandrey Malot
0680864927
Prince Lebeya
0796464609
Daniel Du Preez
0681071251
Willem Manten
0614184103