How do I apply for an ID at Home Affairs if my parent's ID is blocked?

The long answer

This is a bit of a long story, but you need to know what happened so you can be sure to get your ID:

In January 2024, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), LegalWise, and the Children's Institute took the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to court for placing markers on ID numbers, which meant that those IDs were automatically blocked. The DHA did not give notice to the people affected, nor did they give reasons for this, nor did they give people an opportunity to make representations about this blocking of their IDs. This affected about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens at the time.

The Pretoria High Court ruled on 16 January 2024 that blocking IDs without following a fair administrative process was unconstitutional, invalid, and inconsistent with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA).

The DHA acknowledged that the IDs were blocked without a fair and just administrative process and admitted that it was unconstitutional. 

The DHA was interdicted from placing markers on ID numbers that result in automatic blocking, without adhering to a fair, lawful, and procedurally fair process. So before blocking an ID, the DHA must first give people notice in writing that a problem has been found with their ID, allow people reasonable time and opportunity to present their side of the story to the DHA, conduct a proper investigation and then give written reasons to the person for why their ID will be blocked, and, if necessary, obtain a court order. 

The January 2024 court order meant that the DHA had to undertake a fair process to differentiate between IDs that had been wrongfully blocked and IDs that represented genuine security threats.

The DHA was ordered to unblock IDs and resolve the cases of those that had been brought to court within 90 days. The Judge awarded very high costs against the DHA because of how it had ignored people’s constitutional human rights. 

On 16 August 2024, the DHA issued a media statement asking people whose IDs were blocked to provide written reasons within 30 days for why their IDs should not be cancelled. 

On 2 December 2025, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said in Parliament that, of the 702,267 blocked IDs at the time of the January 2024 court case, and now there were 384,189 blocked IDs. Schreiber said that some cases were still blocked because they were waiting for the people affected to come to the Home Affairs offices to submit documents and make representations. 

“The procedure is that a client has to visit a front office with any of the documentation in their possession. The department will run the assessment or verification against documentation in its possession and share the outcome,” he said. 

The court ordered the immediate removal of blocks on minor children’s IDs, even if their parents' status is under investigation. In future, a child’s ID may only be blocked after the DHA has obtained a court order.

So where are we today in January 2026?

The DHA is embarking on a fairer rules-based process and has reduced the number of blocked IDs significantly, but it is still struggling to update its systems and comply with the court order. 

But that court order still applies today, which means that the DHA cannot legally refuse to give a son an ID only because his mother’s ID is blocked. While your mother’s ID may still be in the process of being unblocked or investigated, you have a legal right to an ID of your own.  

So, take your documentation (your birth certificate and the certified copies of your father and mother’s IDs) to the Home Affairs office again.

If necessary, tell them about the High Court ruling of 16 January 2024 (P.P.M and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others), which orders the DHA to allow registration whether your parents’ IDs are blocked or not.

If you are refused again, ask to speak to the branch manager or supervisor. 

If you are still refused, ask for assistance from the organisations that took the DHA to court - Lawyers for Human Rights, or LegalWise South Africa.

These are their contact details: 

• Lawyers for Human Rights

Email: [email protected]

Tel: Musina 015 534 2203

Durban: 031 301 0531

Pretoria: 012 320 2943

Johannesburg: 011 339 1960

Cape Town: 021 424 8561

• LegalWise

Email: [email protected]

24 Hour Legal Line: 086 142 7777

WhatsApp: 071 640 0337

Head Office Tel: 011 670 4500

Wishing you the best,
Athalie