Getting a CAO offer feels like the hard part is over. It is not quite. The place only becomes yours when you accept it the right way, with the right institution, before its deadline runs out. The steps below walk you through that, starting with the rule that trips up the most applicants: your acceptance goes to the institution, not to CAO.

Do not look for one CAO-wide acceptance deadline that covers every offer, because there is not one. Institutions choose their own students and set their own acceptance steps and dates. So the deadline that matters is the one in your institution's letter or message for that particular programme. If the letter shows no deadline at all, do not take that as unlimited time: reply quickly and ask the institution to confirm the deadline in writing.

Before you start: what you need

Pull these together before you reply, so you are not hunting for them under pressure later:

  • The institution's offer letter or message, in full — not just the CAO status line.
  • Your CAO number, and the programme name and campus exactly as the offer shows them.
  • The acceptance method the institution asks for, plus any form, portal link, email address or office it names.
  • The deadline in that letter or message, if one is given.
  • The acceptance-fee details, if the institution asks for a fee: amount, payment method, reference to use, and payment deadline.
  • Proof of identity or any documents the institution asks for alongside acceptance, if any.

Match the offer against the application you originally made. If the programme, campus or starting term does not line up with the choice you picked, raise it with the institution before you accept. Sorting out a wrong acceptance afterwards is far harder than asking one quick question first.

Step 1: Confirm the offer on CAO

  1. Head to cao.ac.za and choose Check My Application.
  2. Type in just one identifier — your CAO number, your South African ID number, or your passport number. You do not need a password for this checker.
  3. Look for the programme choice marked Conditional Offer or Firm Offer.
  4. Note the exact status and programme, then put the checker to one side. Checking your status is not acceptance, and it does not pause any deadline.

A status line on its own never holds the acceptance procedure. That procedure sits in the institution's letter or message, which is why the next step counts more than the status itself.

Step 2: Read the institution's letter or message in full

Open the letter or message the institution sent you — by email, SMS link, institutional portal, or post — and read all of it, small print included. Watch for:

  • Check if the offer is conditional or firm, and read any conditions that still apply.
  • Note the exact way to accept: a reply form, the institution's online portal, an email reply, or another process named in the letter.
  • The acceptance deadline, including the time and time zone if given, and whether the deadline covers replying, paying, or both.
  • Any Acceptance of Offer fee: amount, how to pay, what reference to use, and whether payment forms part of acceptance or stands as a separate step.
  • Any documents to send with your acceptance, such as final results, an identity document, or a medical or residence form.
  • Find out what comes next after you accept, including when and how your registration details will reach you.

If any of those details are missing or unclear, ask the institution for them in writing before the deadline passes. Never guess a method, an amount, or a date.

Step 3: Decide — accept or decline

If you want the place, accept it. If you do not want it, decline it directly with the institution, as the CAO 2027 Entry FAQs advise. A clear decline beats silence: silence just leaves the place unclaimed until the institution gives it to someone else, and it helps another applicant far more slowly than a direct decline does.

If you hold more than one offer, work in deadline order. Write each offer down with its institution, programme, deadline and fee, and start with the earliest deadline. Accept the offer you plan to take, and decline the others directly. Never accept two places and hope the system picks one for you.

Step 4: Reply to the institution, not to CAO

This is the rule to hold on to. The CAO 2027 Entry FAQs, section 8.4, state: “You must inform the institution and NOT the CAO about whether you wish to accept the offer. They should send you a letter or message detailing the procedures you must follow.”

Follow the institution's stated method to the letter:

  1. Complete the institution's acceptance form or portal step, using your CAO number and programme details exactly as the offer shows them.
  2. If the institution asks for an email reply, send it to the address in the letter, quote your CAO number and programme, and say plainly that you accept the offer.
  3. If the institution needs an in-person step, go as directed, and take the documents and proof of payment it asks for.
  4. Do not send your acceptance to CAO's general contact channels and assume it has been recorded. CAO passes decisions between applicants and institutions, but acceptance itself belongs to the institution.
  5. If the institution's method runs through its own student portal, create or use that institutional account as directed. That portal stands apart from both the CAO status checker and the CAO applicant login, so keep its login details separate and private.
CAO Offer Acceptance Deadline

Step 5: Pay any Acceptance of Offer fee correctly

Most institutions ask for a non-refundable Acceptance of Offer fee to hold your place. The CAO FAQs say this fee usually counts towards your registration and tuition fees, and they warn in capital letters: do not pay this money to CAO.

To pay it the right way:

  1. Double-check the amount, the institution's bank or payment details, and the reference to use. That reference is usually your CAO number, your student number, or another reference named in the letter.
  2. Pay by the method and date the institution sets. A payment that arrives late, goes to the wrong account, or carries the wrong reference may not hold your place.
  3. Keep the proof of payment: a bank confirmation, a receipt, or a reference number. Attach or upload it exactly as the institution tells you to.
  4. If you cannot pay by the deadline, contact the institution before the deadline, not after it, and ask what options exist. Do not assume you will get an extension, and do not pay a third party who claims to collect fees for the institution.
  5. Keep funding separate in your mind. CAO does not decide NSFAS funding, and paying an acceptance fee is not the same as securing funding. If you need funding, apply to NSFAS directly and check its own requirements.

No single acceptance-fee amount appears in this guide, because the FAQs do not publish one. Whatever amount you are asked to pay must come from the institution's own letter.

Step 6: Confirm that your acceptance was received

Sending a reply is not the same as having it recorded. Make sure it was received:

  1. Watch for a confirmation message, email, or portal update from the institution.
  2. If no confirmation arrives within the time the institution gave — or within a few working days if it gave none — contact the institution and ask it to confirm, quoting your CAO number, programme and acceptance reference.
  3. File the confirmation with your offer letter and proof of payment. You may need it at registration, or if anyone later asks whether you accepted in time.
  4. Keep checking your CAO status too. The status may change once the institution processes your acceptance, but the institution's confirmation is the record that counts, not the status line on its own.

Step 7: Prepare for registration

Once you have accepted a place and paid any deposit requested, the institution should send you details of registration. Registration is a separate step, covered in the registration guide linked below. Until then, keep your offer letter, acceptance confirmation, proof of payment, identity document and academic records together, and watch for registration messages from the institution. Do not leave it until registration week to find a document is missing.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

The CAO FAQs are blunt here: if an institution gives you a deadline to accept a place, reply inside that time, or the place will be offered to someone else. If you have already missed a deadline:

  1. Contact the institution right away, explain what happened briefly and honestly, and ask whether the place is still open.
  2. Do not count on it being restored. Places get reallocated, and an institution is not obliged to hold a place past its deadline.
  3. Go through your other programme choices right away too. One of them might still hold an offer, or might still be under consideration.
  4. If no offer is left, consider a Change of Mind to an open programme, or a future application cycle, rather than waiting for the missed offer to come back.

Acceptance checklist

  • [ ] Offer confirmed on the CAO status checker, for the right programme.
  • [ ] Institution's letter or message read from start to finish.
  • [ ] Acceptance method, deadline and fee confirmed from that same letter.
  • [ ] Reply sent to the institution — not to CAO — using the method it specified.
  • [ ] Acceptance fee, if there is one, paid to the institution using the correct reference.
  • [ ] Proof of acceptance and proof of payment saved.
  • [ ] Confirmation of receipt received from the institution.
  • [ ] Other offers turned down directly, where that applies.
  • [ ] Keeping an eye out for registration details, with documents ready to go.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to accept on the CAO status checker, or by messaging CAO, rather than following the institution's own procedure.
  • Paying an acceptance fee to CAO.
  • Paying with the wrong reference, which leaves the institution unable to match your payment to your offer.
  • Missing a deadline because it sat in an email you never opened, or because you assumed checking your status was enough.
  • Accepting two offers without turning either one down, which causes confusion at registration.
  • Handing your CAO password, or an institutional portal password, to someone who offers to “accept for you”.