The short answer is no, and it is worth saying that straight: the CAO administration fee does not come back, and neither does the Change of Mind fee. That is CAO's own rule, and this page sets it out in full so you are not left hoping for a refund route that does not exist for a fee paid correctly.
What follows covers the rule itself, the everyday situations it applies to, the one narrow exception for money overpaid by mistake, what happens if you paid the wrong organisation, and what to do instead of chasing a refund CAO will not give.
The Verified Rule: Administration Fees Are Not Refundable
Section 6.3 of CAO's Terms and Conditions puts it in one sentence: "Administration and Change of Mind (COM) fees are not refundable." That sentence settles the whole question. It covers the application administration fee and the Change of Mind administration fee of R140 verified in CAO's 2027 Entry FAQs.
Take January 2027 entry as the example: R250 for South African citizens and R300 for international applicants where the fee reaches CAO on or before 31 October 2026, rising to R470 and R580 respectively on or after 1 November 2026. July 2027 entry works the same way around 31 May and 1 June 2027. Whichever figure fits your application, once it has been paid correctly to CAO for that application, it stays with CAO.
'Correctly paid' deserves a clear meaning. It means the full amount for your entry term and applicant category, sent through an official CAO route with the right reference — your CAO number for an online payment, or your EasyPay number at an EasyPay outlet. Meet those conditions and the no-refund rule stands in full, even if your plans change later.
Situations Where No Refund Applies
Refund requests usually come from situations that feel unfair. Naming them plainly helps keep expectations honest.
You change your mind about studying
Decide not to study, switch to an institution outside the CAO system, or put your plans off to a later year without a valid carry-forward arrangement, and the fee you already paid stays paid. A later entry term means a fresh application and the full administration fee for that term.
You are unsuccessful, or none of your choices offers you a place
Being unsuccessful does not open a refund either. CAO handles the processing; institutions choose who gets in. Meeting the minimum entry requirements is no guarantee of a place, because programmes often draw far more applications than they have seats for. What the fee bought was the processing of your application — not a place.
You applied for the wrong programme or made an error in your choices
A mistake in your programme choices is fixed with a Change of Mind, not with a refund plus a free fresh application. Each Change of Mind submission carries a fee of R140, and that fee is non-refundable too. The single exception is a programme the institution itself discontinued: CAO's FAQs say replacing that programme is free, while any other changes in the same request still attract the Change of Mind fee. Even then, only the replacement change is free — the original administration fee is still not refunded.
You paid twice, or paid the late fee instead of the on-time fee
Paying twice, or paying the late amount when you had hoped for the on-time amount, does not create a standard refund on its own. A duplicate payment counts as an overpayment, which follows the separate process below — it is not a refund of a fee paid correctly. And a late fee charged because your money reached CAO on or after 1 November (for January entry) or 1 June (for July entry) was simply the fee in force on that date; the gap between the on-time and late amounts is not refundable just because you meant to pay earlier.
You withdraw after receiving an offer
Turning down an offer, or withdrawing after one, also leaves the CAO administration fee where it is. An acceptance deposit paid to an institution is a different payment under that institution's own rules — take that question to the institution itself, not to CAO.
The One Narrow Exception: Overpayment in Error
CAO's 2027 Entry FAQs do describe one situation that differs from a standard refund, and it is easy to over-read it, so read it as written. Section 7.4 says that if you overpaid in error, you may email your request and banking details to CAO's payment queries channel so CAO can process your request, with a 10% handling fee deducted from your payment for administration and bank charges.
Notice what that is — and is not. It is a request route for money overpaid by mistake, not a right to a full refund of a fee paid correctly, and the 10% deduction means even a successful request does not hand back the whole overpaid amount. One caution: the email address for CAO's payment queries appeared truncated in the crawled FAQ text, so this page does not print it. Use the payment queries contact option shown on cao.ac.za for the current cycle, and include your CAO number, the date and amount of each payment, and clear proof of payment for both payments.
In practice, an overpayment in error means you paid more than your application actually required — the same fee twice, say, or an amount above the figure shown for your entry term and category. It does not turn a correctly paid on-time or late fee into a refundable one because you later wish you had applied differently.
What to include in an overpayment request
- Your full name, plus your CAO number.
- The date, amount and payment route for each payment.
- The reference number you used for each payment.
- Clear proof of payment for each one: an on-screen or bank confirmation for an online payment, or a till slip for an EasyPay payment.
- A short, factual note on how the overpayment happened.
- The banking details CAO requests, shared only through CAO’s official payment queries channel. Never send them to a private person or an unofficial account that claims to speak for CAO.
Hold on to copies of everything you send, and never pay a third party who offers to recover the overpayment for you.
If You Paid the Wrong Organisation
Paid a university by mistake instead of CAO? CAO's FAQs say to forward your proof of payment to CAO's payment queries channel so CAO can verify it and assign it to your application. Quote your CAO reference number, and check whether what you paid the university is enough to cover the CAO administration fee. If it falls short, pay the remainder to CAO through an official route.
That is a payment-assignment process, not money back. Its aim is to get a payment you already made counted towards your CAO application, rather than returned to you. If the university itself is holding money that should never have gone to it, getting it back is a conversation with that university, with proof of payment in hand — CAO cannot promise that outcome.
The same care applies to an acceptance-of-offer fee sent to CAO by mistake: it is not a CAO administration fee. CAO's FAQs warn against paying an acceptance fee to CAO, since acceptance fees go to the institution as it directs. If this has happened, contact both CAO and the institution promptly, with proof of payment.
