Yes — you can apply before your final matric results are out. If you are in Grade 12 right now, you start with your final Grade 11 results, and you add your Grade 12 June and trial results as soon as you get them. Your final National Senior Certificate (NSC) results then confirm whether you meet the requirements for the programmes you picked.
This is how it normally works for Grade 12 learners — it is not a special favour. CAO’s preparation guide for learners still in Grade 12 asks for your ID number, at least your final Grade 11 results, and your Grade 12 June and trial results once you have them. If you wait until your final results come out, you could miss the main application period, and for many programmes you would lose the chance to be considered early.
Below you will find who can apply without final results, what to send in at each stage, what changes once your final results arrive, and where the limits sit. Everything here is about South Africa’s CAO and its KwaZulu-Natal institutions — no rules borrowed from another country’s system.
The short answer, by applicant type
| Applicant type | Can you apply without final matric results? | What you submit first |
|---|---|---|
| Currently in Grade 12 | Yes — this is the standard way to apply | Final Grade 11 results first, then Grade 12 June and trial results as they arrive |
| Already completed Grade 12, with final results | You apply on your final results | Final NSC results, or your highest school-leaving qualification |
| Completed Grade 12, but awaiting a rewrite or supplementary result | Apply on what you already have, and follow CAO and institution guidance when new results come out | Your highest qualification so far, plus new results once they are released |
| International or foreign qualification applicant | It depends on your qualification — do not assume the Grade 11 route applies | Your qualification documents, plus any USAf or SAQA evaluation the institution asks for |
Still in Grade 12? The rest of this page speaks to you. Already finished school? Jump straight to the section on applying with final matric results.
Can I apply to CAO with Grade 11 results?
Yes. In CAO’s 2027 FAQs, the minimum documents include a final Grade 11 report if you are in Grade 12, or the highest school-leaving qualification you have achieved if you finished school already. The same list adds your June Grade 12 report as soon as you get it, and your September or trial Grade 12 report as soon as you get that too.
That order is the whole point. You are not applying on a guess: institutions look at your final Grade 11 results first, then take a fresh look as your June and trial results come in. In the end, your final NSC results decide whether a conditional offer can turn into a firm place — or whether you meet the programme requirements at all.
Send in your official final Grade 11 report — not a term mark, an estimated mark, or a report that is not final for Grade 11. When you upload, pick the right document type for each report. CAO warns that a file uploaded under the wrong type can show up as not received or outstanding, and can even lead to your application being rejected. A Grade 11 report is no exception to that warning.
When you type your results in online, CAO’s FAQs say entering your Life Orientation mark is compulsory. Put in the promotional or final mark shown on your report — and if your school has not given you a promotional or final mark, use your exam mark instead. Copy every mark exactly as it appears on the report, because institutions base their selection decisions on what you enter.
What to submit, step by step, while you are still in Grade 12
Step 1: Prepare your documents before you apply
Start by gathering a certified copy of your identity document if you are a South African citizen, or your passport if you are applying from outside the country, together with your final Grade 11 report. Look over the report before you upload it: it must be complete, easy to read, and must clearly show your name, your school and your subjects.
Step 2: Apply online and choose up to six programmes
Apply on cao.ac.za and work through the online application steps, choosing your programmes with care. You can list a maximum of six programmes — that six-choice structure is the same for the main application as it is for a Change of Mind. Put your choices in the order you truly prefer them, because that ranking shapes how offers are considered.
Do not pick programmes only because they look easy to get into. For every choice, check the entry requirements in the CAO handbook and programme list — subjects, points, the lot — and be honest with yourself about whether your Grade 11 results and your expected Grade 12 results line up with them. Meeting a published minimum does not guarantee a place: spaces are limited, and many programmes get far more applications than they have room for.
Step 3: Pay the administration fee and upload documents
Nothing goes to institutions until your application is paid for and backed by documents. Pay the administration fee for your entry cycle — the amount shown on cao.ac.za for that cycle — and upload your proof of payment and supporting documents through Upload My Documents. Give it time: a payment normally only shows on CAO’s system on the next business day.
Step 4: Send June and trial results as soon as you receive them
The moment your Grade 12 June report arrives, upload it. Do the same with your September or trial report. CAO’s FAQs count both as further documents you must send as soon as you have them, so do not hold off until your final results to update your record. An institution may be holding back its decision until it sees those newer results — and that is exactly what the official status Awaiting Results means: the institution is still waiting for further results, like June or trial results, before it decides.
Step 5: Check your acknowledgement letter and your status
Once CAO has your valid application, it will email you an acknowledgement letter within two weeks. Read every detail in that letter, and fix any errors online within one week of it being sent. To follow your progress, use Check My Application with just one identifier — your CAO number, South African ID number or passport number — and no password in that flow. If you see Waiting for a Decision, it only means the institution has not looked at your application yet. It is not a rejection, and it does not mean your Grade 11 application was invalid.
What happens when your final matric results arrive?
For most Grade 12 applicants, your final NSC results settle the question. Institutions use them to check whether you meet the programme requirements — subject levels, points and all — and whether a conditional offer can still stand.
The two outcomes that matter most here are described in CAO’s official status terms:
- Conditional Offer: the institution will take you, as long as you meet the requirements. Where places are tight, those requirements can sit above the published minimum. The offer can be taken away if you do not say you want the place, or if your final results come in weaker than your earlier results.
- Firm Offer: the institution offers you a place. This too can be withdrawn if you do not say you want the place, or if your final results are weaker than your earlier results.
Put simply, strong Grade 11 results can get you considered and, often, a conditional offer — but they do not secure a place no matter what your final results say. If your final results drop below what a programme requires, that programme may not be able to offer you a place, even though you were considered on your Grade 11 results. If your final results improve, your position gets stronger, but that still does not automatically move you into a programme whose places are already full.
If an offer comes your way, tell the institution — not CAO — whether you accept it, and reply before whatever deadline the institution sets. Never pay an acceptance fee to CAO; the institution tells you how and when acceptance is confirmed and paid.
Applying with final matric results: what changes?
If you finished Grade 12 already, Grade 11 results are not a stand-in. You apply on your final NSC results, or your highest school-leaving qualification, as CAO’s FAQs require. Upload that qualification, enter your results accurately, and choose programmes you qualify for on your final results — not on results you hope to get one day.
If you finished Grade 12 in an earlier year and have studied further since then, CAO’s minimum documents also cover accredited qualifications you earned after school, where they apply. An institution may ask for an academic record from current or past tertiary study — you will see that request as the official status Please Supply Academic Record. Send what is asked for quickly, because without it the institution cannot finish making its decision.
If you are rewriting subjects, upgrading marks or waiting on a supplementary result, do not take it for granted that your old results will just be swapped out on their own. Apply on your highest qualification to date, upload the new results the moment they are available, and speak to the institution directly if you need to know how a pending rewrite counts for a particular programme. Rules differ from one programme to the next, and CAO is not the one making those selection decisions.
