Think of a CAO university application as one application that does several jobs at once. Through the Central Applications Office (CAO), you can apply for up to six programmes at participating institutions in KwaZulu-Natal. This page walks you through who belongs on the CAO route, which institutions it covers, what to have ready before you start, how to submit step by step, and what happens once you have sent it off. And to answer the question many students ask first: yes, CAO is a KwaZulu-Natal system, so it does not take the place of applying directly to a university in another province.
What CAO Is and What It Does
The Central Applications Office is a non-profit organisation. It takes in and processes applications for first-time undergraduate admission to participating institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, then forwards each application to the institutions for selection. The admission decision itself is not CAO’s to make. Every university or college measures your application against its own programme requirements and selection criteria, and that institution decides whether you get a place.
Why does that distinction matter to you? Because a complete application, a paid administration fee and strong school results still do not guarantee admission. Meeting a published minimum requirement only puts you in line to be considered; competitive programmes often get far more qualifying applications than they have places for. Go in with realistic expectations, and spend your six programme choices wisely instead of using them all on programmes with very similar, very high selection thresholds.
For 2027 entry, CAO’s own homepage sets out the shape of the system: a single administration fee covers a combination of up to six programmes at member and partner institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, and each programme runs to its own closing date. The homepage also draws the line between an on-time application and a late one — a distinction covered in more detail further down this page.
Is CAO Only for KwaZulu-Natal Universities?
Yes — CAO is for KwaZulu-Natal. Its four public university members are the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) and the University of Zululand (UNIZULU). If your sights are set on a university in Gauteng, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape or any other province, you apply to that university directly through its own system, because CAO does not handle applications for institutions outside KwaZulu-Natal.
Inside KwaZulu-Natal, the net is wider than those four universities. CAO also processes applications for participating TVET colleges and private colleges in the province. That means one CAO application can hold a mix of university, TVET and private college programmes, provided each programme is offered through CAO for that entry year. Before you assume a programme is available, confirm it on cao.ac.za for your chosen institution.
And a warning against a common mix-up: the South African CAO is not Ireland’s Central Applications Office. They are different systems with their own rules.
Who Should Apply Through CAO?
CAO is your route if you are a first-time undergraduate applicant aiming for UKZN, DUT, MUT or UNIZULU, or for a participating TVET or private college in KwaZulu-Natal. That covers Grade 12 learners applying for the year after matric, as well as people who have already finished matric and have not previously studied at the institution they are applying to.
Not everyone goes through CAO. Postgraduate applicants, students already registered at an institution who want to transfer internally, and applicants to universities outside KwaZulu-Natal generally apply straight to the institution concerned. If you are not sure which route is yours, open the institution’s own admissions page first — it will say plainly whether undergraduate applications go through CAO or directly to the institution. Getting this wrong is one of the most common and most avoidable mistakes, so settle it before you pay any fee.
International applicants may also apply through CAO for eligible programmes at participating institutions, though they may need extra documents, such as an evaluation of a foreign qualification. Requirements depend on the institution and the qualification, so read the CAO Handbook entry for each programme you are considering, plus the institution’s international admissions guidance, before you submit.
What You Need Before You Start
Getting ready properly saves far more time than rushing through the form. Before you open the CAO application form, pull these together:
- Your South African identity number — or your passport number if you are an international applicant. Your whole application hangs on this identifier, so type it exactly as it appears on your official document.
- An email address and cellphone number that work and that you actually check. CAO and the institutions will reach you through these details, including with your acknowledgement letter and any offer.
- Your latest school results: your final Grade 11 report if you are still in Grade 12, or your National Senior Certificate or equivalent if you have already finished school.
- The programme codes for the programmes you want, copied from the current CAO Handbook. You apply by code, so one wrong code can send your application to the wrong programme.
- Certified copies of the documents each programme asks for, ready to upload. CAO’s general guidance is that supporting documents go in online — do not count on posted or emailed documents being accepted.
CAO’s homepage also notes that applicants must print and sign a Power of Attorney form and upload it onto their CAO application profile. Read the current instructions on cao.ac.za with care, so you complete this step the way your entry year requires, rather than following advice from a previous cycle.
How to Submit a CAO University Application
Work through these steps in order. The exact labels on the CAO website may shift slightly between cycles, but this is the sequence the system is designed around.
- Read the current CAO Handbook. Download the handbook for your entry year from cao.ac.za. Find every programme you are interested in, note its code, its closing date and its minimum requirements, and check whether it accepts late applications. A programme that states no late applications will be considered will not consider an application that arrives after its closing date.
- Choose up to six programmes, in order of preference. Put the programme you want most at the top and your safest realistic option further down. Mix ambitious and achievable choices, and do not spend choices on programmes you would not actually accept if they offered you a place.
- Create your CAO application profile. Enter your personal details exactly as they appear on your identity document or passport, and guard your CAO number once it is issued. You will need it to check your application status and to use the separate applicant login.
- Enter your programme choices by code. Check every code against the handbook before you move on. A single digit swapped around can change the programme entirely.
- Upload your supporting documents. Upload clear, certified copies in the format CAO specifies, and look over each upload to make sure it is legible. A document nobody can read can slow your processing down.
- Upload your signed Power of Attorney form. Do this step as instructed on cao.ac.za for your entry year.
- Pay the fee, then submit. A single administration fee covers all six programme choices on one application. Check the current fee and payment methods on cao.ac.za before paying, since fees change from one cycle to the next. Keep your proof of payment safe.
- Wait for your acknowledgement letter. CAO will acknowledge receipt of your application. Keep that letter together with your CAO number; you will need the number to check your status.
Once you have submitted, you can follow your application through the “Check My Application” tool on cao.ac.za. That tool asks for one identifier only: your CAO number, your South African ID number or your passport number. It does not ask for a password. The separate applicant login, which uses your CAO number and password, is a different flow used for things like uploading documents. Keep the two apart, and never share your password with anyone.
Closing Dates, On-Time Status and Late Applications
There is no one CAO closing date covering every programme. Each programme closes on its own date, and those dates differ. CAO’s own homepage makes the point for 2027 entry with two DUT programmes: B Health Science in Diagnostic Radiography closed on 31 August, while B Health Sciences in Medical Laboratory Science closed on 30 September. Both were 2027 entry programmes, yet their closing dates sat a month apart. Let that example put an end to relying on a friend’s deadline or a single date doing the rounds on social media.
CAO spells out what each timing means for your status. An application and the fully paid administration fee that arrive on or before a programme’s advertised closing date receive the status “Waiting for a Decision”, which means the application is on time and will receive priority consideration. An application that arrives after the closing date, for a programme that still accepts late applications, receives a “Late Application” status and is considered only after all on-time applications have been considered.
One more date applies across the whole system: 1 November, when late payments take effect. From 1 November, applications and administration fees received attract a “Late Payment” status and the late fee applicable at the time. Notice the difference: a programme can already be late in status terms before 1 November if its own closing date has passed, even though the higher late fee only takes effect from 1 November. And programmes advertised with the note “No Late Applications will be considered” receive a “Programme Close” status after their closing date, and no applications or fees received after that date will be considered by that institution. Medicine and some health sciences and education programmes fall into this category, according to CAO.
CAO TVET Colleges: A Practical Alternative in the Same Application
A CAO application is not only for universities. Participating TVET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal also take applications through CAO, and a TVET programme can sit right alongside university programmes in your six choices. For many applicants this is a smart move: a university degree is not the only road into a career, and a TVET diploma or certificate in a field you genuinely want can be a stronger plan than a fourth or fifth university choice you would not enjoy.
TVET programmes through CAO follow the same discipline as university programmes. Check the programme code, closing date and entry requirements in the CAO Handbook, confirm that the college and programme are offered through CAO for your entry year, and remember that the college, not CAO, makes the selection decision. If you are looking at a TVET college outside KwaZulu-Natal, apply directly to that college, because CAO does not process those applications.
