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Child Support Grant top-up: prepare the orphan-status records
Relatives caring for an orphan need specific evidence for SASSA to assess the additional payment.
Under Regulation 8, a relative caring for an orphan may qualify for a top-up attached to an existing or new Child Support Grant.
Establish the parents’ status
The regulation calls for certified copies of both parents’ death certificates. Where one cannot be obtained, it allows a certified death certificate for one parent and an applicant’s affidavit in SASSA’s prescribed format attesting to the other parent’s unknown status.
Ask SASSA for the prescribed affidavit format and clarify the missing record. Do not guess a parent’s status.
Prepare the other application records
The 2026 SASSA booklet lists certified IDs for the applicant and spouse if married, the child’s certified birth certificate and proof of marital status. Ask about prescribed alternative identification if IDs are unavailable.
It also lists payslips no older than three months, three months of statements for all active accounts held by the applicant and spouse, and payment-account proof. Ask which records apply.
The ordinary grant’s means-test outcome still applies. SASSA may request further information.
Keep your application and SASSA’s written requests. If SASSA refuses the application, retain its reasons and consult TPR’s guide to ordinary-grant decisions and appeals.
Sources, evidence and corrections
- Social Assistance Regulations 2022, regulation 8 (gov.za) · 31 May 2022 regulations, regulation 8
- SASSA 2026 booklet: Child Support Grant top-up documents (dsd.gov.za) · 2026 SASSA booklet
Sources reviewed by the reporting and editorial desks on 10 November 2026. Consult the linked records for their full scope and later amendments.