SRD R370 Grant 2026

SASSA's own You and Your Grant booklet calls it the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress. It is temporary assistance for people with insufficient means. SASSA says it is not a grant and is reached only through online channels. To qualify you must:

• be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee, or hold one of a few special permits, or be an asylum seeker with a valid Section 22 permit
• be registered on the Home Affairs database
• be aged 18 to under 60 and live in South Africa
• not be maintained or cared for in a state-funded institution
• not unreasonably refuse employment or educational opportunities
• pass the means test
• not receive another social grant for yourself

The amount is R370 a month. The Department of Social Development says the grant was extended for 12 months, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, in an amendment to its regulations published for comment in February 2026.

Other grants pay more and last longer. If you might qualify for one, the eligibility calculator checks all eight.

You don't reapply each month, but each month is assessed on its own. The income test is a limit of R624 in the month being assessed. The Department of Social Development set it in August 2022, in line with the food poverty line, and said at the time that SASSA would decline an applicant who receives more than R624 into their bank account in a month. SASSA said on 19 January 2026 that no regulations had been amended and the eligibility criteria had not changed, and the February 2026 amendment extends the grant and keeps R370 without mentioning the limit. A month that fails the test is declined for that month. The next month is assessed again.

That is why Approved in one month can become Declined the next, and why a month can show Pending while SASSA checks your details. The status guide covers every result. The means test page shows how income is counted.

SASSA also asks some applicants to complete a facial biometric check, called eKYC, before it will pay. Its booklet says all new applicants must complete one, that referred applicants must log in and request a link to do it, and that anyone changing their cellphone number must repeat it. Applicants who show as approved but not paid must request a verification link and complete the check too. SASSA warned in November 2025 that without completing verification an application is unsuccessful and no grant is paid. It also said the cellphone number must be registered in your own name, and the bank account must be in yours, or the payment will not verify.

To check where you stand, use the status checker, which takes you to the official portal. Exact payment dates are on the payment dates page.

The grant is funded to 31 March 2027. On Wednesday 21 October 2026 the Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced in his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement that it will be extended for another year, GroundUp reported. The report adds that government plans to link the grant to work, skills and business support through a new data platform called MzansiXchange, which will also check claims against other public records.

On 20 March 2026 the President said the SRD would be redesigned so that recipients get support to find work and sustain a livelihood, and that the Department of Social Development was still consulting the National Treasury. No start date, amount or eligibility rules were announced. The government has confirmed no specific rules, deadlines or migration steps for a replacement. What the Department has said officially is that it wants a Basic Income Support policy for working-age adults and may need to extend the SRD beyond March 2027 while that is finished. GroundUp reported this from a parliamentary briefing.

For now the R370 amount is unchanged through March 2027. Whether it rises is a matter for the courts and the Budget.

The court case

In January 2025 the High Court in Pretoria ruled that parts of the SRD regulations were unconstitutional, including the online-only application, the R624 threshold and the value of the grant. It also ruled that gifts and one-time payments should not count as income. The government appealed. On 25 August 2026 the state's appeal was before the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, with National Treasury arguing that compliance would be unaffordable. The court reserved judgment, GroundUp reported, and as of 21 October 2026 judgment is still pending. Until the appeal is decided, don't assume the R370 amount, the R624 limit or the way one-off deposits are counted has changed.

• How to apply for SRD: what you need, the steps, and what to do if the form fails
• The SRD means test: what counts as income
• SRD payment dates: when each grant is paid
• Reapplying and reconfirming: what to do if a month was missed
• Appealing a declined SRD application: who decides and how long you have
• What each SASSA status means: Pending, Declined, Referred and the rest

Not sure where you stand today? Use the status checker, which takes you to the official portal, then read what your result means before you act on it.