Booking a Smart ID: BABS, bank branches and walk-ins

The notice defines BABS as a system that lets clients make an electronic booking for selected services at the Department of Home Affairs [source]. The 2023/24 annual report says BABS is accessed through the Home Affairs website and gives citizens the option to book a date and time for a Home Affairs visit, with emphasis on Smart ID card and passport applications, and that the system is linked to the National Population Register for additional security [source].

On My Home Affairs Online, booking a branch appointment requires you to be logged in [source]. Creating a profile asks for an email address, and the registration page says that email address cannot be updated, so it must be correct before you submit [source]. Forgotten-password reset is offered from the login page by email [source]. The click-by-click screens after login (which offices and times the form offers on a given day): not stated by source.

• The notice says there are three main steps. The first is entering your South African ID number. After that, the notice asks for full name and surname, cellphone number, and email address (optional) [source].
• The third step: not stated by source. The published text ends after those personal details.
• To start, the notice says visit www.dha.gov.za and click on BABS [source]. That is the older instruction. The current services.dha.gov.za page says BABS has moved to MyHomeAffairsOnline [source].
• Booked clients are serviced at dedicated counters and are prioritised over people without a booking [source].
• The system sends an SMS or email reminder 3 days before the appointment [source].
• An appointment can be cancelled after you receive booking confirmation. The notice says the system lets clients cancel or reschedule, and that slots are shown so a client can select a new date [source]. My Home Affairs Online says you may cancel an appointment if you are logged in [source].
• Appointments are not transferable. You cannot give your slot to a friend or relative [source].
• ID numbers are used to verify clients when they book, which DHA says is to stop agents blocking slots and selling them. DHA asks clients to report agents trying to sell places in the queue [source].
• If the office is offline on the day, the notice says you can select another date and time. Booked clients who were not served are prioritised when the system was down [source].
• The notice says the booking system is currently only available in English. Whether the My Home Affairs Online screens are still English only: not stated by source.

The BABS notice says the system only allows clients with valid RSA ID numbers to make bookings, and that services on the booking system are for smart ID cards and passports [source]. It says a death certificate or a full birth certificate does not need a booking, because those services are not on the booking system [source].

The My Home Affairs Online FAQ, on the portal that services.dha.gov.za now points to, says a person who is not a South African citizen may book a branch appointment and must provide a passport number [source, source]. The notice and the FAQ do not say the same thing about who can book. Neither page explains the difference. Use the live portal for the rule it enforces on the day you book.

The notice says that in the near future, selected Home Affairs offices will process smart ID and passport applications only for clients who have booked. Whether that appointment-only rule is already in force: not stated by source. The date of the notice: not stated by source [source].

• BABS notice: people without bookings are served as walk-ins. A booking is advisable so that you are guaranteed the service in your time slot, provided the system is up [source].
• People without internet access may still walk in. They can also be helped to book if they agree to come on a different day [source].
• 2023/24 annual report: "Walk-ins are not replaced by BABS." The report says all offices continue to accommodate walk-ins so that no citizen is turned away. It also says BABS had been rolled out to 198 modernised offices, with over 1.5 million booking appointments honoured during 2023/24. The office count on 21 October 2026: not stated by source [source].
• For 8 to 19 December 2025 and 5 to 16 January 2026, DHA said clients should book application or collection appointments on BABS before visiting, and that those without a booking may still visit offices as walk-ins. On those days, offices equipped for Smart ID cards and passports closed at 18:00 instead of 16:00. Whether those hours, or that collection-booking advice, apply on other dates: not stated by source [source].
• The eHomeAffairs how-to says you do not need a booking to give biometrics at a Home Affairs office [source]. The BABS notice says a person without a booking is still served, and that a booked client is prioritised [source].

The BABS notice publishes a list of offices by province. When that list was last updated: not stated by source. This page does not copy it out as a current directory. Open the notice for the names it prints [source].

For help, the notice gives the Home Affairs Contact Centre, 0800 60 11 90 [source].

DHA says Capitec allows customer walk-ins without an appointment at participating branches, and that no existing documents are needed [source]. Capitec's own article (dated 11/03/2026 on the page) describes an in-person replacement visit: photo, fingerprints and signature captured in branch. An appointment rule on Capitec's article: not stated by source [source].

Capitec says you pay from a Capitec account. If you do not have one, the branch can help you open one, and it must be active with a positive balance before the Smart ID application continues. Bring the green ID book only if you are opening an account during the visit. Total cost on that page: R150 (R140 DHA fee plus R10 service fee). First-time IDs are not available in branch [source].

Capitec does not describe a BABS booking or an eHomeAffairs booking for this visit. Branch list: Capitec.

In branch. Standard Bank says it takes walk-in applications. Services it names: green ID to Smart ID, Smart ID re-issue (lost, stolen or damaged), and Smart ID replacement after a surname change that Home Affairs has already done. Fingerprints and photo are taken in branch. You pay at the branch. You collect from that branch [source].

Online. Standard Bank's steps [source]:

1. You need a Standard Bank Online Banking profile, and your country of birth must be South Africa.
2. Visit the Home Affairs website, complete the application and submit it.
3. Pay Home Affairs in Online Banking: Transact, then My Bills under Pay, then Billing beneficiaries, then Dept of Home Affairs.
4. Once payment has been received, the Home Affairs system lets you make an appointment at a specialised branch.
5. Print and keep the booking confirmation letter and reference number.
6. Visit that branch on the appointment date with your ID, for fingerprints and a photo.
7. Home Affairs sends an SMS when the Smart ID or passport is ready. Collect it at the branch you selected.

Online services Standard Bank names: first-time ID, green ID to Smart ID, Smart ID re-issue, Smart ID replacement after a surname change already done at Home Affairs, first-time passport and passport renewal [source].

Standard Bank does not call this appointment BABS. Whether the online appointment step is BABS or eHomeAffairs: not stated by source. Standard Bank says it does not control client bookings made online, DHA turnaround, collection dates or cancellation notifications, and it gives the DHA number 0800 601 190 for complaints about the service [source]. Branch lists: Standard Bank.

Replace a lost, stolen or damaged Smart ID. FNB says no appointment is needed. Visit a selected branch, have fingerprints and a photo taken, and approve payment in the FNB App or online banking. FNB says payments cannot be made in branch by cash, debit card or credit card. On the same page FNB also says you do not need to bring documentation for a Smart ID in branch, and, in the replace steps, to visit with your original identity document. Both sentences are on FNB's page [source]. Cost stated there: Smart ID R140, and FNB charges no additional fee. Senior citizens (60 and older) do not pay for their first Smart ID, as FNB states it [source].

Apply or renew a Smart ID or passport. FNB's steps, which it names as eHomeAffairs [source]:

1. On dha.gov.za, select Smart ID Card and Apply Online Now. Complete registration, then approve payment in the FNB App or online banking: Pay, then Government Bills + Smart IDs.
2. Log in to eHomeAffairs, select an FNB branch, then a date and time.
3. Visit one of the seven FNB branches with DHA representation. Bring original identity documents (green ID book, passport or birth certificate).
4. An SMS arrives when the document is ready. Bring original identity documents when you collect it.

A walk-in for this eHomeAffairs route: not stated by source. For a minor, FNB says both parents accompany the child for a passport, and one parent for a Smart ID [source]. FNB's eHomeAffairs help line, as printed there, is the DHA call centre 0800 60 11 90 [source]. Branches: FNB.

Absa says you can book online, book in the Absa Banking App, or walk into a selected branch. You must have an Absa Cheque or Savings account. You pay at the branch, not online. If you booked, bring the SMS or email confirmation [source].

Absa's online booking steps [source]:

1. Go to the secure booking portal (the link is on Absa's Smart ID page).
2. Type in your ID number.
3. Choose SMS, email, or both, for the booking confirmation.
4. Pick a branch and an appointment time.
5. Tap Submit.

In the Absa Banking App: log in, open Menu, tap Government Services, and follow the prompts [source]. Whether Absa's portal is BABS: not stated by source. DHA's fee, as Absa states it, is R140, paid at the appointment. Any extra Absa fee: not stated by source. Branches: Absa.

Nedbank describes the eHomeAffairs route, not a walk-in and not BABS. Its steps [source]:

1. On eHomeAffairs, create a new application or continue a saved one.
2. Complete the online form.
3. Upload the documents the form asks for.
4. Pay online with Nedbank. Nedbank says you need your profile number (Money app: top of the screen under More; Online Banking: your initials at the top right) and that the bank user ID for Nedbank is 1. Then release the payment under Pay, Government payments. Amount and reference are prepopulated.
5. Select a date and a participating Nedbank branch. On that date you visit in person for fingerprints and a photo. Bring the booking confirmation and your ID book or card. Nedbank says requirements differ for children under 18 and refers you to DHA. Those child requirements: not stated by source.
6. When the card is ready, an SMS is sent. Collect it at the branch you selected.

A walk-in without that booking: not stated by source. Nedbank says it is subletting space to DHA officials, who issue IDs and passports, and that Nedbank is not otherwise involved [source]. Branches: Nedbank.

DHA's bank-branch page for every province uses the same sentence: "NO Walk-in's are allowed at BANKS. You can ONLY visit a bank branch once you have made an online application and booked your visit." The pages are Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Western Cape.

Those pages are the older lists (they are linked from DHA's bank branches page, which itself says to apply online and book). They are not the Digital Partnership locator. The Digital Partnership page is a separate page, and it is the one that says Capitec and Standard Bank allow walk-ins without an appointment [source, source].

The Gauteng list includes Discovery Bank Sandton as well as Absa and FNB offices. Discovery's own booking steps: not stated by source [source].