Receiving your final Matric results is one of the most exciting educational milestones students face. Whether you’re heading directly into the working world or applying for tertiary studies, they will be an important part of taking your first steps into your adult life. While you will need to receive your official Senior Certificate from the school or institution where you took your exams, you don’t have to wait for the certificate to find out how you did. There are plenty of ways to check your matric results
Can I Check Matric Results with an ID Number?
To check your Matric results, no matter the channel you use, you will need your ID number. However, most institutions and online sources will not allow you to just check your marks with your ID number. You will also need your examination number, which you received when you took your exams. You should be able to confirm this with your school or by looking at your Matric paperwork if you cannot remember it offhand.
Because the Department of Education wants to preserve your privacy, no list of Matric results will give identifying information like your ID number. Instead, the examination number is used. For more personalized services- like the mobile, SMS, and online options we discuss below- they will use the tandem pairing of your examination and ID numbers to ensure that only you can access your Matric results.
When Will The Matric Results Be Available?
Typically, Matric results are available from late January, usually around the 19th of the month. However, for the 2026 Matric exam session, the results will be announced a lot later than usual. They have currently been set for the 22nd of February 2026.
This unusually late date may cause some timing issues, especially for those hoping to register for tertiary education opportunities. Luckily, there’s plenty of time to plan ahead. Make sure to pre-register with the institution of your choice. Most tertiary education facilities will provisionally pre-register you based on your academic results so far, subject to you achieving similar results in your matric examination session. Some funding sources will also accept your provisionally on a similar basis. This will allow you to get most of your processing done before the post-Matric rush, and you will stand a better chance of being first in the queue for your institution and financing of choice. It will also give you the maximum possible time to react to upsets in your final matric result, whether that’s a better or worse performance than you anticipated.
Also, remember that the free June Matric rewrite session usually closes for registration within one to two weeks of Matric results being released. While receiving poorer Matric marks than you expected can be an unpleasant surprise, it is better to proactively manage the situation by applying for your spot as early as possible.
How to Check Matric Results Online With ID Number?
If you have your ID number and examination number on hand, you can check your Matric results online. Head to the Matric portal on the Department of Education’s website and enter your examination number in the relevant field. You will be asked to confirm some personal information, including your ID number, to progress. Press search and your results will be displayed to you.
If you wrote your Matric through the IEB or SACAI systems instead, you can still check your matric results online. We have linked the online portals above. They work very similarly to the basic NSC Matric portal system- enter your ID and examination numbers, and the system will bring up your result.
Alternatively, many of the local and national newspapers will publish the national Matric results online. You will not be personally identified here, however. They will list results by candidate number, so all you need to do is look up your examination number in the list for your province.
If you don’t have easy access to an online method of checking, then you can also use some mobile phone services to check your results.
What is the SMS Number for Matric Results 2026?
If you would rather use your mobile phone to check your Matric 2026 results, you can text your ID and examination numbers to 35658. You can sign up for this service in advance of the Matric result release date, and you will receive an SMS with your results early in the morning on the day results are released. Alternatively, you can also use the USSD code *120*35658# any time after the release date to immediately have your results sent to your phone. Remember that the SMS service will be charged at standard SMS rates, whereas the USSD code does not carry a charge.
Being able to access your matric results online on the day they are issued is fast, convenient, and a great way to know how you performed. Try these tips to ensure a seamless process on the day, and best of luck with your final exams!
