Last updated: 26 August 2026
Certificate Assistance is committed to protecting personal information and processing it responsibly in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
This POPIA Compliance Notice explains how Certificate Assistance handles personal information when providing document assistance, application support, authentication, apostille, notarisation, courier and related services.
Certificate Assistance is a private document assistance service and is not affiliated with the South African Department of Home Affairs, SAPS, DIRCO or any other government department or authority.
For purposes of POPIA, Certificate Assistance acts as the responsible party in relation to personal information collected directly from clients through our website, email, WhatsApp, telephone communication and document assistance services.
Contact:
Certificate Assistance
Email: info@certificateassistance.com
Website: www.certificateassistance.com
Depending on the service requested, Certificate Assistance may process personal information including:
We only request information reasonably necessary to provide the requested service.
Personal information may be processed for purposes including:
Personal information will not be processed for purposes incompatible with the reason for which it was collected unless permitted or required by law.
Certificate Assistance processes personal information where there is an appropriate legal basis under POPIA.
This may include circumstances where:
Certain document-related services may involve information that requires additional protection.
Where applicable, Certificate Assistance takes reasonable precautions when processing sensitive or special personal information and limits access to persons who reasonably require it for the requested service.
Some services, including birth certificate applications or family documentation, may involve information relating to children.
Personal information relating to a child should be supplied by, or with the authority of, a parent, legal guardian or other person legally authorised to act on behalf of the child.
Certificate Assistance will process children's information only where there is an appropriate lawful basis.
Certificate Assistance does not sell personal information.
Where necessary to provide a requested service, relevant information may be shared with third parties such as:
Only information reasonably necessary for the applicable purpose should be shared.
Certificate Assistance assists clients in South Africa and internationally.
Personal information or documents may therefore be transferred outside South Africa where necessary to:
Certificate Assistance takes reasonable steps to ensure that cross-border processing is handled appropriately and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Certificate Assistance takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from:
Access to sensitive client information should be limited to persons who reasonably require it to provide the relevant service.
No electronic communication or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and clients should exercise reasonable care when sending sensitive documents electronically.
Personal information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to:
When information is no longer required and there is no lawful reason to retain it, it may be securely deleted, destroyed or de-identified.
Certificate Assistance takes reasonable steps to process accurate and current personal information.
Clients are responsible for providing correct information and should notify Certificate Assistance if any personal information supplied during a service is incorrect or changes.
Subject to applicable law, a person may request confirmation of whether Certificate Assistance holds personal information about them.
A person may also request access to personal information held about them, subject to applicable legal requirements, identity verification and any lawful limitations.
Where legally appropriate, a person may request that Certificate Assistance:
Certificate Assistance may need to retain some information where required by law or where another lawful basis for retention applies.
Subject to POPIA, a person may have the right to object to certain processing of their personal information.
Any objection will be considered in accordance with the circumstances and applicable legal requirements.
Certificate Assistance will not use personal information for unnecessary direct marketing without an appropriate lawful basis.
Where marketing communications are sent, recipients may request that such communications stop.
Messages relating to an active enquiry, application or service are considered service communications and are not treated as direct marketing.
If Certificate Assistance becomes aware of a security compromise involving personal information, reasonable steps will be taken in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
This may include investigating the incident, limiting further unauthorised access and notifying affected persons or the Information Regulator where legally required.
The Certificate Assistance website may use cookies or similar technologies to:
Visitors can generally manage cookies through their browser settings.
Our website may link to government departments, authorities or other third-party websites.
Certificate Assistance does not control the privacy or security practices of those websites and is not responsible for how third parties process information submitted directly to them.
If you have concerns about how Certificate Assistance processes your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate and respond.
You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa in accordance with POPIA.
Certificate Assistance may update this POPIA Compliance Notice where necessary to reflect changes in:
The latest version will be published on this website.
For POPIA-related requests, questions or concerns, contact:
Certificate Assistance
Email: info@certificateassistance.com
Website: www.certificateassistance.com