How to Check Gender from a South African ID Number

Your South African ID number is more than a reference code — it contains personal information encoded directly into the digits. One of the most commonly searched questions is whether you can determine gender from an SA ID number. The answer is yes, and it is straightforward once you know which digits to look at.

This guide explains exactly how the gender digits work, how to read them, and what other information your 13-digit ID number contains.

Which Digits in Your SA ID Number Indicate Gender?

Digits 7 to 10 of your South African ID number indicate your gender at birth. These four digits form a number between 0000 and 9999, and the range determines whether the person is recorded as female or male.

This coding system has been part of the South African ID number format since it was standardised. It is used in both the old green ID book and the modern smart ID card — the underlying 13-digit number structure is identical for both.

How to Check Gender from an SA ID Number: Step by Step

You do not need any special tools to read the gender digits manually. Follow these steps:

1. Write out the full 13-digit ID number. For example: 9001045023081
2. Count to the 7th digit. The first six digits are the date of birth (YYMMDD), so you are looking at what comes immediately after.
3. Read digits 7, 8, 9, and 10 together as a four-digit number. In the example above, that is 5023.
4. Check which range it falls into. 5023 is between 5000 and 9999, so this person is recorded as male.

Here is how to identify each section of the example ID number 9001045023081:

• 900104 — Date of birth: 4 January 1990
• 5023 — Gender digits: 5023 falls in the male range (5000–9999)
• 0 — Citizenship: 0 = South African citizen
• 8 — Digit 12: no longer in use (see below)
• 1 — Luhn checksum digit

What Else Does Your SA ID Number Reveal?

The gender digits are just one part of the information stored in your South African ID number. Here is a breakdown of all 13 digits:

Digits 1–6: Date of Birth

The first six digits encode your date of birth in YYMMDD format. For example, 900104 means born on 4 January 1990. This means the ID number does not specify the century, which is why the year must be interpreted in context — 00 could be 1900 or 2000.

Digits 7–10: Gender

As explained above, a value between 0000 and 4999 indicates female, and a value between 5000 and 9999 indicates male. The specific four-digit number within the range was assigned sequentially to people born on the same date.

Digit 11: Citizenship Status

The 11th digit indicates whether the holder is a South African citizen or a permanent resident:

• 0 — South African citizen
• 1 — Permanent resident

Digit 12: No Longer in Use

The 12th digit was historically used for race classification under apartheid-era legislation. This classification was officially scrapped in 1986, and the digit has not carried any meaningful information since. On modern ID documents, this digit is typically 8 or 9. It is sometimes still mistakenly described online as an active race indicator — it is not.

Digit 13: Luhn Checksum

The final digit is a checksum calculated using the Luhn algorithm. It exists purely for verification — to confirm that the preceding 12 digits have not been entered incorrectly or tampered with. Any valid South African ID number will pass this check.

Does Your SA ID Number Show Your Race?

No. This is a persistent myth. Digit 12 was once used for racial classification under apartheid, but South Africa abolished that system in 1986. The digit has carried no race information for four decades. It appears on every ID number but holds no personal data related to race, ethnicity, or ancestry.

Anyone claiming they can determine race from an SA ID number is misinformed. The only personal attributes encoded in a modern South African ID number are date of birth, gender, and citizenship status.

Check Your SA ID Number Instantly With Our Free Tool

If you would rather not decode your ID number manually, use the SA ID Checker tool on our homepage. Enter any 13-digit South African ID number and it will instantly extract:

• Date of birth
• Age
• Gender
• Citizenship status
• Checksum validity

The tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is stored or sent anywhere.

For more on the full structure of South African ID numbers, read our South African ID Number Format Explained guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find the gender in my South African ID number?

Look at digits 7 to 10 (the four digits immediately after the six-digit date of birth). If the four-digit number is between 0000 and 4999, the person is recorded as female. If it is between 5000 and 9999, they are recorded as male.

Can you tell someone's gender from their ID number?

Yes. The gender of the ID holder at the time of registration is encoded in digits 7 to 10 of their 13-digit South African ID number. This information is present on both the green ID book and the smart ID card, as both use the same underlying number.

What do digits 7-10 mean in an SA ID number?

Digits 7 to 10 represent the gender sequence number assigned to the holder at birth registration. Numbers from 0000 to 4999 are assigned to females, and numbers from 5000 to 9999 are assigned to males. The specific number within the range was allocated sequentially among people born on the same day.

Does a South African ID number show date of birth?

Yes. The first six digits of the ID number are the date of birth in YYMMDD format. For example, if an ID starts with 850722, the person was born on 22 July 1985.

What is the race digit in a South African ID number?

There is no race digit in current South African ID numbers. Digit 12 was historically used for racial classification under apartheid, but this system was abolished in 1986. The digit still appears on every ID number but no longer encodes any race-related information.