South Africa - Report a Missing Person

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. To report a Missing person in person, the person who wants to report must visit the nearest Police station.
2. Contacts and Address information can be found in the link given below: Link Click on your province name in the map displayed to get contact details of the police stations in your province.
3. Visit the nearest police station and obtain the SAPS 55(A) form to report a missing person, from the relevant department.
4. Make sure that you have all the documents listed in the “Required documents” section of this page.
5. Complete the form as required with relevant details and attest it with your signature. Attach the required documents with the completed form.
6. Then submit the form and required documents to the investigating officer at the police station.
7. Obtain the investigating officer’s contact details in order to send any additional information that might become available.
8. Then, the investigating officer will verify your form and attached documents after which he/she will start the process of finding out the missing person.

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Required Documents

• Completed SAPS 55(A) form
• Recent photograph of missing person (as instructed)
• Copy of Identity document
• Residential proof
• Any supporting document

Office Locations & Contacts

South African Police Service (SAPS) - Head Office
Physical Address : Wachthuis Building
231 Pretorius Street
Pretoria
Postal Address: Private Bag X94
Pretoria
0001
Telephone: +27 (0) 12 393 1000
Website: Contacts link
SAPS Telephone Directory: Link

South African Police Service (SAPS) police stations

Bureau of Missing Persons

Eligibility

• Any person can report the missing of a person who is closer to them at the police station.
• The person applying should have a recent photograph of the missing person and he/she must immediately report the incident as soon as possible.

Fees

Please approach the authorities for fees details.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.gIn the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• You can contact the Bureau for Missing Persons to report a missing person or go to your nearest police station and report that the person is missing as soon as you know they are missing.

• Take with you a recent photograph of the missing person so that it can be scanned into the National Bureau for Missing Persons database. This database is a Crime Stop project and police all over the country use it.

• Give any information that might help to identify the person, such as their age, height, hair colour, eye colour, and any identifying marks such as scars or tattoos. You may be asked to fill in forms giving all this information.
• If a missing person is found or returns voluntarily, inform the investigating officer immediately. A SAPS 92 form must be completed to inform the Bureau of Missing Persons that the missing person’s report can be removed from the circulation system.

Required Information

• Applicant’s details
• Information about the missing person
• Identity document number
• Contact details
• Address details

Need for the Document

It is necessary to report any missing of a person among your family or known circle to the South African Bureau of Missing persons or South African Police Services which will initiate an investigation and take necessary steps to find out the person.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Link

Others

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