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How do I change my contact details on SARS eFiling?
How do I change my contact details on SARS eFiling?
Last reviewed:
Direct answer
Use eFiling’s official contact-detail or profile process to change your email address or cellphone number, then complete the security checks shown by SARS and save the confirmation. SARS describes both a logged-in eFiling route and, for eligible registered eFilers who are South African citizens, a pre-login security-contact update process that uses biometric verification and an OTP.
Do not rely on changing a contact field on an old ITR12 alone. Use the current SARS route available to your profile, which can direct you to maintain registered details or a RAV01 process.
What this means in practice
Start from the SARS website or your normal eFiling login, rather than an email link. For security contact details once logged in, SARS describes selecting “My Profile”, then “Profile and Preference Setup”, and moving to the “Security Contact Details” section. From there, update the email address or cellphone number and complete the confirmation steps.
SARS also describes a pre-login option for certain users who cannot receive their current OTP. The user enters personal identity details, follows facial biometric verification, captures the new contact details, selects a preferred method and enters an OTP sent to the new email address or cellphone number. SARS notes that this particular process is available to registered eFilers who are South African citizens and that a person who cannot pass biometric verification, or who is not a South African citizen, may need assistance through the official contact centre or a booked SARS appointment.
During the filing process, the current eFiling guide says an “Update Contact Details” tab can appear where details are out of date, and an update can take the user to Maintain SARS Registered Details. Read the screen carefully. A security contact change, a broader registered-detail amendment, bank-details change and address change can have different requirements and evidence.
Save proof when finished. Take a screenshot of the confirmation or retain the reference number, then check that future SARS correspondence is arriving at the new channel. Do not give your password, eFiling username, one-time pin or banking credentials to a practitioner, family member or caller. SARS warns that it does not request passwords, OTPs or banking PINs by email, SMS, social media or telephone.
Step-by-step
- Use the official eFiling entry point.
Type the SARS or eFiling address yourself and log in, or use the official pre-login “Update Contact Details” option where appropriate.
- Choose the correct update route.
For logged-in security contacts, navigate through My Profile and Profile and Preference Setup. Follow an Update Contact Details or registered-details prompt when the system displays it.
- Complete the identity checks.
Follow the biometric, OTP or other verification instructions displayed by SARS. Enter the OTP only in the official process.
- Capture and check new details.
Verify spelling, cellphone digits and preferred contact method before submitting. Make sure you control the email and phone number.
- Save confirmation.
Keep the confirmation screen, reference or email. Check that you can receive a future security message at the new contact.
- Escalate only through official routes.
If the process fails, follow the SARS message, call the official contact centre or book an appointment as SARS directs. Do not use an unsolicited helper.
Documents and records to keep
- Screenshot or reference confirming the update.
- Identification and evidence required by the official SARS process.
- Any RAV01 or registered-details correspondence.
- A dated note of the old and new contact channel, kept securely.
- Follow-up confirmation that SARS communications reach the new details.
Important limits and exceptions
Not every contact change can be completed through the same route. The pre-login security-contact process has the limitations SARS describes, and a registered-detail change may require different validation. Bank details are governed by their own confirmation process and should not be changed just because a contact number changed.
Do not confuse a taxpayer’s personal contact details with a tax practitioner’s or employer’s contact details. Do not update information through a link in an unverified SMS or email. If the account is compromised or you cannot access eFiling, preserve the messages and use an official SARS support route promptly.
When to get tailored advice
Get support if a representative relationship, deceased estate, trust, business profile, foreign passport or repeated validation failure complicates the process. TaxProof can explain the evidence pack, but you should complete credentials and security checks yourself through SARS.