The LLB is step one, not the whole route. Attorneys then serve 1-2 years under a Practical Vocational Training contract and must pass the Legal Practice Council’s competency exams; advocates follow a separate pupillage route. Typical total: 5-6 years from matric before you can practise independently.
What does a Lawyer (Attorney / Advocate) actually do?
More about this career ▾
Attorneys handle contracts, conveyancing, litigation preparation and client-facing legal work directly; advocates specialise in arguing cases in court and are usually briefed by an attorney rather than hired directly by the public. Both routes need an LLB, then articles (for attorneys) or pupillage (for advocates) before you can practise independently.
Where this degree can take you
Corporate/Commercial Lawyer
Prosecutor (NPA)
In-House Legal Advisor
Human Rights Lawyer
This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.
Not from an official source
Specialising after the Lawyer (Attorney / Advocate) degree
2 specialties ▾
The attorney/advocate split itself is covered above in `gate` - it’s the first fork, not a specialisation. Beyond that, most "specialising" in law is informal (choosing which area of practice to build a career in). Two further fields, though, are real, additional, examined endorsements that sit on top of admission as an attorney, set by the Legal Practice Council (LPC):
Post-admission endorsements (attorneys)
Conveyancer– No fixed duration - pass the LPC exam after admission Handles property transfers and bond registrations. Requires passing the LPC’s Conveyancing Examination, covering the Deeds Registries Act and registry practice, after admission as an attorney.
Notary Public– No fixed duration - pass the LPC exam after admission Authenticates documents, antenuptial contracts and certain other legal instruments. Requires passing the LPC’s Notarial Practice Examination after admission as an attorney.
General overview, not from one single official source: the Legal Practice Council confirms the conveyancing and notarial examinations as real post-admission requirements, but beyond these two, this site could not confirm whether the LPC currently runs a broader, formal specialist-accreditation scheme (the old Law Society of South Africa reportedly ran one for areas like tax or insolvency law pre-2018) - so no informal "practice area" specialisations are listed here as if they were formal credentials.
Not from an official source
Subjects that usually help
English (strong)
History (helpful)
This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.
English threshold is 65% if it is your Home Language, 70% if First Additional. A 5-year LLB Extended route also exists at a lower threshold. RAW-CONFIRMED against the user-supplied NMU Z-Card admissions summary. From NMU’s own faculty "UG Guide" PDFs, most of which are dated/closing in 2024 - apparently covering the 2025 intake, not independently confirmed as current for 2027 (NMU appears to roll these forward with the same structure each year, but treat the figures as "last confirmed" rather than "2027-verified"). No 2027 closing date is stated.
Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against the NMU 2027 Z-Card: the degree is followed by a two-year post-LLB programme; AS 390, English 65% (Home Language) or 70% (First Additional), Mathematics 60%. Mathematical Literacy and Technical Mathematics are not accepted. From NMU’s own faculty "UG Guide" PDFs, most of which are dated/closing in 2024 - apparently covering the 2025 intake, not independently confirmed as current for 2027 (NMU appears to roll these forward with the same structure each year, but treat the figures as "last confirmed" rather than "2027-verified"). No 2027 closing date is stated.
Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against the NMU 2027 Z-Card: the degree is followed by a two-year post-LLB programme; AS 390, English 65% (Home Language) or 70% (First Additional), Mathematics 50%. AS 390 on the Mathematics route, 405 on the Mathematical Literacy/Technical Mathematics route (at a 75% threshold). From NMU’s own faculty "UG Guide" PDFs, most of which are dated/closing in 2024 - apparently covering the 2025 intake, not independently confirmed as current for 2027 (NMU appears to roll these forward with the same structure each year, but treat the figures as "last confirmed" rather than "2027-verified"). No 2027 closing date is stated.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
Duration (4 years minimum, 6 maximum) confirmed - previously not stated. An Extended LLB (5 years, lower language and Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy requirements) is also published at APS 28. Raw-confirmed against the user-supplied NWU 2026 Faculty Yearbook. NWU adds your six best subjects (excluding Life Orientation) on an 8-point scale, for a total out of 48 - read from NWU’s own APS calculator. The requirement shown is what NWU publishes.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
Raw-confirmed against the user-supplied NWU 2026 Faculty Yearbook. NWU adds your six best subjects (excluding Life Orientation) on an 8-point scale, for a total out of 48 - read from NWU’s own APS calculator. The requirement shown is what NWU publishes.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
•Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)
Rhodes points of 40-44 are considered at the Dean’s discretion; 45 or more receives a provisional offer. We show 45 as the qualifying number so that "you qualify" means exactly that - but you are still worth an application from 40. Rhodes has no Engineering and no MBChB. The NBT is recommended, not required. Life Orientation is not scored, but you need at least 50% in it.
•English: 60% if it is your Home Language, 70% if it is your First Additional Language
•NBT – The NBT AQL must be written before 31 July.
Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher. Selection is 80% school results and 20% NBT. About 120 places. Afrikaans Home Language at 60% or First Additional at 70% is also accepted.
Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher. About 80 places.
•Mathematics: 70% OR Mathematics: 60% AND Accounting: 70%
Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher. About 35 places.
•Language – English or Afrikaans Home Language 60% OR Afrikaans or English First Additional Language 70%.
•NBT – Write the NBT AQL before 31 July.
Read 2026-10-04 from the Stellenbosch 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus (page images). The number shown is the NSC aggregate (excluding Life Orientation). Page 11. 55 places in the programme; Mathematics 60% is needed if you take Economics as a university subject. Selection uses Grade 11 or 12 marks and the NBT in an 80:20 ratio. Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher.
New row, read directly from TUT’s 2026 faculty prospectus (tut-pass-3). A diploma-level qualification - it is not the LLB and does not on its own lead to admission as an attorney or advocate. Closes 31 July 2026 (TUT First-Year Course Information).
•Another language – Any other additional language at level 3.
New row, read directly from TUT’s 2026 faculty prospectus (tut-pass-3). Legal-support qualification, not the LLB. Closes 31 July 2026 (TUT First-Year Course Information).
•NBT – NBTs are compulsory for all applicants: Band A and B need Academic Literacy Proficient and Quantitative Literacy Intermediate or above; Band C needs both Proficient. International applicants need an extra 10 FPS points (probable admission at 510) and also write the AL test.
Band A (guaranteed offer) is an FPS of 500. Band B (likely offer) is a WPS of 500 - the WPS adds a 0-10% disadvantage factor that we cannot work out from your marks, so we only check you against Band A. Band C (470) applies to redress categories only. This is the direct-entry undergraduate LLB, capped at 10 international places. UCT also offers two other routes to the same LLB degree: a combined Humanities/Commerce-and-Law route (5+ years, apply to the Humanities or Commerce degree first, then compete for the law major with a 65%/63% first-year GPA), and a 3-year graduate LLB for those who already hold an unrelated degree.
•Another home language – Any other Home Language at level 4.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
•Four more subjects – Four further subjects at level 4 or better.
•Life Orientation: level 5 (60% or more)
Raw-read 2026-10-04 from the user-supplied UFH 2026 faculty prospectus admission tables. This resolves the Mathematics ambiguity the earlier row could not: Mathematics level 3, or Mathematical Literacy / Technical Mathematics level 4; Life Orientation level 5 (the earlier row said 4). Extended Programme (5 years): APS 26, or 28 with Mathematical Literacy / Technical Mathematics; East London campus.
No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.
•English – English Home Language or First Additional Language at level 4 (50-59%).
•Other subjects – Level 4 in four further subjects and level 2 (30-39%) in one subject; UFH states APS 26 or higher depending on the programme.
Duration and qualification type read 2026-10-04 from UFH’s own programme page; the entry rule is UFH’s general undergraduate rule from its undergraduate page (English at level 4 in Home or First Additional Language, level 4 in four further subjects and level 2 in one subject, APS 26 or higher depending on the programme). UFH does not state a numeric APS minimum on this programme’s own page, only subject-level requirements. 2027 undergraduate applications: opened 1 May 2026, close 31 October 2026 (from ufh.ac.za/admission).
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Additional language – An additional language at level 4.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
CONFIRMED 2026-10-02 by a screenshot of the live page (uj.ac.za is blocked for automated fetches, so the user checked manually): APS 31 applies if you take Mathematics; APS 32 is required if you take Mathematical Literacy.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
•Additional language – An additional language at level 4 (waived for international students whose school-leaving certificate has no second language).
Read from the 2027 UJ Undergraduate Prospectus, page 82, programme code B4A01Q. APS 31 with Mathematics, 32 with Mathematical Literacy. Followed by a further 2 years to complete the LLB.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
•Additional language – An additional language at level 4.
Read from the 2027 UJ Undergraduate Prospectus, page 82, programme code B4C01Q. APS 31 with Mathematics only; Mathematical Literacy is not accepted. Followed by a further 2 years to complete the LLB.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
•Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)
A 2026-10-01 spot-check via web search found these same figures (APS 32, subject levels) still quoted, plus a lower 28-31 extended-programme band not previously captured - no change found to the standard entry, but this is not a raw page read. This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
•Life Orientation: level 4 (50% or more)
Read 2026-10-04 from the table in the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure (CAO code KN-H-BLZ); published APS range 48-32. English Home Language 5 or First Additional Language 6. Six years part-time. This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.
•English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
RESOLVED 2026-10-03: the user-supplied UL-Academic-Programme.pdf and a cleaner-formatted section of the same 2027 prospectus gave an unambiguous single-subject table for Law (English only) - Home Language at level 4 (50%) or First Additional Language/other at level 5 (60%), and a confirmed duration of 4 years (5 for the Extended Curriculum Programme, at APS 26). From UL’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. UL states that meeting the minimum APS does not guarantee admission. No official 2027 closing date was found in the sections we read.
•Additional language – Another language at level 4.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against UMP’s "Undergraduate Programmes" PDF, which is still linked from UMP’s 2027 online-applications page - the file itself is dated October 2023, so treat figures as the latest UMP publishes rather than re-issued for 2027. Bachelor’s-pass NSC required. At least half of places are reserved for current-year NSC applicants; selection and conditional offers happen monthly. Read directly (pdftotext) from UMP’s own consolidated Undergraduate Programmes brochure. We could not confirm the 2027 application closing date on ump.ac.za itself (only unverified third-party claims).
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
A Commerce degree with law modules, not the direct LLB (see up-llb below, which needs a higher APS and no Mathematics) - lets you register for the 2-year LLB afterwards, the same combined-route pattern seen at other universities. Confirmed against the user-supplied EMS 2027 Faculty Brochure. Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.
•English: level 6 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
Confirmed against the user-supplied Law 2027 Faculty Yearbook - the only undergraduate qualification this faculty offers (everything else is postgraduate LLM/LLD). Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
From the user-supplied Humanities 2027 Faculty Yearbook (programme code 01130086) - this is explicitly named as an alternative route towards an LLB (a BA specialising in Law/LLB combination takes 5-6 years total), not a standalone qualifying law degree, which is why it is flagged. It can also lead into a BAHons in the chosen major instead. Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.
Re-read 2026-10-04 against Unisa’s live qualification page: APS, language/Mathematics percentages and the 17 August - 9 October 2026 window all match. NSC with Bachelor’s Degree endorsement required (alternative routes exist via a Senior Certificate, a Higher Certificate in Law, or certain other qualifications). Maximum 10 years to complete. Confirmed current for the 2027 intake: Unisa’s own pages state its 2027 application window as 17 August - 9 October 2026.
No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.
•English: 50%
•Mathematics: 50%
Read 2026-10-04 from Unisa’s own qualification page (code 90123 – LAW). NSC with Bachelor’s Degree endorsement (or equivalent). Unisa states percentages, not an APS, on this page. Confirmed current for the 2027 intake: Unisa’s own pages state its 2027 application window as 17 August - 9 October 2026.
•English: level 6 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 6 (70% or more)
•NBT – The Academic and Quantitative Literacy National Benchmark Test is compulsory.
CORRECTED from the 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus: Mathematics is level 4 (50%), not level 6 as previously shown - only Mathematical Literacy sits at level 6 (70%). A 5-year Extended LLB is also published, at AP 28 with a lower language bar (level 4, 50%).
•English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
RAW-CONFIRMED against the 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. Distinct from the LLB above - this is the Economic & Management Sciences Faculty’s Law-flavoured BCom, not the Faculty of Law’s professional degree.
•Additional language – Another official language (Home or First Additional Language) at level 3.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
•Bachelor’s pass – NSC Bachelor’s Degree pass with an achievement rating of at least level 4 in four subjects.
Subject minimums were found via a web search surfacing UWC’s own law.uwc.ac.za programme page, not a raw fetch of the full page (blocked in this environment) - re-check against the live page before relying on it. UWC counts seven subjects (English, an additional language, Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, Life Orientation and your three best others) with English and Mathematics weighted most, for a total out of 65. Scoring rule: https://www.uwc.ac.za/admission-point-score-calculator/south-african-aps-calculator
•Additional language – Another official language (Home or First Additional Language) at level 3.
•Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
•Bachelor’s pass – NSC Bachelor’s Degree pass with an achievement rating of at least level 4 in four subjects.
Subject minimums were found via a web search surfacing UWC’s own law.uwc.ac.za programme page, not a raw fetch of the full page (blocked in this environment) - re-check against the live page before relying on it. UWC counts seven subjects (English, an additional language, Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, Life Orientation and your three best others) with English and Mathematics weighted most, for a total out of 65. Scoring rule: https://www.uwc.ac.za/admission-point-score-calculator/south-african-aps-calculator
•Another language – Another language (Home or First Additional) at level 3.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
Raw-read 2026-10-04 from UWC’s own 2026 programme rules (the "Program Overview" PDF on the programme page, Calendar 2026). UWC points are its own weighted score (see the calculator note). Limited places: selection also considers Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy and English performance.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
Re-checked 2026-10-04: the page gives the duration as 4 to 6 years (part-time), so duration is left blank; the wits-bcom-law-full-time row is the 3-year route listed separately on the programmes index. RESOLVED 2026-10-02 (closes the last open Wits gap - see wits-bcom-law-resolved-2026-10-02 in research-log.mjs): a direct fetch of the live course-finder page confirms APS 43+ belongs specifically to the part-time route (evening lectures, Braamfontein West Campus, no NSFAS/scholarships/residence). APS 35-42 with English and Mathematics Level 6 may be wait-listed. There is no separate full-time "BCom with Law" degree - a full-time student wanting both does the general BCom (APS 38, see wits-bcom-general) and chooses Law as their second major, the same way other BCom major combinations work.
•English: level 6 if it is your Home Language, level 6 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 6 (70% or more)
CONFLICT: a direct fetch of the 2027 LLB (LFA14) course-finder page gives Mathematics at Level 5 (or Mathematical Literacy Level 6), but the 2026 schools-liaison guide this row previously rested on states Mathematics Level 4. APS (46+) and the English requirement (Level 6) are unchanged between the two sources. We show the course-finder’s Level 5 as the current, directly-verified figure. An APS of 40-45 with English Level 6 and Mathematics Level 5 (or Mathematical Literacy Level 6) may be wait-listed.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
Read from the live 2027 course-finder page on 2026-10-04. Applications close 30 September 2026. APS 35-42 with English and Mathematics level 6 may be wait-listed. Programme code CBA13. The part-time route is a separate row.
•English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
Read from the live course-finder page on 2026-10-04: 4 to 6 years part-time, evening lectures (17:30-21:00, some Saturday mornings) at Braamfontein West Campus, at most three full-year or six modular courses a year. APS 40-42 may be wait-listed. Part-time students cannot get NSFAS, University Entrance Scholarships or residence. Closes 30 September 2026. Leads into the LLB two-year stream.
Management, Commerce and Law (School of Law) · 4 years
Univen APS38
•English: 60%
Raw-read 2026-10-04 from Univen’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus (April 2026), faculty programme tables. APS and subject levels match. From Univen’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. We could not confirm the application closing date from the pages we read (applications opened 1 May 2026) - check the current date on univen.ac.za.
Raw-read 2026-10-04 from Univen’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus (April 2026), faculty programme tables. Online applications are free and run 1 May - 30 September 2026.
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against the admission tables in UniZulu’s 2026 faculty handbook (APS, language and Mathematics rules match). From UniZulu’s own 2026-labelled faculty handbooks, which contain no 2027-specific intake or closing-date information at all - do not assume a date, and treat this as the most recent official figures available rather than confirmed-current for 2027.
WSU APS26points out of 48 (56 for Education programmes)
•English: level 5 (60% or more)
•Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
Raw-read 2026-10-04 from WSU’s own 2027 Undergraduate Information Brochure & Admission Requirements (main-stream figures; Extended Curriculum Programmes accept a lower APS, noted where the brochure gives one). Applications: the brochure lists no closing date - check wsu.ac.za.