What is a school EMIS number and how do I find it?
Every school registered with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has a unique EMIS number, also called the NatEMIS number. EMIS stands for Education Management Information System, the system the DBE and the provinces use to keep track of schools, learners and educators.
What the number is used for
- Identifying a school on official forms, such as bursary, grant and admission applications
- Learner records and transfers between schools
- School funding, the school nutrition programme and statistics
- Telling apart schools with the same or similar names
The first digit of most EMIS numbers shows the province: 1 for the Western Cape, 2 for the Eastern Cape, 3 for the Northern Cape, 4 for the Free State, 5 for KwaZulu-Natal, 6 for North West, 7 for Gauteng, 8 for Mpumalanga and 9 for Limpopo.
How to find a school's EMIS number
- Search for the school by name or town on SchoolsInfo.
- Open the school's page. The EMIS number is listed under School facts.
You can also type an EMIS number into the search box to find the school it belongs to.
EMIS number vs exam centre number
Secondary and combined schools also have an exam centre number, which appears on matric results and exam papers. It is different from the EMIS number. Where the DBE lists it, we show it on the school page too.