Master Contact Details

There is no Master of the High Court office in Pinetown. KwaZulu-Natal has two: Durban on 031 327 0600 and Pietermaritzburg on 033 264 7000. Durban is the nearer of the two to Pinetown, but its public counter closes at 13h00. We read this on justice.gov.za on 24 September 2026.

KwaZulu-Natal Master’s Office contact details

Office	Durban	Pietermaritzburg
Telephone	031 327 0600	033 264 7000
Email	MasterDurban@justice.gov.za	MasterPietermaritzbu@justice.gov.za
Public hours	07h45 to 13h00	07h45 to 16h00
Physical address	2 Devonshire Place, off Anton Lembede Street, 2nd Floor, Durban, 4001	241 Church Street, Colonial Building, Pietermaritzburg
Postal address	Private Bag X54325, Durban, 4000	Private Bag X9010, Pietermaritzburg, 3200
Docex	DOCEX 218, Durban	DOCEX 56, Pietermaritzburg
Guardian’s Fund helpdesk	Not separately published	033 264 7046 or 033 264 7027

Durban’s counter closes at one o’clock

This is the most important practical difference between the two offices, and it is easy to get caught by.

Durban’s office hours for the public are 07h45 to 13h00. Pietermaritzburg’s are 07h45 to 16h00.

So a Durban visit is a morning errand, not an afternoon one. Arriving at two in the afternoon means a wasted trip, and queues at a Master’s Office are long enough that arriving at noon is already risky.

Go early. Both offices open at a quarter to eight.

Which office handles your estate

The Master’s Office that deals with an estate is determined by jurisdiction, not by which office is closest to you.

If you live in Pinetown or the surrounding areas, do not assume Durban is automatically correct. Telephone first and confirm which office should receive the estate before travelling with documents.

That one call saves a trip, and it also tells you what to bring, which varies with the size and type of the estate.

The Department of Justice publishes a checklist for reporting a deceased estate on the same page as these contacts. Read it before you go.

The Pietermaritzburg email address is not a typo

The published address for the Pietermaritzburg office is MasterPietermaritzbu@justice.gov.za, ending “Pietermaritzbu” rather than the full town name.

It reads like a mistake and it is what the Department of Justice publishes. Copy it exactly. An email sent to the full spelling will not arrive.

Durban’s is straightforward: MasterDurban@justice.gov.za.

Both offices also publish the personal work mailbox of the head of office. We have not reproduced those. Use the office address, which does not depend on one official being at their desk.

What the Master’s Office does

The Master of the High Court administers deceased estates, and also handles trusts, the Guardian’s Fund, insolvent estates and the affairs of people who cannot manage their own.

It is where a deceased estate is reported, and where a Letter of Executorship or Letter of Authority is issued.

It is not a court in the sense of hearings and trials, and it is not the same as a magistrate’s court. If you have been told to go to court about a case, that is a different building.

The Guardian’s Fund

Pietermaritzburg publishes a dedicated Guardian’s Fund helpdesk on 033 264 7046 or 033 264 7027. Durban does not publish a separate number for it.

The Guardian’s Fund holds money for minors and for people who cannot administer their own affairs. If you are claiming on behalf of a child, that helpdesk is the right starting point.

Useful to know: the department states that a Guardian’s Fund application can be lodged at a magistrate’s office, which then couriers it to the correct Master’s Office for processing and payment by electronic transfer. That means beneficiaries do not always have to travel to Durban or Pietermaritzburg.

Before you go

Take the death certificate and the deceased’s identity document, plus your own identity document.

Take the original will if there is one. Originals matter here, not copies.

Take details of the estate: property, bank accounts, policies and debts.

Get more certified copies than you think you need, and arrive as early in the morning as you can, particularly at Durban.

If you are lodging documents rather than attending in person, both offices publish a Docex address as well as a postal one.

Sources

• Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Master of the High Court contacts page, justice.gov.za/master/contacts.htm, for the Durban and Pietermaritzburg telephone numbers, mailboxes, physical, postal and Docex addresses, public office hours and the Pietermaritzburg Guardian’s Fund helpdesk, and confirming that no Pinetown office is listed (read 24 September 2026)
• Department of Justice lower courts page, for the Guardian’s Fund lodging arrangement through magistrate’s offices (read 24 September 2026)