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Master’s Office Contact Details
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The Master’s Office in Pietermaritzburg, often written PMB, answers on 033 264 7000, at 241 Church Street, Colonial Building, Pietermaritzburg. It opens 07h45 to 16h00, which makes it one of very few Master’s Offices in the country open straight through the day. The Guardian’s Fund helpdesk is on 033 264 7046. We read this on justice.gov.za on 24 September 2026.
Master’s Office Pietermaritzburg contact details
| Telephone | 033 264 7000 |
|---|---|
| Guardian’s Fund helpdesk | 033 264 7046 or 033 264 7027 |
| MasterPietermaritzbu@justice.gov.za | |
| Physical address | 241 Church Street, Colonial Building, Pietermaritzburg |
| Postal address | Private Bag X9010, Pietermaritzburg, 3200 |
| Docex | Master of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, DOCEX 56, Pietermaritzburg |
| Public hours | 07h45 to 16h00 |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
Pietermaritzburg is one of three Master’s Offices open all day
Pietermaritzburg is unusual in staying open through the day. Of the Master’s Offices the Department of Justice lists, only three are open continuously until 16h00: Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein and Bhisho. Most of the rest shut their public counter at 13h00 or 14h00, and several close for lunch and reopen.
| Office | Telephone | Public hours |
|---|---|---|
| Pietermaritzburg | 033 264 7000 | 07h45 to 16h00 |
| Bloemfontein | 051 411 5500 | 08h00 to 16h00 |
| Bhisho | 040 608 6600 | 08h00 to 16h00 |
| Durban | 031 327 0600 | 07h45 to 13h00 |
| Cape Town | 021 832 3000 | 08h00 to 13h00 |
| Pretoria | 012 339 3333 | 07h45 to 13h00 |
| Johannesburg | 011 429 8000 | Not published |
| Port Elizabeth | 041 403 5100 | 07h45 to 13h00 |
| Polokwane | 015 230 6000 | 08h00 to 13h00 |
| Grahamstown (Makhanda) | 046 603 4000 | 07h45 to 13h00 |
| Mbombela | 013 101 3721 | 08h00 to 14h00 |
| Middelburg | 013 282 5347 | 08h00 to 13h00 |
| Kimberley | 053 831 1942 | 07h45 to 13h00, then 13h45 to 16h00 |
| Mthatha | 047 531 2120 | 07h45 to 13h00, then 13h45 to 16h00 |
| Mafikeng | 018 381 4122 | 07h45 to 13h00, then 14h00 to 16h15 |
| Thohoyandou | 015 962 1032 | 07h45 to 13h00, then 14h00 to 16h15 |
The split-session offices are the ones to plan around. Kimberley, Mthatha, Mafikeng and Thohoyandou close their counters at 13h00 and reopen in the afternoon, and Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and most of the others close at 13h00 or 14h00 for the day. Arriving after those times means coming back another day, so it is worth confirming the hours for the office you need on 033 264 7000 before travelling.
The Master’s Office Pietermaritzburg email address
Pietermaritzburg’s published email address is MasterPietermaritzbu@justice.gov.za. It ends “Pietermaritzbu”, cut short of the full town name. That is exactly what the Department of Justice publishes. Type it as shown: if you correct it to the full spelling, the message will not arrive.
The department also lists the head of office’s own work mailbox alongside it. We have not reproduced that. Use the office address, which outlasts any individual posting.
Guardian’s Fund helpdesk for Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is one of the few offices publishing a dedicated Guardian’s Fund number, on 033 264 7046 or 033 264 7027. The Guardian’s Fund holds money on behalf of minors and others who cannot administer their own affairs. If you are claiming for a child, start there rather than on the main switchboard.
You may not have to travel at all. 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, which processes it and pays the beneficiary electronically. For families far from Pietermaritzburg that is the cheaper route.
Postal and Docex addresses for the Pietermaritzburg office
Pietermaritzburg publishes three ways to reach it besides the counter: the postal address at Private Bag X9010, Pietermaritzburg, 3200, the email address above, and a Docex address, DOCEX 56, addressed to the Master of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court. Docex is the document exchange service attorneys use, so if you are working through an attorney, that is likely how your papers will travel.
Phone 033 264 7000 before sending originals by post. A will is not something to entrust to the post without knowing it is expected.
Reporting an estate to the Pietermaritzburg Master’s Office
Confirm on the telephone that Pietermaritzburg is the correct office for the estate. Jurisdiction decides that, not proximity, and KwaZulu-Natal has a second Master’s Office in Durban.
Take the death certificate, the deceased’s identity document, your own identity document and the original will if there is one. Bring a list of what the estate contains: property, accounts, policies and debts.
The Department of Justice publishes a checklist for reporting a deceased estate on the same page as these contacts. Read it first, and ask on the call what else is needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Master’s Office Pietermaritzburg contact number?
Call 033 264 7000. The Guardian’s Fund helpdesk answers separately on 033 264 7046 or 033 264 7027.
What is the Master’s Office Pietermaritzburg email address?
MasterPietermaritzbu@justice.gov.za, typed exactly as shown. The shortened spelling is what the Department of Justice publishes, and a corrected version will not arrive.
What are the Master’s Office Pietermaritzburg hours?
07h45 to 16h00, with no midday closure. Only Bloemfontein and Bhisho keep the same all-day pattern among the offices the department lists.
Where is the Master’s Office in Pietermaritzburg?
241 Church Street, Colonial Building, Pietermaritzburg. The postal address is Private Bag X9010, Pietermaritzburg, 3200, and the Docex address is DOCEX 56.
Sources
- Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Master of the High Court contacts page, justice.gov.za/master/contacts.htm, for the Pietermaritzburg telephone, Guardian’s Fund helpdesk, mailbox, physical, postal and Docex addresses and public hours, and for the telephone numbers and public hours of every other Master’s Office 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)