Balju is the Afrikaans word for sheriff. Bloemfontein West is a sheriff’s area of jurisdiction in the Free State, and sheriffs are appointed to defined areas.
A sheriff acts only on a court order and is not a debt collector. If someone arrives to attach goods, ask to see the court order and the sheriff’s identification before anything is removed.
Certain household necessities are protected from attachment, including beds, bedding, necessary clothing and basic furniture. If protected items are taken, that is a matter for the South African Board for Sheriffs, which regulates sheriffs and handles complaints about their conduct.
This page covers how to contact the sheriff of the court in South Africa. The details below were taken from the official sheriff of the court contact page rather than from any third-party directory.
ContactDetails.co.za is an independent directory. We are not the sheriff of the court and cannot act on your behalf. Everything on this page is a routing aid so you reach the right official channel quickly.
The sheriff of the court contact numbers
The sheriff of the court does not publish a contact telephone number on its official website. We checked on 23 August 2026 and the site carries no telephone number we could pass on. The official site at sheriffs.org.za is the route to use.
We have deliberately not published a number here. An unverified number is worse than none: it sends people to whoever happens to answer it, which is exactly the mechanism behind contact-detail scams.
Balju is the Afrikaans word for sheriff. A sheriff is an independent officer of the court who serves summonses, executes court orders and attaches property, and acts only on a court order. Ask to see the court order and the sheriff’s identification before anything is removed. Certain household necessities are protected from attachment, and the South African Board for Sheriffs regulates sheriffs and handles complaints about their conduct.
Self-service options before you call
- Check the official site at sheriffs.org.za, which carries the current contact details and any online enquiry form.
- Calling outside peak times. Monday mornings and the hour after 17:00 are usually the worst for South African contact centres.
What to have ready before you call
- A clear one line summary of what you need resolved.
- Your account, order or reference number if you already have one.
- The identity document or account holder details, since most South African providers verify who you are before discussing an account.
- Dates, amounts and any error message exactly as it appeared.
- A pen and paper for the reference number. Ask for one every time, because without it a follow up call starts from nothing.
Judgment, execution and your property
- A judgment is not the end. Execution follows: a warrant, attachment of movable property, and only after that an application to declare immovable property executable.
- A home cannot be sold in execution without a court considering it specifically, and the court must weigh whether there is a less drastic way to recover the debt.
- A reserve price is normally set for a sale in execution, which exists to stop a property being sold for a fraction of its value.
- Rescission is possible where judgment was taken by default, but it must be applied for promptly and with an explanation and a defence.
- Emoluments attachment orders against a salary must be granted by a court, and there are limits on how much of a salary may be taken.
Legal Aid South Africa and university law clinics assist people facing execution against a home, and debt counselling is a regulated alternative that can restructure repayments before it reaches this point.
Complaints and escalation
If a first call does not resolve the matter, escalate through the business’s own complaints process first, in writing and with the till slip and a reference number. Unresolved consumer complaints go to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud on 0860 000 272, free of charge, or by WhatsApp on 081 335 3005. The National Consumer Commission on 012 065 1940 handles contraventions of the Consumer Protection Act itself.
Keep a short written log of each contact: the date, the channel you used, the name of the agent and the reference number. Most consumer complaint processes ask for exactly that history, and having it ready is usually the difference between a fast resolution and starting over.
Avoiding fake sheriff of the court contact numbers
Contact details for well known South African brands are a common target for impersonation. Numbers that look official appear in search ads, social media replies and cloned websites, and the person answering is not the sheriff of the court.
- Reach sheriff of the court through the official site at sheriffs.org.za rather than through a number in a search advert or a social media reply.
- The sheriff of the court will never ask you for your full card number, PIN, CVV, online banking password or a one time PIN. Nobody legitimate needs those to help you.
- Treat any caller who creates urgency, asks you to install remote access software, or asks you to move money to a safe account as fraudulent, and end the call.
- If you are unsure whether a call was genuine, hang up and dial the official number yourself rather than calling back a number the caller gave you.
Related contact pages
Frequently asked questions
What is the sheriff of the court contact number?
We do not publish one, because we could not confirm a number on an official source. Numbers do circulate on directory sites, and we do not republish those.
How do I know a sheriff of the court number is genuine?
Check it against the official site at sheriffs.org.za. A number that only appears in a search advert, a social media reply or a third-party directory should not be trusted for anything involving your account, your money or your identity document.
What should I do if nobody resolves my query?
Ask for the complaint reference and the escalation path on your first call, then follow the escalation route described above. Keep the dates, agent names and reference numbers, because every formal complaint process will ask for them.
Can ContactDetails.co.za resolve this for me?
No. We are an independent directory, not the sheriff of the court, and we have no access to your account. Everything here is a routing aid so that you reach the correct official channel with the right information in hand.
Is there a cost to calling these numbers?
South African 0860 and 0861 numbers are charged at a share-call or standard rate depending on your provider, and 0800 numbers are toll free from a landline. Calls from a mobile are billed at your own operator’s rate, so check your plan if cost matters.
Contact routes on this page were checked against official sources on 23 August 2026. If you find a detail that has changed, the official source is always the authority.