Question 1

Where can I download Grade 12 past papers with memos for free?

Accepted Answer

On Hlayiso’s Grade 12 past papers page, where papers are sorted by subject, year and sitting. As of October 2026, the Hlayiso library has 26,426 documents for Grades 1–12, including 13,157 question papers and 9,168 memos. Every document can be read online for free, and guests get up to 20 free downloads a month without an account.

Question 2

Which years do the past papers cover?

Accepted Answer

The library has papers from 2007 to 2026. What is available depends on the grade, subject and year, because not every paper exists for every sitting. Each grade and subject page shows the years it has, and the library can be filtered by year, subject, language, sitting and document type.

Question 3

Which exam sittings are included?

Accepted Answer

NSC November and June exams, supplementary exams, March and September tests, preparatory (trial) exams, mock exams and exemplar papers. Many of the tests and preparatory exams are set by provincial education departments. Each paper’s page names its year and sitting, and the library search can be filtered by sitting as well as by grade, subject and year.

Question 4

Are there provincial past papers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alongside the national NSC papers, the library has papers set by all nine provincial education departments: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape. These include June, March, September, preparatory and mock exams, and each paper’s sitting shows which province set it.

Question 5

Who publishes the past papers on Hlayiso?

Accepted Answer

The question papers and memos are published by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the provincial education departments and the Independent Examinations Board (IEB). Hlayiso, run by MHSquared (Pty) Ltd, collects them in one library and serves the original PDFs. Hlayiso also sets its own mock and prediction exams, whose pages list Hlayiso as the publisher.

Question 6

Does Hlayiso have IEB past papers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. As of October 2026, the IEB collection has 1,236 documents: Independent Examinations Board question papers and the memos the IEB has released. The IEB does not publish a memo for every paper, so some papers are listed on their own. IEB papers are kept apart from CAPS (NSC) papers, so an IEB paper is never paired with a CAPS memo.

Question 7

Which languages are the past papers in?

Accepted Answer

Past papers are available in all 11 spoken official languages: English, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Language subjects, such as isiZulu Home Language or Afrikaans First Additional Language, are set in that language, and other subjects are usually set in English and Afrikaans. Not every paper exists in every language.

Question 8

How do I find the memo for a past paper?

Accepted Answer

Open the question paper’s page in the library. When its memo is in the library, it is shown under “Matching paper and memo”. A memo is matched only when the subject, grade, year, sitting, paper number and language are the same and both come from the same exam body. Some files contain the question paper and memo together.

Question 9

Can I download past papers without an account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every document can be read online for free, and guests get up to 20 free downloads a month without an account. Signed-in learners on the free plan have a daily download limit, and the Basic, Premium and Elite plans have unlimited downloads. Downloads are the original PDF files.

Question 10

Does Hlayiso have notes for Grade 12 subjects?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Hlayiso has CAPS revision notes for Grades 8 to 12, organised by subject, topic and section, with worked examples. As of October 2026 there are 2,400+ published lesson sections. Notes open in a free account; the free plan has a daily limit on note sections, and Premium and Elite are unlimited.

Question 11

What are questions by topic?

Accepted Answer

Questions by topic are past-paper questions sorted by CAPS topic, so you can practise one topic at a time, for example every Grade 12 Mathematics question on differential calculus. Each question can show its memo. As of October 2026 there are 92,000+ questions by topic for Grades 1–12.

Question 12

Are the quizzes and flashcards free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both are part of the free plan, which has a daily quiz limit; Premium and Elite have none. As of October 2026 there are 1,800+ quizzes and 1,600+ flashcard decks, organised by grade, subject and CAPS topic. Quiz explanations, which show the working for each answer, come with the paid plans.

Question 13

Do the notes and quizzes follow CAPS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Notes, quizzes and flashcards follow the CAPS topics for each subject and grade, and quiz questions use the command words and mark allocations used in exams. Hlayiso’s content rules require definitions to use the wording of the subject’s exam guidelines where one exists. The editorial policy explains how this content is made.

Question 14

Which grades and subjects are covered?

Accepted Answer

Grades 1 to 12, following the CAPS curriculum. There are 60+ subjects, from Life Skills and Natural Sciences in the lower grades to Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Accounting and History in high school, plus home and additional languages. What is available depends on the grade and subject.

Question 15

Is Hlayiso free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Reading past papers and memos online is free without an account, and creating an account is free. The free plan includes notes, quizzes, flashcards, past papers, questions by topic and AI study chat, with ads and daily limits. Paid plans remove the ads and raise or remove the limits, from R49 a month.

Question 16

How much do the paid plans cost?

Accepted Answer

As of October 2026, Basic is R49, Premium is R99 and Elite is R199 a month. Paying yearly costs R392, R792 or R1,592, which is 33% less than twelve monthly payments. Paid plans remove ads and raise daily limits. Premium adds unlimited notes, quizzes and questions by topic, and Elite adds NBT Prep and the most AI each day.

Question 17

How do I cancel a subscription or ask for a refund?

Accepted Answer

Cancel on the web in Settings → Account → Subscription, on an iPhone in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions, or on Android in Google Play → Subscriptions. A subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Refunds can be requested within 3 days for monthly plans and 7 days for yearly plans.

Question 18

Is there a Hlayiso app?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Hlayiso is on the App Store for iPhone, on Google Play for Android and on Huawei AppGallery. It also works in any web browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and one account works on all of them. Snap Solve, which reads a photo of a question, is only in the app.

Question 19

Can I use past papers offline?

Accepted Answer

Yes, once you have downloaded them. Downloads are the original PDF files, so a paper or memo saved to your phone or computer opens without an internet connection. Guests get up to 20 free downloads a month without an account; free accounts have a daily limit, and paid plans have unlimited downloads.

Question 20

I’m a parent. What does my child get for free?

Accepted Answer

Notes, quizzes, flashcards, past papers, questions by topic and AI study chat, with ads and daily limits. Paid plans remove the ads and raise the limits, from R49 a month. A learner can also send you a secure payment link from the upgrade screen, so you can pay without a Hlayiso account.

Question 21

Can teachers use Hlayiso?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The library is free to read without an account and includes past papers and memos, annual teaching plans (ATPs), SBA exemplars, practical assessment tasks (PATs), exam guidelines and study guides. Teachers can share any document page, or a subject’s questions by topic, with their learners.

Question 22

How do I report a mistake in a paper, memo or quiz?

Accepted Answer

Email support@hlayiso.com with the page link and what is wrong, for example a memo matched to the wrong paper, a wrong year or a missing page. In a quiz you can also report a question as a wrong answer, an unclear question or a typo. The editorial policy explains how documents are labelled.

Question 23

Waar kry ek graad 12-vraestelle en memorandums?

Accepted Answer

Op Hlayiso se bladsy vir graad 12-vraestelle, gesorteer volgens vak, jaar en eksamen. In Oktober 2026 het die biblioteek 26 426 dokumente vir graad 1 tot 12, insluitend 13 157 vraestelle en 9 168 memorandums, ook in Afrikaans. Jy kan elke dokument gratis aanlyn lees, en gaste kan tot 20 lêers per maand gratis aflaai.

Question 24

Is Hlayiso gratis?

Accepted Answer

Ja. Jy kan vraestelle en memorandums gratis aanlyn lees sonder ’n rekening, en ’n rekening is gratis. Die gratis plan sluit notas, vasvrae, flitskaarte, vraestelle, vrae volgens onderwerp en KI-studiehulp in, met advertensies en daaglikse perke. Betaalde planne begin by R49 per maand en verwyder die advertensies.

Frequently asked questions

Past papers and memos