1952 - Pass Laws

The Pass Laws Act of 1952 required black South Africans over the age of 16 to carry a passbook, known as a dompas, everywhere and at all times. Similar to a passport, it contained more extensive information than a normal passport like an individual's fingerprints, photograph, personal details of employment, permission from the government to be in a particular part of the country, qualifications to work or seek work in the area, and an employer's reports on worker performance and behaviour. Forgetting to carry the dompas, misplacing it, or having it stolen rendered one liable to arrest and imprisonment. Each year, over 250,000 blacks were arrested for technical offences under the Pass Laws. As a result, the dompas became the most despised symbol of apartheid.