Abstract The Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) has detected more than 3000 sources in the GeV γ-ray regime. The majority are extragalactic and these sources are dominated by blazars. However, ∼28 per cent of the sources in Fermi 3LAC are listed as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCU). Increasing the number of classified Fermi-LAT sources is important for improving our understanding of extragalactic γ-ray sources and can be used to search for new very high energy sources. We report on the optical spectroscopy of seven selected unclassified BCU sources during 2014 and 2015 undertaken using the SAAO 1.9-m and Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Based on the identified spectral lines, we have classified three of the sources as FSRQs and the remaining four as BL Lac objects, determining the redshift for four sources.