Regulation
PSIRA and firearm compliance: what a client should verify
Appointing an unregistered or improperly registered security provider transfers real exposure to the client — contractual, reputational and, where an incident occurs, potentially legal. These checks are neither difficult nor expensive.
The company must be registered
The Private Security Industry Regulation Act requires a business rendering security services to be registered with PSIRA. Ask for the company's registration number and current status, and confirm it directly with the regulator rather than accepting a certificate image. Registrations lapse; a certificate proves a status on the day it was issued.
The officers must be registered, at the right grade
Individual security officers are registered separately, at grades appropriate to their role and responsibility. A close protection role is not interchangeable with a general guarding grade. Ask for the names and registration numbers of the individuals who will actually be deployed on your requirement, and verify them.
Ask also what happens when a deployed officer is replaced at short notice — whether the replacement is verified before deployment, or afterwards.
Armed roles carry a second framework
Where a role is armed, the Firearms Control Act applies alongside PSIRA. There should be a named responsible person, licensed firearms, current competency certification for every person who will carry, and a control record showing issue and return. Ask how a firearm is stored when it is not deployed, and what the procedure is if competency expires during a contract.
Employment compliance is your exposure too
Ask whether personnel are employed or subcontracted, and how the provider complies with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act on hours and rest, and with COIDA for injury cover. A provider running officers on excessive shifts is presenting you with a fatigue risk and a liability question at the same time.
Training and accreditation
Security and related training in South Africa sits within the SASSETA and QCTO framework. Where a provider claims accredited training — protective, firearms or medical — ask for the accreditation number and the specific qualification or programme title, and check that the accreditation actually covers what was delivered. "Certificates issued" is not the same as "accredited programme".
Information handling
A protective provider will hold your address, routine, movements, vehicle details and family information. POPIA governs how that is collected, used, stored and eventually destroyed. Ask what is retained, for how long, who has access, and what happens to it when the contract ends. A provider who has not thought about this has not thought about you.
Do this before the contract, not after an incident. Every check above can be completed in an afternoon, and each one is significantly harder to raise once a provider is already deployed in your home.
Your turn
Put these questions to us.
Everything above is what we would want a client to ask of any provider, including this one.