Start a security company
Five registrations stand between you and your first lawful security contract, and they only work in one order. Most people register the company, apply to PSiRA, and then discover the directors had to be registered first. This pack does all five in the sequence PSiRA actually requires.
Start a security company costs R5 490 at ProperSA. That is our fixed service fee; government and authority fees are charged at cost on top. If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page promises, we refund our fee; a refusal by the authority is not refundable.
Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company. We are not PSiRA, CIPC, the Compensation Fund or the Department of Employment and Labour. Every one of these registrations can be done directly with the authority yourself, and UIF registration is free to do. Our fee pays for the preparation, the submission and the follow-up.
What is included
- Company registration at CIPC, R790 on its ownYour private company registered, with the R175 in CIPC fees already included. You can start as a number company and add a formal name later if you would rather register fast.
- Both directors registered with PSiRA, R390 each on its ownTwo director registrations are included. Every director, member or partner has to hold a PSiRA registration in their own name at Grade B or better before the business application can succeed, and we screen each of them against section 23 in writing before a cent of PSiRA money is spent. More than two directors, add R390 each.
- PSiRA business registration, R3 490 on its ownAll ten documents assembled and formatted to PSiRA’s upload rules, the suretyship checked signature by signature, both copies of form PSiRA 24a completed, the uniform and insignia submission prepared before you order stock, and the whole file submitted on ePSiRA with the APP reference tracked through every review level.
- COIDA registration, R1 290 on its ownRegistration as an employer with the Compensation Fund, your industry subclass confirmed so you are not over-assessed for years, your first Return of Earnings submitted and the application for your first letter of good standing. Every serious client will ask for that letter.
- UIF registration, R690 on its ownRegistered as an employer with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and your monthly declaration routine set up, so the deductions you are already making off your officers actually reach the Fund.
- The order sorted out for youDirectors before the business, company before either, COIDA and UIF alongside. Getting this wrong is the single most expensive mistake in the industry, because PSiRA’s R9 100 registration fee only comes back through a refund application that costs 10 percent of the amount when an application fails.
- A written go or no go before you spendAfter the questionnaire we come back in writing with anything that will block the application: a director who cannot be registered, premises that will not pass the infrastructure assessment, a name that will not clear. You get that before any authority fee is paid.
- A renewal calendar for all fivePSiRA annual fees and the 1 April increase, certificate renewals, the Return of Earnings season, UIF declarations and the CIPC annual return, in one calendar rather than five surprises.
What this costs in total
Our fee is the only money that comes to us. Everything below it is paid to the authority at cost, with no mark up, and we show you each amount before it is paid. Be clear eyed about this: PSiRA, not us, is the expensive part of starting a security company.
- Our fee, R5 490. The five registrations come to R7 040 bought separately, so the pack saves you R1 550.
- PSiRA business registration, R11 700 on the 2026/27 schedule. That is R9 100 to register, R2 300 for the infrastructure assessment of a new business and R300 for the compulsory manual of information. The registration fee only comes back through a refund application, on which PSiRA charges 10 percent, which is why we check the blockers first.
- PSiRA officer registration, R310 per director on the 2026/27 schedule, so R620 for two.
- PSiRA annual fees from R8 500 a year for 1 to 50 officers, charged pro rata from registration to the following April, and the schedule increases on 1 April.
- The Compensation Fund’s annual assessment, separate and paid to the Fund. The minimum is roughly R1 621 a year for 2026/27, and your actual figure depends on your payroll and subclass.
- CIPC and UIF. CIPC’s R175 is already inside our company registration fee. UIF registration is free.
- Training is not included and is not ours to charge for. Grade training for your directors and officers is paid to a PSiRA accredited provider. Check the accreditation before you pay for any course, because training from an unaccredited provider cannot be used and the money is gone.
Why the order matters more than the paperwork
A security business registration is not one application. It is a chain, and each link has to exist before the next one will hold.
The company has to exist before PSiRA will consider a business application, because PSiRA registers the legal entity. Every director has to be registered as a security officer in their own name, at Grade B or better, before the business file goes in. Section 23 of the Private Security Industry Regulation Act disqualifies people on citizenship, on criminal record and on a handful of grounds most founders have never heard of, and it applies to the directors personally, not just to their employees.
People discover this in the wrong order all the time. They register a company, pay PSiRA R9 100, and the application fails because a co-director cannot be registered. That money only comes back through a refund application, on which PSiRA charges 10 percent. Checking it first costs nothing and is the most valuable thing in this pack.
How ordering works
- Order online and answer the questionnaire in your client portal. It asks for the founders, the premises and what kind of guarding you intend to do, so nothing needs a phone call.
- We screen every director against section 23 and come back in writing with a go or a no go, before any PSiRA fee is spent.
- The company goes in at CIPC first, then the director registrations on ePSiRA, then the business file with the suretyship, the PSiRA 24a and the uniform submission.
- COIDA and UIF run alongside, because neither depends on PSiRA and both take weeks of their own.
- Everything lands in your client portal as it is issued, with one calendar covering what renews when.
Not sure this is the right one for you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day.
What we will need from you
- Identity documents for every director, and confirmation of South African citizenship or permanent residence. This is a hard requirement under section 23 and there is no way around it.
- Whether any director has a criminal record or a pending case, and whether any of them served in the military, the police or intelligence. The last one triggers a clearance certificate requirement that adds time.
- Existing PSiRA grades and registration numbers, if any director already holds one. If nobody does, tell us and we will set out the training route before you order.
- The premises you will operate from, because PSiRA assesses the infrastructure and a residential address is a common reason for a provisional rejection.
- What kind of security service you intend to render, which decides the COIDA subclass as well as the PSiRA category. The subclass sets what you are assessed for years, so it is worth getting right the first time.
- How many people you expect to employ in the first year, including any directors drawing a salary.
What this pack deliberately leaves out
So that the price means something, here is what is not in it and roughly what each one costs when you need it.
- Bargaining council registration, R690. Private security employers are bound by the sector’s collective agreement where it has been extended, whether or not they joined. You will need this, we just do not pretend it is optional by burying it in a bundle.
- PSiRA officers beyond the two directors, R390 each. Your guards are registered per person. Volume pricing on request from ten.
- The Security Operations Pack, R1 490. The two registers the law requires, both application checklists, the PPE record and the site instruction and occurrence documents. Worth adding before your first site, not before your first client.
- Firearm licences. If you intend to arm officers, that is a separate SAPS process with its own timeline. Start it early and separately.
- A business plan, R1 990. Only if you are raising money or applying for funding. It is not needed for any of the five registrations.
Two document traps on the PSiRA side
Both of these send files back, and both are easy to avoid if you know before you start gathering.
- PSiRA cannot use the SARS compliance PINThey say so in their own guide. What they want is a screen print from the SARS website showing the business is compliant. Almost everyone sends the PIN first.
- The uniform must not be blue or camouflageAny shade of blue and any camouflage pattern is refused, and the sketch or photo has to show the full uniform with logos visible and colours named. Send it to us before you order stock, not after.
Everything in PDF except the uniform and logo, which go up as JPEG, and nothing over 3 MB.
Update: 2026/27 annual fees
Annual fees, 2026/27. From 1 April 2026 a security business pays an annual fee set by its size, from R8 500 a year for fewer than 6 officers up to R90 650 for more than 5 000 officers, plus R4.40 to R5.50 per officer per month depending on size. An individual security service provider pays R125 a year (Government Notice 3825 of 2026).
Frequently asked questions
What does it really cost to start a security company in South Africa?
Our fee is R5 490 for all five registrations. PSiRA’s own fees are the big number and they are separate: R9 100 to register the business, R2 300 for the infrastructure assessment of a new business and R300 for the compulsory manual of information, on the 2026/27 schedule, plus R310 for each director registered as a security officer. Annual PSiRA fees then start at R8 500 a year for fewer than 6 officers, charged pro rata from registration to the following April. The Compensation Fund raises its own annual assessment with a minimum of roughly R1 621 for 2026/27. CIPC’s R175 is already inside our company registration fee, and UIF registration is free.
Do the directors have to be registered with PSiRA before the company can be?
Yes, and it is the step that catches most people out. Every director, member or partner must already be registered with PSiRA in their own name at Grade B or better before the business application can succeed. That is why this pack registers the directors first and the business second. Doing it the other way around means the business application fails and the R9 100 registration fee only comes back through a refund application that costs 10 percent of the amount.
How long does the whole thing take?
The company registration at CIPC is usually a few working days. Director registrations with PSiRA come next. The business registration itself is typically 3 to 5 weeks end to end because it includes an infrastructure assessment of your premises. COIDA is the other long pole, typically 2 to 6 weeks for first time registration with the Compensation Fund. Realistically, budget two to three months from starting to being able to trade lawfully, and longer if a director has a problem under section 23.
Can I start trading while the PSiRA application is being processed?
No. Rendering a security service for reward without being registered is an offence under the Private Security Industry Regulation Act, and it exposes both the business and the individuals. There is no provisional or temporary trading permission while an application is under review. This is the main reason to start the paperwork well before you have signed a client.
What if one of my directors cannot be registered?
Then the business cannot be registered with that person as a director, and it is far cheaper to find that out first. Section 23 of the Act disqualifies more people than most founders expect, citizenship being the hardest requirement and a criminal record the most common. We screen every director in writing before any PSiRA fee is spent, and if someone is disqualified we tell you what your options are before you commit.
Do I need this pack if I already have a company?
No. Tell us what you already have and we price only what is missing. On their own, PSiRA business registration is R3 490, officer registration is R390 per person, COIDA registration is R1 290, UIF registration is R690 and company registration is R790.
Is a bargaining council registration part of this?
It is not included in the R5 490, but you will need it. Private security employers are bound by the sectoral determination and, where a collective agreement has been extended, by the bargaining council for the sector, whether or not you ever joined. We add bargaining council registration for R690 and will tell you which council applies to every area you operate in.
What about an in-house security operation?
If you are only protecting your own property and not rendering a service to anyone else for reward, you register as an in-house security service instead, and the PSiRA fee is different. Tell us in the questionnaire and we will price it correctly rather than selling you the more expensive route.
Who does section 23 disqualify from registering?
More people than most founders expect, and it applies to every director, not just one. Section 23(1) of the Act requires each person to be a South African citizen or permanent resident, at least 18, to have completed the prescribed training, to have no conviction for a Schedule offence in the last ten years and no improper conduct finding in the last five, and to be mentally sound. Section 23(2) adds that none of them may be an unrehabilitated insolvent. Two catch people out. Under section 23(5) a person in the permanent employ of the police, the State Security Agency, the Defence Force or Correctional Services may not be registered at all while still employed there, whatever grade they hold. And a former member of any military, police, security or intelligence service, in South Africa or elsewhere, must submit a prescribed clearance certificate. We check every director against all of this in writing before any PSiRA fee is paid, because a director who does not qualify is the most common reason an application fails after the R9 100 is gone.
Can I start the company with a foreign investor?
Yes, but only as a shareholder, and the structure matters from day one. A foreign national without South African permanent residence cannot be a director of a security business. Section 20(2) of the Act requires every director to be registered with PSiRA in their own name, section 23(1)(a) limits registration to citizens and permanent residents, and section 20(2)(a) catches anyone performing an executive or managing function as well. An investor who holds equity, takes no board seat and runs nothing is outside all of that, so the usual answer is that you go on as the director and your investor takes shares. Before any money moves, know this: the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Act 18 of 2014 adds a section 20(2)(c) requiring at least 51 per cent of the ownership and control to sit with South African citizens. It has never been proclaimed, so no foreign ownership cap applies today, but it is passed legislation waiting to be brought into force, and it says citizens rather than residents. We set the shareholding up with that in mind rather than leaving you to unwind it later. We are not tax practitioners, so the exchange control and tax side of bringing foreign money in belongs with a qualified adviser, and we will say so before you need to ask.
Already trading and want it all checked?
The Security compliance pack audits PSiRA, SAPS firearm licences, COIDA, UIF and the sector fund, with a 24 month renewal calendar. R5 990 a year.
View the packRegistered is step one. Winning the contract is step two.
Once the PSiRA number exists, the next thing an estate, a school or a procurement officer asks for is a company profile, and most new operators do not have one. Written and designed for tenders, print ready PDF plus the editable file, one round of changes included. R690.
See the profileThis is an administrative service performed with your authority on your own profiles with PSiRA, CIPC, the Compensation Fund and the Department of Employment and Labour. ProperSA is not a registered tax practitioner and does not provide legal advice; where a matter needs a qualified professional, we say so and refer you before any work starts. Authority fees quoted are from the 2026/27 schedules and change, most notably PSiRA’s on 1 April. Turnaround times quoted are the authorities’ own and are outside our control.