How to choose a security company in South Africa: the checks, the questions and the signs to walk away

From outside they all look alike. Registration, how the officers are paid and supervised, and what happens at 02:00 are what you are actually buying.

TenEight Team · 27 September 2026

To choose a security company for an estate, a business or a home in South Africa, most people go on price and a sales visit, and regret it at the first incident. There are more than 11 000 registered security businesses in the country and a large number of unregistered ones, and from the outside they look alike: a bakkie, a uniform, a brochure. The differences that matter, registration, how the officers are paid and supervised, what happens at 02:00 when the alarm goes, are invisible until you ask.

Estate manager confirming a security company's registration number on a laptop while the salesperson waits — Confirm the registration number on the PSIRA portal yourself, before the sales visit ends.

First, the checks that are not negotiable

PSIRA registration. Every security business must be registered with PSIRA, and so must every officer it places. Ask for the company's registration number and confirm it on the PSIRA portal yourself: status, good standing, and that the responsible person is registered. Our guide on how to check PSIRA registration walks through it. A company that cannot or will not give you the number is not a company you contract with.

Provident fund and UIF. Ask for the Private Security Sector Provident Fund and UIF registration numbers. A company that is not paying these is underpaying its officers, and underpaid officers leave, or worse.

Insurance. Public liability and, for armed services, the cover that goes with firearms. Ask for the certificates, and check the amounts are real.

Firearms. If the service is armed, the company must hold the business firearm licences and every armed officer must have a current competency. Ask how the firearms are controlled and registered.

If any of these fail, stop. Nothing on the quote makes up for it.

Questions to ask before you choose a security company

Which grade of officer will be on my post, and how do you confirm each officer is registered at that grade? The answer should be specific and should involve the register, not the officer's certificate.
What do you pay your officers? A good company answers without flinching: at or above the Sectoral Determination minimum, with allowances. A company that changes the subject is paying below it.
How are officers supervised, and how often, including at night? Ask to see the last month's site visit log for a comparable site.
What is the roster on my post, and how do you cover a no-show? The answer tells you whether you will have a trained relief officer or whoever was available.
What is your control room, and what happens when my alarm triggers at 02:00? Ask for the response time they commit to in writing, and how they measure it.
Who is my contact, and what is the escalation if I am not happy? A named person with a cellphone number, and a manager above them.
Can I speak to two clients with a site like mine? Then call them, and ask about the last incident.

Armed response vehicle arriving at a residential estate gate at 02:00 with its lights on, the moment a security contract is tested — What happens when the alarm goes at 02:00 is the question the brochure never answers.

Signs of a company to avoid

A quote far below the others. The wage floor is public. A quote that cannot cover it is built on underpayment or on officers who will not be there.
Uniforms or vehicles that look like the police or the army: a breach of the code of conduct and a sign of a company that does not read it.
No written contract, or a contract with no service levels, no response times and no exit clause.
Officers on site who cannot produce a registration card, or who say they have not been paid.
Reluctance to give you the PSIRA registration number, the provident fund number or client references.
High officer turnover on your post from the first month. Ask other clients how long their officers stay.

How to compare quotes properly

Quotes for a guarded post are not comparable until you make them so. Ask every company to quote on the same basis:

Same grade of officer, same shift pattern, same number of posts
Wages stated separately from the company's margin
Supervision, uniforms, equipment and relief cover included or itemised
Response services priced separately from static guarding
Contract term, escalation clause (the wage adjusts every 1 March), and notice period

When you lay them side by side, the cheap quote usually turns out to be missing relief cover or supervision, or to assume a lower grade than you asked for.

Contract terms worth insisting on

Service levels with a measurable response time and a supervision schedule
The right to see the register extract for the officers on your site, and to have an officer replaced on reasonable grounds
Monthly reporting on incidents, patrols and attendance
A wage-linked escalation clause, so the March adjustment is handled openly rather than fought over
Exit on notice without penalty if service levels are missed repeatedly

Body corporate trustees and a security company director signing a guarding contract with service levels across a boardroom table — Service levels, a register extract, monthly reporting and a wage-linked escalation clause.

Building the shortlist

Start with companies that already operate in your area and on your type of site. A company whose nearest vehicle is thirty minutes away cannot give you a ten-minute response. TenEight's security companies directory lists South African security companies by area and service, which is a fast way to build a list of five to call before you run the checks above. If you are considering employing officers directly instead of contracting, our guide on how to hire security guards compares the two routes.

Quick answers

How do I check if a security company is legitimate in South Africa?

Confirm its PSIRA business registration and good standing on the PSIRA portal, ask for its provident fund and UIF numbers and insurance certificates, and speak to two current clients.

How much does a security company charge per guard?

For a 24-hour static post in a metro, the rate covers two officers at the 2026 minimum of R7 003 a month each for Grade C, plus allowances, provident fund, supervision, uniforms and margin. A quote that cannot cover that is underpaying someone.

What should be in a security contract?

The grade and number of officers, the roster, response times, supervision schedule, monthly reporting, a wage-linked escalation clause, and exit on notice for missed service levels.