Security guard background checks: the eight checks, in the order to run them
Registration first, then identity, criminal record, qualifications and references, with the consent and records POPIA requires.
TenEight Team · 25 September 2026
Security guard background checks are where a hiring process either protects the company or exposes it. An officer is placed alone with a client's property, staff and public, often at night, often armed. The checks that precede that placement are not paperwork. They are the reason a client, an insurer and PSIRA will later accept that the company acted responsibly. Most companies run some checks. Fewer run the right ones, in the right order, with the consent and record-keeping that the law requires.
The security guard background checks, in the order to run them
Run the cheapest, fastest and most decisive check first, so you do not pay for a criminal record check on someone whose registration has lapsed.
1. PSIRA registration and grade
Free, minutes, decisive. Confirm on the e-PSiRA portal that the officer is registered, active, at the grade the post requires, with an expiry date you record. A failed check ends the process. Nothing else matters until it is fixed. Our guide on how to check PSIRA registration covers the detail.
2. Identity
Match the person, the ID document and the PSIRA record. For non-citizens, check the passport and that the work permit covers security work and the period of employment. Identity fraud is the most common way an unregistered person gets onto a post under someone else's registration.
3. Criminal record check
Run through a screening agency accredited to submit fingerprints to the SAPS Criminal Record Centre, with the officer's written consent. PSIRA registration already requires a clean record for the relevant offences, but registration was checked once, possibly years ago. Your check is current. Results typically take from a few days to a couple of weeks and cost a modest fee per check. For armed posts, this check is not optional in any sense.
4. Qualification verification
Confirm grade certificates with the training provider, and specialist certificates (firearm competency with the SAPS-issued certificate itself, first aid, control room, CIT) with the issuer. Forged training certificates are common. The register check in step 1 catches forged grades, but not forged specialist courses.
5. Reference checks
Call at least one previous supervisor, not the HR department. Ask about attendance, reliability on night shifts, how they handled an incident, and whether they would re-employ. Verify that the referee actually supervised the officer at the company named, a phone number supplied by the candidate can belong to a friend.
6. Credit check
Relevant for cash-in-transit, cash handling and some armed posts, where financial pressure is a recognised risk. It requires consent and a legitimate reason under the National Credit Act. Do not run it for a static estate post.
7. Driver's licence
For any post involving driving: check the licence is valid, the code matches the vehicle, and, for CIT drivers, the professional driving permit is current.
8. Polygraph and integrity testing
Standard in CIT and common in cash handling, with consent. A polygraph result cannot by itself justify dismissal or refusal in South African law, but it is used as part of a wider integrity assessment.
Consent, privacy and records
Every check that touches personal information falls under POPIA. Get written consent before each category of check, tell the candidate what is checked and why, and keep the results in the officer's compliance file with restricted access. Results may be used only for the purpose disclosed and should be retained only as long as they are needed. Candidates have the right to see what was found and to dispute it, which is also how you catch a mistaken identity in a criminal record result.
What the checks cost, and when to run them
The register and identity checks are free. A criminal record check through an agency costs a modest fee. Qualification and reference checks cost management time. A credit check is small. Against the cost of one bad placement (an incident, a client lost, a PSIRA inquiry) every check pays for itself many times over. Run steps 1 and 2 before the interview, steps 3 to 7 after a conditional offer, and step 8 only for the roles that need it.
What to do with a result you did not want
Registration failed. Do not place. Tell the officer. A lapsed renewal can be fixed.
Criminal record found. Not every conviction is disqualifying. Consider the offence, its age, its relevance to the post, and PSIRA's own disqualification criteria. A twenty-year-old minor conviction on a static post is a different matter from a recent theft conviction on a cash post. Record the reasoning either way.
Reference contradicts the CV. Give the candidate the chance to explain. Then decide. Discrepancies about dates are common and often innocent. Discrepancies about why they left are not.
Qualification cannot be verified. Treat it as absent until the issuer confirms it.
Whatever the decision, communicate it, keep the file, and apply the same standard to every candidate for the post. Consistency is your defence against a discrimination complaint.
Build the checks into the hire
The checks are easiest when the information arrives structured. Employers on TenEight post jobs that state the grade and requirements, and applications arrive with each officer's recorded registration number, grade, expiry and certificates, the starting list for steps 1 to 4. Treat that list as what the officer recorded, run every check yourself, and you have a file that stands up.
Quick answers
What background checks are done for security guards in South Africa?
PSIRA registration and grade, identity, a criminal record check via the SAPS, qualification verification, references, and (for cash and armed posts) credit checks, licence checks and sometimes polygraphs.
Can a security company do a criminal record check?
Yes, through an accredited screening agency that submits fingerprints to the SAPS, with the candidate's written consent.
Is a PSIRA check enough?
No. It confirms registration and grade on a date. Identity, a current criminal record check, qualification verification and references are still needed.