PSIRA
PSIRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority) is the statutory body responsible for regulating the private security industry in South Africa, established under the Private Security Industry Regulation Act 56 of 2001. Based in Centurion, Gauteng, PSIRA began operations in 2002 and oversees all private security companies and individual security service providers in the country.
Any company or individual providing security services in South Africa — including monitoring, armed response, investigation, guarding, and escorting — must be registered with PSIRA. As of 2025, registration fees for a new security business stand at R7,900 for the financial year. Requirements include company registration documents, PSIRA-graded certificates for directors, a tax clearance certificate, and a physical office.
Relevance to a voice distress app: if the app directly dispatches armed response teams or operates as a security monitoring service, the app provider may need to register with PSIRA or ensure that its control room partners are PSIRA-registered. An app that merely connects users to PSIRA-registered responders without itself conducting security monitoring may fall outside direct PSIRA scope — this is a key legal question that requires formal opinion.
Connections
- SA Personal Safety App Market — regulates, source: https://www.psira.co.za/
Ontology PSIRA [regulates] SA Personal Safety App Market