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The SAPS competency certificate, explained

Competency and a licence are two different things, and confusing them is the most common reason a first application is sent back. Competency says you are fit to handle a firearm. A licence says you may possess one particular firearm.

Competency first, licence second

You cannot hold a firearm licence without a valid competency certificate for that type of firearm. Competency is the precondition. The order is always:

1. Do the training and be assessed.
2. Apply for and receive your competency certificate from SAPS.
3. Apply for a licence for a specific firearm, under a specific section.

Two separate applications, two separate waits. Budget for both.

What competency actually covers

A competency certificate is issued for the types of firearm you were trained and assessed on — handgun, shotgun, manually operated rifle, self-loading rifle. It is not generic. If your certificate covers handgun only and you later want to licence a rifle, you need your competency extended to cover that type first.

It also records the purpose categories you qualified for, which is why a business-purposes applicant and a self-defence applicant do not do identical courses.

The training behind it

Competency training is delivered by a SAPS-accredited training provider and assessed against registered unit standards. In practice that means a legal-knowledge component (the Firearms Control Act, when you may and may not use a firearm), safe handling, and live fire on the range where you are assessed against a standard, not just watched.

You come away with a statement of results or an attendance certificate from the training provider, which is what you attach to the SAPS competency application. Not every course produces a statement of results — Regulation 21 assessments, for instance, do not — so do not go hunting for a document your course does not issue.

How long does a competency certificate last?

Five years. Every competency, regardless of what firearm types it covers or what licence sections you hold. This catches people out constantly, because a Section 16 licence runs ten years and a Section 15 runs ten years — but the competency underneath it expires after five. Halfway through your licence period your competency quietly lapses, and you only discover it when you try to renew the licence, or add a firearm, or apply for something else.

Renewing competency: the SAPS 517(g)

Competency renewal is made on the SAPS 517(g), under section 10A of the Firearms Control Act. Like a firearm licence, apply at least 90 days before expiry.

A renewal generally needs proof that you are still competent — which for most people means re-doing the assessment with an accredited provider — plus the usual identity, address and supporting documents.

What you need for a new competency application

• The SAPS competency application form, completed and signed.
• Your training certificate or statement of results from the accredited provider.
• A certified copy of your ID.
• Proof of residential address.
• Two passport photographs.
• Your fingerprints, taken at the SAPS office.
• A motivation covering your background, your circumstances and why you are a fit and proper person to hold a firearm.

The declarations are the risky part

The competency application asks you to declare things about your history — criminal convictions, pending cases, protection orders, treatment for certain conditions, past refusals. Answer them honestly. SAPS runs a full background check and finds the things people leave off, and a false declaration on the form is itself an offence under section 120(9)(f) of the Act.

A disclosed and explained conviction from fifteen years ago is very often survivable. A concealed one that SAPS discovers is not. If you have something on your record, say so and explain the circumstances, what changed and what you have done since.

This is general information about South African firearm law and SAPS procedure, not legal advice, and we are not SAPS. Where your situation is unusual — a past conviction, a pending case, a firearm inherited from a deceased estate — speak to a firearms attorney.

Frequently asked questions