Proficiency training
The training you need before your first competency certificate, and before any firearm licence. Delivered by our accredited training partner. Currently only available in Pretoria, on selected dates.
Contact us on WhatsApp or email for the next dates, what the course covers and how to book your place. Once you have your training certificate, we prepare your competency application so the paperwork is right the first time.
Free to ask. You get the right application and your price before you pay anything.
Cathy van der Westhuizen
Training is step one. Competency and the licence are the SAPS steps that follow, and that is where files come back. For 27 years Cathy was the officer who checked them. After your course, she and her team prepare your competency application and, later, your licence.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 27 years SAPS · Not SAPS, no guarantees
1 Training is per type of firearm. Handgun, rifle and shotgun each need their own unit standards. Train for every type you may want to licence later; adding one afterwards is a separate competency application.
2 Pretoria only, on selected dates. Outside Pretoria, train with any accredited provider near you; we still prepare your competency application afterwards.
You must be 21 or older and a South African citizen or permanent resident to apply for competency afterwards.
From training to licence
The three steps, in order
1. Proficiency training
With our accredited training partner in Pretoria: the legal knowledge test and the practical handling and shooting assessment for each type of firearm, as SAPS requires. You leave with a training certificate and unit standards.
2. Competency certificate
We prepare your complete SAPS competency application. You go to the station by appointment to take fingerprints, pay and sign.
3. Firearm licence
Once your competency certificate is issued, we prepare the licence application for the firearm you choose, with the motivation and every SAPS form.
Getting started
WhatsApp or email us which types of firearm you want to train for and roughly when you could be in Pretoria. We send you the next available dates, what the course covers and the cost, and we book your place with our training partner.
Proficiency training: frequently asked questions
South Africa, Firearms Control Act, through your local SAPS Designated Firearms Officer.
The accredited course and assessment you must pass before SAPS will consider you for a competency certificate. It covers the legal knowledge of the Firearms Control Act and the practical handling and shooting of the type of firearm, and ends with a training certificate and unit standards.
No. Proficiency is the training, from a provider. Competency is the certificate SAPS issues afterwards, on your application. Training first, then competency, then the licence. We prepare the competency and licence applications.
Yes. Each type of firearm has its own unit standards and its own competency. Train for every type you may want to licence later; adding one afterwards is a separate further-competency application.
Currently only in Pretoria, on selected dates, with our accredited training partner. WhatsApp or email us for the next dates. If you are elsewhere in South Africa, train with any accredited provider near you and we prepare your competency application afterwards.
Usually yes. SAPS wants the accredited unit standards for a private licence, and police or military training is not the same thing.
You receive your training certificate and unit standards. Send them to us and we prepare your first competency application for every type you trained for. You go to the station by appointment to take fingerprints, pay and sign.
Contact us on WhatsApp or email and we send you the current cost, the next dates and what is included. Training is paid to the training provider; our competency and licence preparation is quoted separately, one fixed price per application, before you pay.
You must be 21 or older, a South African citizen or permanent resident, and SAPS must find you a fit and proper person. SAPS makes that judgement; nobody can promise it.
What clients say
Google reviews ★★★★★ 5.0 on Google
“Exceptional service from start to finish!”
Bernadette Richter
“Wow, what an absolute pleasant experience I’ve had working with you.”
Brendon
“Our family had a unique scenario with an estate firearm application and Cathy gave us the proper advice over a consultation call. Her expertise is above and beyond.”
Combrinck Associates
Facebook page reviews Recommended on Facebook · 6 000 followers · See our Facebook page
“Fast, efficient and friendly! Cathy is very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with! Highly recommended!”
Chris Kriel · Facebook recommendation
“Best in the business and thoroughly knowledgeable. Quick responses. Most definitely recommend and wish them all the best in their business.”
Ashley Clint Newton · Facebook recommendation
“I have received excellent assistance from Cathy for many years as a firearm owner.”
Alivia Brown · Facebook recommendation
Contact us for info
Tell us which types of firearm you want to train for. We reply during office hours, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00, with the next Pretoria dates and the cost.
Firearm Licensing Assistance SA is an independent private consultancy and not an accredited training provider. Proficiency training is delivered by an independent accredited training partner in Pretoria; FLA SA arranges the booking and prepares the SAPS competency application that follows. We are not part of SAPS and cannot approve, speed up or guarantee any application. We do not sell firearms or ammunition.