The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority office for Port Elizabeth is inside a shopping centre, and the entrance is not the one you would expect from the street address.

PSiRA Port Elizabeth

Note the entrance. The office is on the second floor of Pier 14 and PSiRA specifically flags the Lavina Street entrance rather than the Govan Mbeki Street frontage. Also note that the city is now officially Gqeberha; PSiRA still lists the office as Port Elizabeth, so search for it under the old name.

Hours, and why they catch people

PSiRA offices open at 07:30 and close at 16:00, Monday to Friday only. That is earlier than most government counters and earlier than the mall around it, which stays open into the evening. Arriving at half past four because the shopping centre is busy means a wasted trip. Closed on weekends and public holidays.

There are two Eastern Cape offices

If you are in the province but not near Gqeberha, the other one is in Mthatha at 13 Cumberland Street, Mthatha, 5099, on 047 495 0260. That is roughly a five-hour drive from Gqeberha, so check which is genuinely nearer before you set off; there is no PSiRA counter in East London.

Email will not reach this office

There is no portelizabeth@ or easterncape@ address. [email protected] is the only mailbox and it feeds a national queue, so an email does not land on a desk in Pier 14. Put your PSiRA registration or certificate number in the subject line, because without it the message has nothing to route it. For anything with a deadline, phone 041 001 0011.

National numbers

What you can actually do at the counter

Before you queue

Take your identity document, your PSiRA number if you already have one, and proof of payment for any fee. Annual fees are payable to PSiRA and a lapsed registration is not the same as a cancelled one — ask which yours is, because the fix and the cost differ. Nobody at PSiRA can register you faster for a fee; if someone offers that, PSiRA runs a fraud and ethics hotline on 0860 333 036 and by SMS to 30916.