There is no RICA office, no RICA call centre and no RICA helpline. RICA is a law, the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, not an organisation you can phone. Registering a SIM card under it is done by your mobile network operator or by the retailer that sold you the SIM, and that is the only place it can be done.
Where to register
Government guidance is consistent on this: take your identity document and proof of residence to your mobile service provider. Registration is free and is done at the operator store, at many retailers that sell SIM cards, and in some cases through the operator app or self-service channels.
- MTN customers: the MTN call centre on 135 from an MTN number, or 083 135 from any other network
- Other networks: your own operator store, app or customer care line
- A SIM bought at a supermarket or spaza must still be RICA registered before it will activate
What you need to take
- A valid identity document, passport or asylum or refugee document
- Proof of residence in your name, generally not older than three months
- If the address is not in your name, an affidavit from the person whose name it is in, together with their identity document
- The SIM card itself and the number you are registering
It applies to prepaid too
RICA covers prepaid as well as contract subscribers. Section 40 of the Act obliges operators, service providers and sellers to record the identity, physical address and cellphone number of everyone who buys a SIM card. A SIM that is not registered will not activate, and one that was registered to someone else remains legally theirs.
Never RICA a SIM in your name for someone else
This is the part that costs people money. A SIM registered to you is legally yours, and if it is used for fraud the trail leads to your identity document and your address. Registering a card for a stranger, or handing over your identity document so somebody else can register one, is how people find themselves explaining a crime they did not commit. It is also how SIM swap fraud starts: the RICA record is the identity evidence a fraudster needs to have your number moved to their SIM, after which your banking one-time passwords go to them.
- Never give your identity document or proof of address to anyone offering to register a SIM for you
- If your phone loses signal unexpectedly and stays dead, treat it as a possible SIM swap and contact your bank and your operator immediately
- Buying a pre-registered SIM is illegal for the seller and dangerous for you, because it is registered to somebody else
Penalties under the Act are severe, running to fines of up to R5 million or imprisonment of up to ten years for the offences it creates.
If your operator will not resolve it
- Escalate through your operator own complaints process first and keep the reference number
- ICASA regulates mobile network operators and takes consumer complaints once the operator has had a chance to respond
- The Act itself is administered through the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which is the policy owner rather than a service desk