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  1. #1
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    Default Competency renewal

    Can someone please clarify competency renewal for someone who only has 1 firearm in a category.

    A friend did his rifle / handgun and shotgun competency tests in 2014. The certificates are valid for 5 years. (March 2019)
    In 2014 he bought a rifle and in 2015 he bought a pistol.
    His pistol licence needs to be renewed in Aug 2020. (90 days before expiry) From what I understand competency is valid for the lifetime of your most recent licence in that category meaning his pistol competency will expire in Nov 2020.
    Can he he apply for new competency using his current status or does he have to re do his pistol competency test before re licensing.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Competency renewal

    As far as I know its valid until your last license date expires. So if you were to sell all your firearms off. Or not renew them at all. It will expire then.

    I had the card initially. Then at one point renewed. And got a Paper Competency. Then they changed expiry date.

    I heard year back you know get issued a card again. And apparently if you have printed one will automatically get a card again. I so far have had no call or letter saying there is a card for me to collect to replace printout

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    I have just renewed my competency for HG, R & SG. Originally had a paper print out but the new way is back to a competency card (which is annoying bec it took them 7-8 weeks to print the card after approval in Dec 2019).

    Re validity, I have heard it both ways and our local DFO (Brooklyn, Pretoria) has it as the competency expires on the first expiring of the licences for which the competency was used (in my case I had got my competency in early 2010) and then licenced a SG that year. Then proceeded to buy a number of different FA's in 2014, 2015 and 2016, using the competency.

    The DFO insisted that I needed to renew my competency by early 2020 (ie. close to the first expiring of my FA's (and not the last expiring of them, which would have meant that it would have been valid until 2026)).

    As such, i would recommend that you double-check with your local DFO. Good luck!

    #JustSaying

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    I have read and understand the validity of the Competency. To avoid issues, I simply renew every 5 years. Reason being, if the current DFO moves and a less knowledgeable DFO arrives, I would prefer not to stir the pot. It seems to be working well even though I know the actual requirements of the FCA.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    Quote Originally Posted by Tayls View Post
    I have just renewed my competency for HG, R & SG. Originally had a paper print out but the new way is back to a competency card (which is annoying bec it took them 7-8 weeks to print the card after approval in Dec 2019).

    Re validity, I have heard it both ways and our local DFO (Brooklyn, Pretoria) has it as the competency expires on the first expiring of the licences for which the competency was used (in my case I had got my competency in early 2010) and then licenced a SG that year. Then proceeded to buy a number of different FA's in 2014, 2015 and 2016, using the competency.

    The DFO insisted that I needed to renew my competency by early 2020 (ie. close to the first expiring of my FA's (and not the last expiring of them, which would have meant that it would have been valid until 2026)).

    As such, i would recommend that you double-check with your local DFO. Good luck!

    #JustSaying
    My DFO is on same page as yours.

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    Quote Originally Posted by mtaute View Post
    My DFO is on same page as yours.

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Good to know. Your DFO is for which suburb and city?

  7. #7

    Default Re: Competency renewal

    Quote Originally Posted by mtaute View Post
    My DFO is on same page as yours.

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    I applied for 2 Rifles in last year. +- May 2019 when it finally appeared onto the Dealer stock. I used my Printed Competency paper that SAPS issued years back. And in 2018 already I renewed some of my rifles as they came up for renewal. So if it was linked to the first 1 expiring. They would have not approved the 2 of last year. As the competency then would have expired with the rifles in 2018 already.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    Quote Originally Posted by shooty View Post
    I applied for 2 Rifles in last year. +- May 2019 when it finally appeared onto the Dealer stock. I used my Printed Competency paper that SAPS issued years back. And in 2018 already I renewed some of my rifles as they came up for renewal. So if it was linked to the first 1 expiring. They would have not approved the 2 of last year. As the competency then would have expired with the rifles in 2018 already.
    Agreed bud... but it seems to depend on the DFO/police station concerned.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    Quote Originally Posted by Tayls View Post
    Good to know. Your DFO is for which suburb and city?
    Melkbosstrand, CPT

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Competency renewal

    When I did some renewals last year my competency card was 5 years old and I had already renewed it 3 times in the preceding 5 years (don't ask.....). It was my first batch of licence renewals and they were accepted as-is and I received sms's to say they were registered on the system. 2 or 3 weeks later I went in to the office for something else and they said: "Oh, by the way, your renewals won't go through because you haven't renewed your competency"

    I pointed out all the reasons that I believed my competency didn't need to be renewed and they even agreed with me but said that an instruction had come through from Col van Lille (Western Cape head of FLASH) that everyone has to renew their competency when they renew licences. I asked if that means I have to renew my competency EVERY time I hand in a licence renewal application ie at least once a year for the next 10 years but they didn't have an answer to that.

    I was going away next day so it took about a month before I handed in my competency renewal. A day or 2 after handing in the competency renewal I received the sms's telling me that all my licence renewals had been approved and another day or 2 after that I received an sms to say that my competency renewal was now registered on the system.

    Net result was that after all the performance, the licence renewals appear to have gone through without the competency renewal anyway!

    A few days later I had the opportunity to discuss the matter in a meeting with a captain in FLASH at Bellville South who knew nothing about the instruction and suggested discussing it with van Lille or Col Visser, who we expected to join our meeting but he unfortunately never arrived so I couldn't ask.

    In the absence of any other information I suspect that either:
    (i) mtaute's Melkbos DFO (who I know to be experienced and has been in the job for years) received the same instruction from van Lille as did my Tableview DFO; or:
    (ii) My Tableview DFO (who has only been in the job for a few months and often calls the Melkbos DFO for advice) received that information as advice from the Melkbos DFO and understood it be an instruction from the Col.

    Of course, cynically, it could also just be another case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing..........

    If I get an opportunity to ask Col. Visser directly I will. I probably won't a chance to speak to van Lille directly.

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