How to Get Your Workshop RMI Approved

To apply for RMI approval, start by identifying the RMI trade association that matches the work your workshop does. Complete the current membership and accreditation paperwork for that category, then make sure your premises, equipment, staff and operating practices meet its standards. Use the current RMI joining documents before applying, because the requirements and process are category-specific.

This guide is for workshop owners and managers. If you’re a driver trying to work out what the RMI badge means when you’re choosing a workshop, read our separate article on what an RMI-approved workshop means for your car service instead.

Membership and accreditation are two different things

Most people mix these two up, so get this straight before you fill anything in.

RMI membership means your business belongs to the Retail Motor Industry Organisation. The RMI’s own application form lists several membership classifications, including Basic, Development, Accredited, Associate and International. Which one applies to you is decided by the RMI, not by the applicant.

Accreditation is granted through one of the RMI’s constituent trade associations, and it’s the thing consumers are actually looking for. The membership form says it plainly: applications for accredited membership must be accompanied by an application for accreditation from the relevant trade association. So joining the RMI on its own doesn’t make you “RMI approved”. You need both pieces.

The RMI’s public member directory at members.rmi.org.za lets people filter results by “Accredited only” and “Good standing only”. Those two filters are the reason to go for accreditation rather than stopping at plain membership. If you’re not accredited, you won’t show up when a motorist ticks that box.

Step 1: Find your trade association

The RMI is an umbrella body. Under it sit the trade associations, and each one looks after a specific kind of business. For a mechanical workshop the one that matters is MIWA, the Motor Industry Workshop Association. According to the RMI, MIWA covers general repairs, auto electrical, air conditioning, accessories and fitment, as well as transmission and driveline workshops.

If your workshop does something else, or does more than one thing, the RMI’s membership form asks you to pick the category that describes your main activity. Other associations you may run into:

• SAMBRA, the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association, for panelbeaters and spray painters.
• ARA, the Automotive Remanufacturers’ Association, for engineering shops, radiator specialists and diesel fuel injection specialists.
• TEPA, the Tyre, Equipment, Parts Association, for tyre dealers, battery specialists and parts retailers.
• NADA, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association, for franchise and used vehicle dealers.

Pick the wrong association and your application lands on the wrong desk. If you’re a general repair workshop that also fits tyres, you’re most likely a MIWA applicant, but confirm that with the RMI before you send anything.

Step 2: Get the current paperwork

Everything starts at the RMI joining documents page. At the time of writing it holds the general RMI membership application form, plus separate accreditation documents for some associations. Download what applies to your category from that page rather than working off a copy someone emailed you two years ago, because forms do get replaced.

The RMI membership form itself asks for:

• Registered company name and trading name (the trading name is what goes on your RMI record unless you say otherwise).
• Legal status: company, close corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship.
• Company registration number, VAT number and MIBCO number.
• Total number of people employed.
• Full names of all directors, members or partners, and the one person who’ll be the RMI’s contact.
• Physical and postal address, phone, email and website.
• Your main business activity, ticked from the category list.
• A signed declaration agreeing to be bound by the RMI Constitution, by-laws and resolutions.

Have those details ready before you sit down with the form. The MIBCO number in particular trips people up, so if you’re not sure of yours, find it first.

Step 3: Check your premises

The online enquiry form on the RMI site asks every applicant to confirm where they trade from: a registered premises legally zoned for business, a home-based premises that isn’t zoned, or a mobile business with no registered premises. That question is there for a reason. A workshop run from a residential driveway is a very different proposition to one operating from properly zoned premises, and it will affect how your application is handled.

If your zoning is in order, say so and keep the paperwork handy. If it isn’t, talk to your municipality first. The RMI doesn’t publish a fixed checklist of premises and equipment standards on its public pages, and the standards are set per association, so ask MIWA (or whichever association fits) what their inspection or accreditation criteria are rather than guessing.

Step 4: Apply for accreditation through the association

Once the RMI membership form is done, the accreditation application goes to the trade association. This part differs from one association to the next, so we won’t invent a list of requirements here. What we can say from the RMI’s own pages is what you’re signing up to once you’re accredited:

• Accredited members are party to the RMI Consumer Code of Conduct, which includes an undertaking to sell quality products and services at a fair and reasonable price.
• If a dispute with a customer can’t be settled at management level, the customer has the right to refer it to the RMI for investigation.

In practice that means your workshop needs the basics in place before you apply: written quotes, clear invoices, a way of handling complaints, and staff who know the process. The badge on the door is the small part. What you’re really taking on is a promise that a third party can hold you to.

What the RMI doesn’t publish

You’ll notice this article doesn’t quote fees, processing times or a pass rate. That’s deliberate. The RMI’s public pages and joining documents don’t state subscription amounts, how long approval takes, or a guarantee that an application will succeed. Anyone who gives you a firm number for those is either quoting from an old document or making it up. Get the figures directly from the RMI or the relevant association when you enquire, and get them in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I call my workshop “RMI approved” once I’ve paid membership?

Not on the strength of membership alone. Accreditation comes through the trade association, and the RMI directory separates accredited members from the rest. Wait until your accreditation is confirmed before you put it on your signage or website.

Which association does a general mechanical workshop apply to?

MIWA, the Motor Industry Workshop Association. It covers general repairs, auto electrical, air conditioning, fitment, transmission and driveline work. If your main activity is bodywork you’d go to SAMBRA instead; engineering and injection specialists go to ARA.

Do I need a MIBCO number to apply?

The RMI membership form has a field for it, alongside your company registration and VAT numbers. Have all three ready. If your MIBCO registration isn’t current, deal with that first.

Where do I download the forms?

From the RMI joining documents page. Use the versions there, not a saved copy, because the RMI updates them.

How do customers check that a workshop is accredited?

Through the RMI member directory, which can be filtered to show accredited members in good standing only. That’s also a useful check to run on your own listing once you’re in, to make sure it shows up the way you expect.

A note from a workshop that’s been through it

Our Hermanus branch is an RMI-accredited workshop, so we’ve filled in these forms ourselves. The honest advice is to phone the association before you send anything. Ten minutes on the phone about which category you fall into and what they’ll want to see at the premises saves a lot of back-and-forth later. And keep copies of everything you submit.

If you’d like to see what an accredited independent workshop looks like from the customer’s side, you’re welcome to visit Fangio Auto Service Hermanus.