Standards are the responsibility of the South African Bureau of standards(SABS). SABS was established as a statutory body in 1945.

Accreditation comes under the South African National Accreditation System. SANAS is an independent non-profit organisation, established in 1973.

Legal metrology is the responsibility of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS). NRCS was established as a statutory body in September 2008. Prior to this, legal metrology was the responsibility of SABS.

Scientific metrology is the responsibility of the National Measurement Institute of South Africa (NMISA), established through a 2006 Act of Parliament. Under this Act, NMISA took on all the responsibilities of the previous organisation, the CSIR National Metrology Laboratory.

In both accreditation and scientific metrology, South Africa has developed links with regional bodies outside Africa. In accreditation, SANAS has signed a bilateral recognition agreement with EA. In metrology, NMISA is active in APMP and through its membership to SADCMET (in southern Africa) is involved in AFRIMETS (the newly formed Regional Metrology Organisation for Africa), which is a Liaison Organisation of EURAMET.