There are four categories of membership of the Association which are:

1st category represents full members who are the railways in SADC
2nd category represents associate members who are railways that are not connected to the regional network
3rd category represents 1^st special members who are organisations or groups with vested interest in the railway industry
4th category represents 2^nd special members who are suppliers and other relevant stakeholders.

The rights and obligations of membership is set out in the SARA Constitution and/or as determined by the SARA Board. Leadership of SARA is based on rotational selection of SARA President and Vice President from SARA full members on criteria set in the SARA Constitution.