The invention relates to a multichannel safety apparatus for the multichannel actuation of a safety device (40) which has a first, microprocessor-controlled control device (70) and a second control device (80). The first, microprocessor-controlled control device (70) has a signal generation device (71) for generating a first monitoring signal which indicates the current operating state of the first control device (70). In addition, a switching device (90) which can be actuated by the first and second control devices (70, 80) is provided which can turn on the safety device (40) or put it into a safe state. The second control device (80) has a monoflop (85) which, in response to the monitoring signal, actuates the switching device (90) such that the safety device (40) can be put into a safe state if the first control device is operating incorrectly. The first control device (70) has an associated device (50, 101) for generating an enable signal for the second control device (80).