Security Guard Licensing by State

Alabama security guard license

Alabama security officers are licensed by the Alabama Security Regulatory Board. New officers complete 8 hours of training for the Personal License, and armed officers add 4 more hours. The license costs $112 in total, lasts two years and renews with 8 hours of refresher training. Applicants must be 18, or 21 for armed work, and pass an FBI and Alabama Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check.

Official sourceAlabama Security Regulatory Board ↗

Arizona security guard license

Arizona guards are licensed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Unarmed guards need 8 hours of training, and armed guards add 16 hours of firearms training for 24 hours in total. The license lasts four years and costs $50 for unarmed guards or $100 for armed guards, plus a separate $22 fingerprint fee. Unarmed guards renew by completing an 8-hour refresher within 90 days before the license expires.

Official sourceArizona DPS Licensing Unit ↗

California guard card

California guard cards are issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS). You need 40 hours of training in total, with 8 hours completed before your first assignment and 32 hours of skills training after it. The application fee is $60, the card lasts two years, and every guard completes 8 hours of continuing training each year. Applicants must be at least 18 and complete Live Scan fingerprinting.

Official sourceBureau of Security and Investigative Services ↗

Colorado security guard license

Colorado doesn’t license unarmed guards at the state level, but Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo each require a city license. Denver requires 16 hours of initial training, 8 hours of training every year and a $50 license fee, and the license renews annually. Colorado Springs requires at least 8 hours of training, while Pueblo requires a basic training certificate, fingerprints and two character references, with licenses expiring every December 31.

Official sourceDenver Excise and Licenses ↗ Colorado Springs City Clerk ↗ Pueblo Merchant Patrol ordinance ↗

Delaware security guard license

Delaware issues a Yellow Card to unarmed guards and a Red Card to armed guards through the Delaware State Police. Unarmed applicants complete a Board-approved training program and pass a proctored exam at a Delaware Tech campus with a score of 75% or higher. Armed guards add a 40-hour firearms course and requalify every year by December 31. Cards last five years, and applicants must be 18, or 21 for armed work.

Official sourceDelaware State Police ↗

Georgia security guard license

Georgia sets guard training standards through the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies. New unarmed guards need 24 hours of initial training, a requirement in place since January 2022, and armed guards add a 15-hour handgun course and a 2-hour shotgun course. Security employees complete 8 hours of continuing education every year, and the background check runs through GCIC, the GBI and the FBI.

Official sourceGeorgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies ↗

Hawaii security guard license

Hawaii licenses individual Guard Employees through the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. You need 8 hours of classroom training before your first day of service and 4 hours of training every three years to renew. There’s a $10 application fee plus a license fee that depends on where you fall in the licensing cycle, and armed duty requires written firearms authorization from your county police chief.

Official sourceBoard of Private Detectives and Guards ↗

Illinois PERC card

Illinois guards need a Permanent Employee Registration Card (PERC) from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The first year takes 28 hours of training, with 20 hours up front and 8 hours of supplemental training later in the year. The PERC application fee is $55, the card lasts three years, and guards complete 8 hours of refresher training every year. Armed guards must be at least 21.

Official sourceIDFPR Security Professions ↗

Minnesota security guard requirements

Minnesota licenses the protective agency rather than the individual guard, through the Board of Private Detective and Protective Agent Services. Unarmed guards complete 12 hours of pre-assignment training within 21 days of being hired, and armed guards need 18 hours in total. Every license holder completes 6 hours of continuing education each year, and background checks run through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Official sourcePrivate Detective and Protective Agent Services Board ↗

Oklahoma CLEET security guard license

Oklahoma guards are licensed by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET). Unarmed guards complete 40 hours of training across Phase I and Phase II, and armed guards complete 72 hours. The license costs $50 unarmed or $100 armed and lasts three years, with 8 hours of refresher training required each cycle. Defencify’s Oklahoma course covers that 8-hour CLEET renewal.

Official sourceCLEET ↗

Tennessee security guard license

Tennessee security officers are licensed by the Department of Commerce and Insurance. Unarmed officers need 4 hours of general training within 15 days of employment, and armed officers add an 8-hour classroom course and a 4-hour marksmanship course within 60 days. Licenses last two years, and unarmed officers complete 2 hours of continuing education to renew. Since January 1, 2026, a separate Enhanced Armed Guard credential covers rifle and shotgun carry.

Official sourceTDCI Private Protective Services ↗

Texas security officer license

Texas licenses security officers through the Department of Public Safety Private Security Program. An unarmed Level II license requires a 6-hour DPS-approved course, and armed Level III officers need at least 45 hours plus a firearms proficiency test. Level II fees total $37 plus a $28.25 FBI fingerprint fee, and the license lasts two years. Level II officers don’t need continuing education to renew.

Official sourceTexas DPS Private Security Program ↗

Utah security officer license

Utah licenses security officers through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL). Unarmed officers complete an 8-hour basic course, and armed officers add a 12-hour firearms course for 20 hours in total. The license costs $92 plus a fingerprint fee and expires on November 30 of every even-numbered year. Renewal takes 32 hours of continuing education per two-year cycle.

Official sourceUtah DOPL ↗

Idaho security guard requirements

Idaho has no state licensing board or state-issued credential for security guards, armed or unarmed. Your employer and the sites you’re assigned to set the training and conduct standards, so completed training is often what gets you hired.

Kansas security guard requirements

Kansas law exempts security guards from the licensing that applies to private detectives, so there’s no state guard license. Wichita, Lenexa, Lawrence and Topeka run their own local guard permits, so check the rules if you’ll work in one of those cities.

Kentucky security guard requirements

Kentucky’s licensing law for private investigators doesn’t cover security guards, so there’s no state guard license to obtain. Employers set their own hiring and training standards, which makes documented training the clearest way to show you’re ready for a post.

Mississippi security guard requirements

Mississippi doesn’t license unarmed guards, but anyone who carries a firearm on duty needs a state Security Guard Permit from the Department of Public Safety. The permit requires applicants to be 21, costs $132 including the background check and renews every four years. Biloxi also requires its own city guard license.

Official sourceMississippi DPS Security Guard Permit ↗

Missouri and Kansas City security guard license

Missouri doesn’t license security guards statewide, but Kansas City does. The Kansas City Police Department’s Private Officers Licensing Unit issues unarmed licenses for $110 and armed licenses for $165, plus a fingerprint fee of about $50.

Official sourceKCPD Private Officers Licensing ↗

Nebraska security guard requirements

Nebraska’s Private Detective Act covers investigative work, not uniformed guard or patrol services, so there’s no state guard license. Confirm any local rules in Omaha or Lincoln with your employer before you start a post.

South Dakota security guard requirements

South Dakota law doesn’t list security guards among its licensed occupations, so there’s no state guard license. Check any Sioux Falls requirements with your employer before you start a post.

Wyoming security guard requirements

Wyoming doesn’t license security guards at the state level, and employers set their own hiring standards. Confirm any Cheyenne requirements with your employer before you start a post.