Security guard license requirements: California, Texas, Florida, New York

Licensing is set by each state, and the employer carries the risk

There is no federal security guard license in the United States. Each state sets its own rules, and a guard licensed in one state is not licensed in another. In all four states covered here, the security company also needs its own license, and the law puts specific duties on the employer: checking a guard’s status before hire, filing notices, delivering training and keeping records.

A handful of states have no statewide license for unarmed guards, and some cities and counties add their own licensing on top of, or instead of, state rules. If you run sites in more than one place, check the state, county and city rules for each site, not just your head office.

This guide is for employers in California, Texas, Florida and New York: what to check before a first shift, where to check it, and which deadlines catch firms out. Rules change, so confirm anything you act on with the state regulator.

State-by-state comparison

The figures below are for an individual unarmed guard license, checked against official state pages and statutes on October 18, 2026. Where a state doesn’t state a figure officially, the table says so.

Individual security guard licenses in the four largest US markets
State	Regulator	Credential	Minimum age	Training	Term and fee	Online check
California	Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS)	Security guard registration (the “Guard Card”)	18	Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force course (about 8 hours) before registration; 32 hours of skills training within 6 months, 16 of them within 30 days; 8 hours every year	Biennial renewal; $60 new, $44 renewal, $69 late renewal	BSIS Verify a License
Texas	Department of Public Safety (DPS), Private Security Program	Noncommissioned security officer license (unarmed); commissioned security officer license (armed)	18	Level II course and test for both (hours not stated officially); armed officers add Level III, at least 45 hours, plus a firearm proficiency test	Up to 2 years; $37 noncommissioned, $57 commissioned, plus $28.25 FBI fingerprint check	TOPS license search
Florida	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Licensing	Class D security officer license; Class G statewide firearm license for armed work	18	40 hours at a licensed school; Class G adds 28 hours and 4 hours every year	2 years; $45 license plus $52.75 fingerprint fees ($97.75 total)	FDACS licensee search
New York	Department of State (DOS), Division of Licensing Services	Security guard registration under the Security Guard Act	18	8-hour pre-assignment course before applying; 16-hour on-the-job training within 90 days of employment; 8-hour in-service course every calendar year	2 years; $36 application, $25 renewal, $102.50 fingerprint fee	DOS licensee search, plus the employer-only Online Security Guard Registry

Fees are for a new individual license as published by each regulator and may change. Texas fees are from the DPS fee schedule revised September 3, 2019, the latest DPS publishes. Links to every official page are at the end of this guide.

California: the Guard Card and the PPO license

California guards register with BSIS and must be employed by a licensed Private Patrol Operator (PPO) or a registered private security employer. They can’t contract their services out directly. The Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force course must be finished before BSIS issues the registration; the BSIS training manual describes it as approximately eight hours. After that, the guard needs 32 hours of security officer skills training within six months of registration, with 16 of those hours inside the first 30 days, and 8 hours of continuing training every year. A PPO can deliver this training itself.

A guard may start work once BSIS approves the registration if they carry a printout of the approval from the BSIS website and a valid photo ID; otherwise the card must be carried on duty. Armed guards need a separate firearms permit: minimum age 21, a two-year term, and four range qualifications per term, two in each 12-month period. A firearms permit can’t be renewed after it expires.

California passed SB 1203 in 2026, which changes guard training hours and fines from future dates. BSIS had not posted the final requirements when we checked, so this guide uses the current rules.

Texas: Level II, Level III and the company license

Texas licenses individuals through the DPS Private Security Program, and the individual must be employed by a company license holder. An unarmed guard holds a noncommissioned security officer license and completes the Level II course and test. An armed guard holds a commissioned security officer license and adds Level III training, a minimum of 45 hours with a course of fire, plus a firearm proficiency demonstration completed within 90 days of the application. DPS doesn’t state the length of the Level II course on its training page.

Timing differs by license. Under the Occupations Code, a commissioned officer must be approved by DPS before starting work. Someone working in another regulated capacity, such as a noncommissioned officer, must be approved within 120 days of starting. Commissioned officers renew with 6 hours of continuing education every two years and a fresh firearm proficiency certificate; noncommissioned officers are exempt from continuing education. When a licensed officer joins you from another company, you must notify DPS within 14 days of their start date.

Florida: Class D, Class G and Class B

Florida’s Class D security officer license requires 40 hours of professional training at a school licensed by FDACS. The application form states that an applicant may start work as an unarmed officer once a complete application is submitted, but if FDACS sends a Notice of Errors or Omissions to the applicant and employer, employment must stop until the problem is fixed. Every Class D licensee must own or work for a Class B security agency or a licensed branch office, and the employer completes the employer statement on the application.

Any Class D officer who carries a firearm also needs a Class G license: 28 hours of range and classroom training, no more than 20 of them online, plus 4 hours of training every year. Both licenses last two years.

New York: the Security Guard Act

New York puts more of the paperwork on the employer than the other three states. Under the Security Guard Act, a security guard company may not knowingly employ a guard unless it has verified with DOS that the guard holds a valid registration, or has filed a complete application for them. Employers do this through the Online Security Guard Registry: you enter the applicant’s details, get a registration status and a transaction number, and keep the printed summary as proof of due diligence. DOS says the application must be submitted within 24 hours of receiving the transaction number.

The 8-hour pre-assignment course comes before the application. The employer then has 90 days from the start of employment to deliver the 16-hour on-the-job training (the statute says 90 working days), and the guard needs an 8-hour in-service course in every calendar year of a registration. Armed guards add a 47-hour firearms course and 8 firearms hours a year.

Notices within 15 calendar days of hiring, retirement, resignation or termination of a guard. Hiring a guard who is already registered also needs an Employment Status Notification and a $25 fee.
Records for one year after a guard leaves: the application, proof of due diligence, photograph and training records.

Your company license

Each state also licenses the firm. The guard’s credential and the company’s license are separate, and both must be current.

Company licenses for contract security firms
State	License	Key requirements	Term and fee
California	Private Patrol Operator (PPO)	Qualified manager aged 18 or over with 4,000 hours of paid experience as a guard or equivalent, who passes a two-hour exam; general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence	$605 application and exam, $847 initial license; biennial renewal $990
Texas	Class B Security Contractor Company License (covers guard services)	A company representative aged 21 or over with 3 years of experience and 1 year in a supervisory role, who passes a 50-question exam at 70%	Up to 2 years; $412 original or renewal
Florida	Class B security agency	Not detailed on the pages we checked; contact FDACS	3 years; statutory cap of $450
New York	Watch, guard or patrol agency license	A principal aged 25 with 2 years of experience who has passed the exam within the past 2 years; $10,000 surety bond; liability insurance of $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate if you employ guards	2 years; $400 application or renewal for a business

In New York, renew at least six weeks before expiry or pay a $100 late fee; a license can’t be renewed more than six months after it expires.

How to verify a license before the first shift

1Get the license or registration number, type and expiry date from the guard in writing, with a copy of the card.
2Check it on the state’s lookup. California, Texas and Florida have public license searches. In New York, use the Online Security Guard Registry with your employer ID before hire; the public DOS search shows active licenses only.
3Keep proof of the check: a dated screenshot or, in New York, the printed transaction summary, in the guard’s file.
4Start the training clocks on the hire or registration date: 30 days and 6 months in California, 90 days in New York.
5Record every expiry date for the license, any firearm permit or commission, and annual training, and check again at every renewal.

Renewal traps

California wants renewals filed at least 60 days before expiry. A registration not renewed within 60 days after it expires is canceled and the guard must apply again from scratch. A firearms permit can’t be renewed at all once it has expired.
Texas opens online renewal 180 days before expiry. Late renewal costs 1.5 times the fee within 90 days and double after that; after one year the guard must apply as new. The statute is clear that a person with an expired license may not do licensed work until it is renewed.
Florida mails a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiry. A guard whose Class D license has been expired for a year or more is treated as a new applicant and must redo the 40 hours. Florida’s criminal penalty for unlicensed activity doesn’t apply in the first 90 days after expiry, but don’t treat that as permission to work: the guard is still unlicensed.
New York has a narrow window: the renewal must be filed 30 to 60 days before expiry, with proof of the annual in-service training. DOS states that a guard who doesn’t renew by the expiration date can’t work as a security guard, and after six months must re-apply and re-qualify.

The expiry trap

We found no rule in any of the four states that lets a guard work on an expired license. A license that expires today means the guard can’t work today, and an employer that keeps them on post is using an unlicensed guard. The classic failure is the overnight shift that starts the evening before the expiry date and ends the next morning. Missed training deadlines, such as California’s 30-day and New York’s 90-day clocks, cause the same problem more slowly.

Track expiry dates with alerts timed to each state’s renewal window, and block scheduling from the day a license expires until the renewal is verified. Use this tracker if you are still on a spreadsheet:

License tracker and alert rules

LICENSE TRACKER (one row per guard)

Guard | State | License / registration no. | Type (CA Guard Card, TX noncommissioned or commissioned, FL Class D / G, NY registration) | Issued | Expires | Verified on (state lookup) | Training due (CA 32 hrs / NY 16-hr OJT / annual hours) | Firearm permit + expiry | Next action

ALERT RULES
180 days before expiry -> Texas: online renewal opens; remind guard
120 days before expiry -> California: renewal can be filed from now
 90 days before expiry -> remind guard; book annual training and firearm requalification
 60 days before expiry -> California: last day to file renewal on time (registration and firearm permit)
                           New York: renewal window (30 to 60 days before expiry) opens
 30 days before expiry -> escalate to manager; New York: last day of the renewal window;
                           plan cover for this guard’s shifts
On expiry date         -> no shifts from 00:00 that day until the renewal is verified

TRAINING CLOCKS FROM THE HIRE OR REGISTRATION DATE
California: 16 of the 32 skills hours within 30 days, all 32 within 6 months
New York:   16-hour on-the-job training within 90 days of employment
Texas:      noncommissioned applicant approved within 120 days of starting work

CHECK BEFORE EVERY NEW ASSIGNMENT
[ ] License valid for the whole shift (not just the start)
[ ] License issued by the state where the site is
[ ] Armed post: firearm permit or commission valid and requalification current

What employing an unlicensed guard can cost

These are statutory maximums, not a fixed fine per shift. The commercial risk is often bigger: most contracts require licensed guards, and an incident on an unlicensed shift is harder to defend with your insurer and in court.

Texas makes it a Class A misdemeanor to employ or contract with someone knowing they don’t hold a required license, and allows a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.
New York makes employing a guard in breach of the Security Guard Act a misdemeanor: up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, for a first conviction, and up to one year and $1,000 to $2,500 for a later one. Each violation is a separate offense.
Florida lists employing or contracting with an unlicensed or improperly licensed person as grounds for discipline, which can mean a reprimand, an administrative fine for every count, probation, or suspension or revocation of the agency license. Unlicensed activity itself is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a felony on a repeat.
California treats working as a guard without registration as a misdemeanor, according to BSIS. A Senate committee analysis from April 2026 puts the current maximum citation fine for specified violations by PPOs and guards at $2,500 per violation. The fine for a PPO employing one unregistered guard is not stated officially on the pages we checked.

How GuardDesk handles licenses

GuardDesk keeps each guard’s license, firearm permit and training certificates with their expiry dates, and checks them before a shift is assigned: a dispatcher can’t give a shift to a guard whose license won’t be valid on that date. When a license nears expiry, the affected shifts show up as exceptions before they become a problem.

Questions owners ask

Is a California Guard Card the same as a security guard license?

In practice, yes. California calls it a security guard registration, issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, and the card is commonly called a Guard Card. It is valid only in California, and the guard must be employed by a licensed Private Patrol Operator or a registered private security employer.

Can a security guard licensed in one state work in another?

Not on that license. Each state licenses guards for work on its own territory, so a guard licensed in Florida needs a New York registration to work a New York site. Check the rules of the state where the site is before the guard is scheduled.

How do I check if a security guard license is valid?

Use the regulator’s lookup in the state where the guard will work: BSIS Verify a License in California, the DPS TOPS search in Texas and the FDACS licensee search in Florida. New York employers must use the Online Security Guard Registry before hire and keep the transaction summary. Keep a dated record of every check.

What is the difference between a noncommissioned and a commissioned security officer in Texas?

A noncommissioned security officer works unarmed and completes Level II training. A commissioned security officer is armed, adds at least 45 hours of Level III training and a firearm proficiency test, and must be approved by DPS before starting work.

Is there a grace period if a guard’s license expires?

No. California, Texas and New York give a window to renew late, at a higher fee, but we found no rule in any of the four states that lets a guard work on an expired license. In California, a registration not renewed within 60 days of expiry is canceled.

Sources

General information for security firm owners and managers, not legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the regulator or your lawyer before relying on them. Checked October 14, 2026.

Security guard licensing in the US: an employer’s guide to California, Texas, Florida and New York