Review of the Private Security Industry: Definitions, Challenges, and Paths Moving Forward
6-2
require only contract security officers or only those carrying firearms on the job to have
licenses. At the company level, 33 states require only contract security firms to be licensed
while proprietary companies with their own security force are not required to be licensed.
Figure 24 shows the general licensing requirements of private security officers by state.
Figure 25 shows the general licensing requirements of private security firms by state. Non-
security firms that directly employ private security officers do not have licensing or
registration requirements except in Illinois, South Carolina, Tennessee, Montana, Oregon,
and Georgia. The most likely reason for this is that it is easier to regulate all companies in a
single industry, such as the contract security industry, than all industries where companies
may or may not employ security officers.
It is difficult to generalize licensing requirements because the regulations vary from state to
state. Table 7 presents the licensing requirements for officers in the ten most populous
states.
7
Seven of the states require all contract officers to be licensed or registered, two
states (Pennsylvania and Georgia) require only armed contract officers to be licensed, and
one state (Michigan) requires contract firms only to submit a list of employees on a
quarterly basis. Only two states (California and New York) require all proprietary officers to
be licensed. Five states require proprietary officers to be licensed if they are armed officers.
Private Investigators (2010), Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners (n.d.), Maine
State Police (2005), Maryland State Police (2005), Michigan Department of Energy, Labor &
Economic Growth (2010), Mississippi Department of Public Safety (n.d), Missouri Division of
Professional Registration (n.d.), Montana Department of Labor & Industry Board of Private Security
(n.d.), Nebraska Secretary of State (n.d.), Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board (n.d.),
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau (n.d.), New Jersey State Police
(2010), New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department (n.d.), New York State Department of
State Division of Licensing Services (n.d.), New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
(n.d.), North Carolina Department of Justice (n.d.), Ohio Department of Public Safety (n.d.),
Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (2010), Pennsylvania State Police
(2010), South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (2006), State of Alabama (1975), State of
Arizona Department of Public Safety Licensing Unit (2008), State of Colorado (2010), State of
Delaware (n.d.), State of Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs Professional and
Vocational Licensing (2010), State of Indiana Private Investigator & Security Guard Licensing Board
(n.d.), State of Massachusetts Public Safety (2010), State of Minnesota Board of Private Detective
and Protective Agent Services (n.d.), State of New Hampshire (n.d), State of North Dakota Private
Investigation and Security Board (2008), State of Oregon DPSST Private Security (n.d.), State of
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General (n.d.), State of Washington Department of Regulation
and Licensing (n.d.), Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (n.d.), Texas Department
of Public Safety Private Security Bureau (2010), Utah Division of Occupational and Professional
Licensing (2010), Vermont Secretary of State Office of Professional Regulation (2009), Virginia
Department of Criminal Justice Services (2010), Washington State Department of Licensing (2010),
West Virginia Secretary of State (2010), Wyoming Attorney General (n.d.), IASIR (2009).
7
California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (2010),
Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau (2010), New York State Department of
State Division of Licensing Services (n.d.), New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
(n.d.), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (2004), Illinois Department of
Financial & Professional Regulation (2010), Pennsylvania State Police (2010), Ohio Department of
Public Safety (n.d.), Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (2010), Georgia
Secretary of State Board of Private Detectives and Security Agencies (2008), North Carolina
Department of Justice (n.d.), IASIR (2009).
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not
been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.