February 8, 2002 |
2002-R-0127 | |
SECURITY GUARD LICENSING IN SELECT STATES | ||
By: Veronica Rose, Principal Analyst | ||
You asked if surrounding states require security guards to be licensed, and if yes, you want to know the fees and how frequently the license must be renewed.
Like Connecticut, the five surrounding states require businesses that provide security services to be licensed. All, except Massachusetts, require licensees to register their security guard employees with a state entity. All set criteria that licensees and guards must meet.
Table 1 shows the fees and credential renewal frequency. At $600 per year for a license applicant who is an individual, Connecticut has the highest license fee; Vermont has the lowest, at $220 for its initial two-year license and $225 for renewals.
TABLE 1: SECURITY GUARD LICENSING FEES IN SELECT STATES*
State |
Occupation |
Credential Required |
Fee |
Credential Valid For | |
Original Application |
Renewal Application | ||||
Connecticut |
Security company or business |
License (CGS § 29-153) |
$600 for individual & $750 for agency (CGS § 29-155c) |
$450 for Individual & $600 for agency (CGS § 29-155c) |
1 year |
Security guard |
Registration with public safety commissioner (CGS § 29-156a) |
$13 (CGS § 29-156a) |
Not required |
Not specified | |
Maine |
Security company or business |
License (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 32 § 9404) |
$400 (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 32 § 9407) |
$200 (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 32 § 9408) |
1 year (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 32 § 9408) |
Security guard |
Licensee must notify public safety commissioner when he hires guards (Me. Rev. Stat. Tit. 32 § 9410-A) |
None |
None |
NA | |
Massachusetts |
Security company or business |
License (Mass Gen. Laws Ann. Ch. 147 § 23) |
$550 (fee determined annually) |
$150 (fee determined annually) |
1 year (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. Ch.147 § 25) |
Security guard |
None but licensee must keep records of employees and the State Police check these randomly |
None |
None |
NA | |
New York |
Security company or business |
License (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 72) |
$300 for an individual and $400 for a firm, partnership, or limited liability company (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 74) |
$300 for an individual and $400 for a firm, partnership, or limited liability company (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 78) |
2 years (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 74) |
Security guard |
Registration with Department of State (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 89-h) |
$36 for application processing and for initial biennial registration, plus cost of search and document retention (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 89-h) |
$25 (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 89-m) |
2 years (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 89-h) | |
Rhode Island |
Security company or business |
License (R.I. Gen Laws § 5-5.1-7) |
$400 (R.I. Gen Laws § 5-5.1-13) |
400 (R.I. Gen Laws § 5-5.1-13) |
2 years (R.I. Gen Laws § 5-5.1-13) |
Security guard |
Registration with attorney general (R.I. Gen Laws § 5-5.1-18) |
Included in the $400 fee above |
Included in the $400 fee above |
Not specified | |
Vermont |
Security company or business |
License (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3174) |
$220 (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3178a) |
$225 (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3178a) |
2 years |
Security guard |
Registration with state Board of Private Investigative and Security Services (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3176) |
$25 for unarmed registrants & $60 for armed registrants (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3178a) |
$40 for all registrants (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 26 § 3178a) |
2 years (Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 21 § 3178a) | |
* Most states have separate fees for combination licenses, such as private detective/security guard. For brevity's sake, these are not shown here.
VR:eh