Licensing & regulation
What is a close protection licence?
A close protection licence is the SIA licence for guarding individuals against assault or injury. It covers personal protection work rather than guarding premises or property.
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<img src="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/close-protection/diagram.svg" alt="close protection licence — diagram from SecureOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/close-protection">What is a close protection licence?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk">SecureOptix</a>
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</figure>It is the licence with the most demanding qualification, reflecting that the work involves threat assessment, route planning and operating in environments the operative does not control.
It permits a holder to carry out door supervision and guarding work in some circumstances, which makes it the broadest of the front line categories, though the reverse is not true.
Much of the actual work is planning rather than presence, which is why an assignment record for close protection looks quite different from one for a static site.
What goes wrong in practice
- Guarding licence holders used for personal protection work.
- Assignment planning not recorded, leaving nothing to show how risks were assessed.
- Overseas work arranged without checking the position in that jurisdiction.