Licensing & regulation
What is a security guarding licence?
A security guarding licence is the SIA licence for guarding premises, property or people against theft, damage, disorder or trespass. It is the most common front line licence in the industry.
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<img src="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/security-guarding/diagram.svg" alt="security guarding licence — diagram from SecureOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/security-guarding">What is a security guarding licence?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk">SecureOptix</a>
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</figure>It covers static guarding, mobile patrols and much of the corporate and retail security estate. What it does not cover is guarding licensed premises against disorder, which requires a door supervisor licence.
The distinction that matters on site is between guarding and monitoring. Watching CCTV in a way that involves identifying individuals in public space is a separate licensable activity with its own licence.
Because it is the volume licence in the industry, it is also where expiry tracking matters most. A firm with a hundred officers has renewals falling due continuously rather than annually.
What goes wrong in practice
- Deployed to licensed premises where a door supervisor licence is required.
- CCTV monitoring duties added to a guarding role without the separate licence.
- Renewals tracked in a spreadsheet with no alerting, so lapses are found by audit.