This page is for the company doing the hiring. It is not the application guide. Officers should start with how to get a Class D license, then Class G requirements, what the licenses cost, and the $15 minimum wage guide if they are paid by the hour.
tessura is not affiliated with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The licenses on a Florida postChapter 493 sorts the credentials by who holds them. F.S. 493.6301 is the map:01
Chapter 493 sorts the credentials by who holds them. F.S. 493.6301 is the map:
- Class B. Any person or company in business as a security agency needs a Class B license, and that license is valid for only one location. A branch office needs a Class BB license. The manager of a Class B agency or Class BB branch needs a Class MB license, unless a Class M licensee, or a Class D licensee who has held that license for at least two years, is designated as the manager.
- Class D. Any individual who performs the services of a security officer needs a Class D license. A Class D licensee must own or be an employee of a Class B security agency or branch office. (A Class C or Class CC licensee may perform bodyguard services without a Class D.) The 40-hour training, the fees, and the application steps are in the Class D guide.
- Class G. Only a Class M, Class MB, or Class D licensee may bear a firearm, and any of them who does must also hold a Class G statewide firearm license. Armed posts are not covered by a Class D alone. See the Class G guide.
- Class DI. Any individual who teaches or instructs at a Class DS security officer school or training facility must hold a Class DI license. That is an instructor credential, not the license an officer carries on a post. FDACS says a DI applicant must be at least 18 and must meet one of the training or experience paths in Rule 5N-1.138, Florida Administrative Code (for example, three years as a Class D within the five years before the application, plus a high school diploma or GED). You do not hire a Class DI to stand post. You do need Class D training to come from a Class DS school whose instructors hold Class DI.
Check the license on FDACS before the first shiftF.S. 493.6118(1)(n) makes it a ground for discipline to employ or contract with any unlicensed or improperly l…02
F.S. 493.6118(1)(n) makes it a ground for discipline to employ or contract with any unlicensed or improperly licensed person to conduct activities regulated under Chapter 493, when the licensure status was known or could have been ascertained by reasonable inquiry. The same section lets the department reprimand, fine, suspend, or revoke.
Reasonable inquiry has a public tool. FDACS publishes a licensee search for security officers, instructors, and agency managers, and a separate search for agencies and schools: Search for a licensee. Look the person up before you put them on a regulated post. On tessura, the same check is described at how to verify a Florida license, and the company roster we hold is at licensed security companies in Florida.
Two related duties sit in the same disciplinary section:
- F.S. 493.6118(1)(q) cites the failure of a licensee to have the license in their possession while on duty, as F.S. 493.6111(1) requires.
- F.S. 493.6118(1)(z) is the failure of a licensee to notify their employer within 3 calendar days of an arrest for any offense. Build that notice into the hire packet so you hear about it.
Pending applications and temporary licensesThere is no general temporary Class D card in Chapter 493. What the statute does say, in F.S. 493.6105(8), is …03
There is no general temporary Class D card in Chapter 493. What the statute does say, in F.S. 493.6105(8), is that upon submission of a complete application, a Class D applicant may commence employment or appropriate duties for a licensed agency or branch office. If the department denies the application, that employment must be terminated immediately, unless the person performs only unregulated duties. Unarmed work on a complete, still-pending Class D application is not the same thing as armed work.
A temporary Class G is a real temporary license, and it is issued case by case. F.S. 493.6115(12) allows it only when all of these are true:
- The agency or employer certifies that the applicant has been found mentally and emotionally stable by a validated written psychological test within the previous 12 months, an evaluation by a qualifying psychiatrist or psychologist within the previous 12 months, or a DD Form 214 issued within the previous 12 months that shows no emotional or mental instability at discharge.
- The department has reviewed the mental health and substance abuse data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and determined the applicant is not prohibited from licensure on that data.
- The applicant has submitted a complete Class G application that notes the temporary request.
- The applicant has completed the Class G minimum training.
- The applicant has department approval after the criminal history record check in F.S. 493.6108(1).
F.S. 493.6115(13) lets the department charge a processing fee of not more than $25 for a temporary Class G request. The current dollar amount is on the FDACS new-license fee schedule, which the cost guide cites. Once issued, the temporary Class G carries the same requirements as a Class G. It is valid until the Class G is issued or denied. If the department denies the Class G, the temporary license is void and the person must be removed from armed duties immediately (F.S. 493.6115(15)).
A concealed weapon license does not replace any of this. F.S. 493.6115(17) says no person is exempt from the firearms section by holding a concealed weapon or concealed firearm license.
What the post has to payTwo different numbers get confused in hiring conversations. One is the legal floor. The other is what the occu…04
Two different numbers get confused in hiring conversations. One is the legal floor. The other is what the occupation actually earns.
The floor. Florida's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour for hours worked on or after September 30, 2026. That is the last of the $1.00 yearly steps in Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. F.S. 448.110 is the enforcement statute. The officer-facing guide, Florida's $15 minimum wage, covers overtime, the workplace poster, and how an underpaid employee gives notice. If someone already earns more than $15.00, the constitution does not require a raise.
The market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025 annual estimates, occupation 33-9032 Security Guards, Florida:
- Employment: 95,370
- Mean hourly wage: $18.08
- 25th percentile: $15.55
- Median: $17.26
- 75th percentile: $19.00
- 90th percentile: $22.16
These are statewide straight-time wages for the occupation, not a quote for your site and not a benefit-loaded bill rate. The state median sits above the $15.00 floor. City figures differ. The same release, for every Florida metro we chart, is on security guard pay in Florida.
Where to find licensed guardsPost the opening on tessura at no charge. The public board, city pages, and, for a posting your company publis…05
Post the opening on tessura at no charge. The public board, city pages, and, for a posting your company publishes or claims, Google for Jobs structured data are described on for companies. If the founding-company offer is still open, the live terms from billing settings appear under this article. When that offer is closed, the box is not shown.
You can also search the Florida licensed-company directory and send candidates to verify a Florida license so the number they give you is one they have already looked up.