Iowa does not license individual security guards. The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) licenses private security agencies under Iowa Code chapter 80A, and every agency employee who does security work must carry a DPS employee identification card issued for that agency (Iowa Code 80A.7). Armed guards also need a professional permit to carry weapons from their county sheriff (Iowa Code 724.6).
Which rules apply to you
- Agency guard: you work for a company that supplies guards, watch, patrol or armored car personnel to clients. You need the ID card.
- In-house guard: a business employs you, full or part time, to guard its own property and affairs. Chapter 80A does not apply (Iowa Code 80A.2), so your employer sets the requirements.
- Off-duty peace officers can do security work with their chief's consent and need no license or card. A licensed agency, though, may not employ a peace officer for security work (661 IAC 121.3).
- Support staff at an agency who do clerical work, dispatch, maintenance, payroll, ticket-taking or parking away from the job site do not need a card (661 IAC 121.6).
Who can get a card
Employees must meet the same standards as the agency's licensee (Iowa Code 80A.4, 661 IAC 121.5):
- 18 or older.
- Never convicted of a felony or an aggravated misdemeanor. DPS counts an out-of-state offense punishable by two or more years as an aggravated misdemeanor.
- No conviction for certain serious assault offenses (Iowa Code 708.3, 708.4, 708.5, 708.6, 708.8 and 708.9), for illegally using, carrying or possessing a dangerous weapon, or for fraud.
- Good moral character. DPS lists what it weighs, including acts of moral turpitude with or without a conviction (dishonesty, harassment or stalking, sexual misconduct, drug dealing, domestic abuse), being a registered sex offender, being subject to certain protective orders, and having an open arrest warrant.
- Not an abuser of alcohol or a controlled substance, with no history of repeated acts of violence and no history of mental illness or instability.
- Fingerprints for a state and FBI criminal history check.
How you get the card
1. The agency applies for you. It files the Identification Card Application (Form PD2) with two 1-inch color head-and-shoulders photos and two fingerprint cards. The application fee is $10, and the FBI fingerprint processing fee is charged to the agency, not to you (Iowa Code 80A.7). 2. You work on the temporary card. Form PD2 includes a temporary card valid for 14 days. DPS needs the application at least 4 business days before the temporary card runs out; late applications are returned (661 IAC 121.11). 3. DPS issues the permanent card with your name, color photo, the agency's name and number, and a card number. The agency must make sure you hold a valid temporary or permanent card before your first shift (661 IAC 121.17).
On the job
- Carry the card whenever you work. If someone asks for identification while you're working, show the card and let them write down what's on it. You can refuse only if showing it would put someone in danger or jeopardize the assignment (661 IAC 121.11).
- No state training hours or exam for agency guards. Your employer decides your training, so keep copies of every certificate.
- Badges and uniforms need DPS approval. A badge, patch or hat cannot say "police," "officer," "policeman" or "enforcement," or carry the Great Seal of Iowa; "security officer" is allowed as a single term (661 IAC 121.12).
- Never suggest you are a peace officer, in words, cards or advertising (Iowa Code 80A.9, 661 IAC 121.14).
- The card belongs to DPS. When you leave the agency, the card goes back within 7 days. A new agency files a new application.
Armed work: the professional permit to carry weapons
- What it is: a permit for people whose job, including work for a chapter 80A security business or as a security guard or bank messenger, reasonably justifies going armed. It lets you go armed anywhere in the state, but only while you're working and traveling to and from work (Iowa Code 724.6).
- Where to apply: the sheriff of the county where you live. Nonresidents apply to the commissioner of public safety. The sheriff must approve or deny within 30 days (Iowa Code 724.11).
- Who is eligible: 18 or older, not addicted to alcohol, no serious or aggravated chapter 708 misdemeanor in the past 3 years, and not barred by state or federal firearms law (Iowa Code 724.8).
- Training: for your first permit, show firearm safety training by any of these: an NRA or DPS-approved handgun safety course, a DPS-approved course for security guards, military small arms training, or a law enforcement firearms course. A certificate must be from the last 24 months; veterans can use an honorable or general discharge. There is no hour minimum, the sheriff may not add training conditions, and renewals need no new training (Iowa Code 724.9).
- Cost and term: $50 for the first permit and $25 to renew. The permit expires 12 months after it is issued, and renewing within 30 days of expiration keeps the renewal fee (Iowa Code 724.11).
- Campus posts: a guard who carries a weapon on a college campus must also file training proof, the permit and an employer affidavit with the sheriff of the county where the campus is (Iowa Code 80A.13).
Starting your own agency
- License: $100 for two years (Iowa Code 80A.3, 80A.5). The owner, each partner, or each active corporate officer must meet the same standards as employees, and a licensed agency cannot be owned or managed by a peace officer.
- Bond and insurance: a $5,000 surety bond ($10,000 for more than one type of business) and a certificate of insurance covering general liability, false arrest and detention, defamation and privacy, and wrongful entry. DPS must get 30 days' notice before the insurance is cancelled (80A.10, 661 IAC 121.4).
- Renewal: file at least 30 days before the license expires. DPS will not renew a license after it has expired (661 IAC 121.10).
- Operating without a license is a serious misdemeanor (Iowa Code 80A.16).
How tessura helps
The permit to carry expires every 12 months, and a renewal filed more than 30 days late is charged as a new permit. tessura is free for guards: keep your DPS card, permit, training certificates and range records in the credential wallet and get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each one expires.
tessura is not affiliated with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, any county sheriff, or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with DPS or your sheriff.