North Dakota regulates security work through the Private Investigation and Security Board, a board appointed by the governor. No one may provide private security services without a license or registration from the board, and no city or county can require a different one (NDCC 43-30-05). Working without one is a class B misdemeanor, and the board can also issue citations of up to $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second and $1,000 after that (NDCC 43-30-10 and 43-30-10.1).
How it works
Most guards don't hold a license of their own. A licensed security agency registers each guard it employs or contracts with, and it is responsible for getting every guard registered before they work (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-04). A registered guard works under the supervision of someone licensed to provide security services. Registration comes in three ranks, and you move up with hours on the job and classroom training.
A business that hires its own guards to protect only its own property doesn't need an agency license. Its guards can register voluntarily as proprietary security officers (NDCC 43-30-02.2).
Who qualifies
- You must be 18 or older and have a high school diploma or equivalent (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-01).
- No felony, no class A or B misdemeanor involving violence, intimidation or controlled substances, and no theft offense, including shoplifting. The board can still register you if it finds the offense doesn't bear on the work and you have been rehabilitated, or if you have a full pardon.
- You pass a state and FBI fingerprint record check (NDCC 43-30-06).
- While registered, you must tell the board about any of those convictions within 14 days.
The three ranks
1. Apprentice security officer. Within 30 days of registering, complete 12 hours of classroom instruction (in person, live remote or a board-approved online course) or 12 hours of supervised field training. Until you finish, you work only under direct, on-site supervision of a security officer or commissioned security officer (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-05). 2. Security officer. 1,000 hours of work as a registered apprentice, plus 32 more classroom hours in person or live remote (93-02-02.1-06). 3. Commissioned security officer. 3,000 hours as a security officer on top of the 1,000 apprentice hours, plus 80 more classroom hours (93-02-02.1-07).
Classroom instruction must come from a board-certified trainer. The board can credit equivalent training or experience from private security work in another state, law enforcement, military security or in-house security (93-02-02.1-10).
Military service: the board's rule treats anyone actively serving in the armed forces, National Guard or reserves, or honorably discharged, as having met the 1,000 hours for security officer (93-02-02.1-06). The statute behind it covers former members who were not dishonorably discharged (NDCC 43-30-04). You still need the 32 classroom hours.
Fees and how to apply
- $85 to start: $45 for the registration and $40 for the state and FBI record check (board fee schedule effective April 22, 2025).
- The packet: pages 1, 2, 2a and 3 of the board's application, two fingerprint cards (don't staple or fold them) and a passport-size photo emailed to the board.
- Temporary registration: once everything but the FBI check is done, the board can issue a temporary registration. It ends when the FBI results arrive (NDCC 43-30-05.1).
- Changing jobs: if you held a registration in the last 60 days and are re-registering only because you changed employers, you don't need a new record check (NDCC 43-30-06).
- The board says processing takes about 30 business days when the application is complete.
Renewal: every September 30
Every license, registration and armed certificate expires on September 30, no matter when it was issued (NDCC 43-30-11). Fees are prorated for a partial year. Renewal is $45, and the late fee is $15 for each month it goes unpaid. The 2026 renewal form went up on July 1, and the board isn't asking for new photos this year.
On the job
- Carry your pocket card. The board issues one to every registered guard, and you must have it on you while working. When you leave an agency, return the card right away. The agency mails it back to the board within 7 days (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-14).
- No police look. No badge, patch, uniform, vehicle marking or statement that suggests police powers or a government connection. That includes the word "police," the state seal, a city or county seal, and military ranks (93-02-02.1-11).
- Uniforms must show the name of the agency you work for.
- No police jobs on the side. While licensed, you can't hold a job with police powers or access to official law enforcement records, and you can't accept a deputy commission except as a special deputy for the length of an emergency or disaster.
Arrests and shoplifters
- A private person may arrest someone for a public offense committed or attempted in their presence, for a felony even if it wasn't committed in their presence, or when a felony has in fact been committed and there are reasonable grounds to believe that person did it (NDCC 29-06-20).
- You must tell the person you are arresting them and why, unless they are committing the offense, being chased right after it, fleeing or resisting, or telling them would put the arrest at risk (29-06-21).
- Take the person before a magistrate or hand them to a peace officer without unnecessary delay (29-06-23), and take any weapons they carry for delivery to the magistrate (29-06-24).
- Store detentions: the merchant rule covers a store's employees, agents and independent contractors. A merchant who reasonably believes someone has committed theft may detain them, on or off the premises, in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time. The purposes are to get and verify identification, recover unpaid merchandise and turn the person over to police. A minor can instead be released to a parent or guardian (NDCC 51-21-03). A detention within those limits carries civil and criminal immunity (51-21-04).
Armed guards
- North Dakota lets adults who could qualify for a class 2 license and carry a valid driver's license or state ID carry a concealed firearm without a license (NDCC 62.1-04-02). That doesn't cover the job.
- No one may carry a firearm while providing private security services unless they follow all state and federal firearm laws, complete the same firearms training required of North Dakota peace officers, including a written exam and a shooting course, and hold at least security officer rank with an armed private security certificate (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-08). Apprentices can't carry.
- If you fail the written exam or shooting course twice, you wait 30 days to retake it. After a third failure, you wait a year.
- The armed certificate costs $45 and renews every year. Before September 30, you submit a range qualification of 70% or better, signed by a board-certified weapons instructor, with the fee. The late fee is $15 a month.
Pay
North Dakota's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal floor (NDCC 34-06-22). Guard pay runs far above it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,310 security guards in North Dakota in May 2025, at a median of $18.90 an hour, 62 cents above the national guard median of $18.28. A quarter earned $16.81 or less, and the top tenth earned $30.96 or more. Security supervisors had a median of $27.75.
Starting a security company
- Licensed security provider first. To provide security in your own name, you must be a commissioned security officer and pass the board's exam within the 12 months before you apply (N.D.A.C. 93-02-02.1-02). The one-time application and testing fee is $150, and the license is $225 a year. After a failed exam you can retest in 30 days. After a second failure, the wait is a year.
- Agency license. Anyone who hires others to do security work needs a security agency license, which costs $450 a year plus the $150 application fee. A company names a qualifying agent who runs its security work, lists its officers and owners of 10% or more, and shows it is registered with the Secretary of State (93-02-02.1-03).
- Insurance. File a certificate for $300,000 of general liability with errors and omissions coverage before the license issues (93-02-02.1-12).
- Ongoing duties. Register every guard before they work, answer for their conduct on the job, report application changes within 14 days and post the license at each office.
How tessura helps
North Dakota's ranks run on hours and classroom certificates, and every registration and armed certificate lapses on September 30. tessura is free for guards: keep your pocket card, training certificates and range qualification in the credential wallet and get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each deadline.
tessura is not affiliated with the North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with the board at 701-222-3063.