Rhode Island has no individual security guard license and no state training requirement. It licenses security companies instead, through the Attorney General, and no one can work for a licensed company until they are registered with the Attorney General (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-5.1-18). Registration is a fingerprint check that the company starts, not a card you apply for on your own.
The law covers businesses that furnish guards, watchmen, bodyguards, patrol officers or security dogs for hire (§ 5-5.1-2). If a store, hospital or school hires you directly to guard its own property, your employer doesn't need this license, so the registration rule doesn't reach you and your employer sets the standard.
Who can be registered
- No felony conviction, anywhere. A licensed company can't employ someone convicted of a felony in any job, not even in the office (§ 5-5.1-18(b)).
- No conviction for a crime of moral turpitude. You swear to both on the employee's registration statement (110-RICR-20-00-2.15).
- There is no minimum age for employees in the law. Owners and officers must be 18 or older, but companies set their own hiring age (§ 5-5.1-8).
How registration works
1. Get a conditional offer. The company can ask you to fill out the registration statement only after it has offered you the job. The statement lists your name, age, address, date and place of birth, citizenship, and every job and employer for the last 5 years (110-RICR-20-00-2.15). 2. Get the offer letter. The company fills out the Attorney General's conditional offer of employment letter on its letterhead, with its license number. 3. Go to the Attorney General's office. Walk in to the Customer Service Center at 4 Howard Ave., Cranston, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no appointment needed. Bring the letter, a government photo ID and a credit or debit card for the $45 national fingerprint check (card fees apply). 4. Leave with your state check. You walk out with your Rhode Island state record. The fingerprint results go to the company by email.
Keeping it:
- The law sets no expiration date for an employee's registration. The Attorney General keeps a public list of everyone registered and the company that employed them at the time (§ 5-5.1-18(a)).
- Each check starts with a company's offer letter, so when you change companies, ask the new one whether you need to go through it again.
- It is a felony for a company to put an unregistered employee to work, or for anyone to carry another person's security ID card (§ 5-5.1-23).
- Nothing on your uniform, badge or vehicle can say "police" or suggest a government connection, and the Attorney General approves the wording (§ 5-5.1-19).
Nightclub security
A club with a Class N nightclub license must provide its own private security inside and outside, and that security must be certified by TIPS or a similar program the city's licensing board approves (R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-16.6(g)). If you work a club door in Providence or another city with Class N licenses, expect to need that certificate.
Carrying a gun
Rhode Island has no armed guard license, and no permitless carry. To carry a pistol on duty you need a carry license, and your employer has to want you armed.
- Local license: from the police chief or licensing authority of the city or town where you live or have a place of business. You must be 21 or older, show a good reason or "any other proper reason" to carry, and be found suitable. It's valid everywhere in the state for 4 years (§ 11-47-11).
- Attorney General permit: 21 or older, on a proper showing of need. It can cover open carry too (§ 11-47-18).
- Both: the fee is $40 (§ 11-47-12), and you first qualify with a pistol at least the caliber you will carry. That means scoring 195 out of 300 with 30 slow-fire rounds at 25 yards (§ 11-47-15).
Pay
Rhode Island's minimum wage is $16.00 in 2026 and goes to $17.00 on January 1, 2027 (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-3). The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,160 security guards in Rhode Island in May 2025, at a median of $17.76 an hour, only 76 cents above the 2027 minimum.
Starting a security company
- License: $400 every 2 years from the Attorney General. Apply at least 30 days before it expires, because no renewal notice is sent (§§ 5-5.1-12, 5-5.1-13).
- Owners: every owner, partner, officer and 10% shareholder must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and never convicted of a felony, with a national fingerprint check on every new and renewal application (§ 5-5.1-8).
- Insurance: at least $300,000 for bodily or personal injury and $100,000 for property damage, with endorsements for assault and battery, false arrest, and errors and omissions (§ 5-5.1-22).
- Trade names need the Attorney General's written approval (§ 5-5.1-21). Working without a license is a felony (§ 5-5.1-7).
How tessura helps
Rhode Island doesn't put an expiration date on your registration, but your carry license expires every 4 years and any nightclub or employer certificate has its own schedule. tessura is free for guards: keep your registration record, carry license and training certificates in the credential wallet and get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each one expires.
tessura is not affiliated with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with the Attorney General's security guard licensing unit.