This guide is the online application path. The overview of non-commissioned and commissioned licenses, including who qualifies and the renewal calendar, is How to get a Texas security license: Level II and Level III. Read that one for the full commissioned path. This one stays on what you do in TOPS, at IdentoGO, and at a licensed school.
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Level II, Level III, and Level IVDPS's training page, citing 37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.141, draws the three courses like this:01
DPS's training page, citing 37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.141, draws the three courses like this:
- Level II is required of non-commissioned security officers, commissioned security officers, and personal protection officers, unless a peace officer exemption in section 35.141(b) applies. The course and test must be administered by a licensed Level III or Level IV training school and taught by a licensed Level III or Level IV instructor, or administered by a licensed guard company and taught by a representative or employee of that company.
- Level III is a minimum of 45 hours, plus a test that includes a course of fire. Commissioned security officers and personal protection officers need it. It must be administered by a licensed Level III training school and taught by a licensed Level III instructor. Firearm proficiency must be completed within 90 days of the application date.
- Level IV is a minimum of 15 hours, plus a test. Personal protection officers need it, on top of Level II and Level III. It must be administered by a licensed Level IV training school and a licensed Level IV instructor.
DPS's individual-license FAQ matches that split: a non-commissioned applicant submits a Level II certificate; a commissioned applicant submits Level II and Level III certificates plus the Declaration of Psychological and Emotional Health; a personal protection applicant submits Level II, Level III, and Level IV certificates plus that declaration.
The application itself is online. DPS does not say on its training page that the Level II course must be taken in a classroom, and it does not say the course may be completed online. Confirm the format with the licensed school. Level III includes a course of fire, which is not an online step.
Find a DPS-licensed schoolDPS tells you to locate training and continuing education schools on TOPS, from the training page: [Training a…02
DPS tells you to locate training and continuing education schools on TOPS, from the training page: Training and Continuing Education. Use a school that holds the level of license the course requires. DPS does not publish one statewide price for Level II. The fee schedule below is what you pay DPS, not what a school charges.
Fingerprints through IdentoGODPS's fingerprinting instructions say private security applicants submit fingerprints electronically through I…03
DPS's fingerprinting instructions say private security applicants submit fingerprints electronically through IdentoGO as part of a substantially complete application (37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.21), unless the applicant qualifies for the alternative fingerprint process. The order on that page is:
1. Submit the application and payment through Texas Online Private Security (TOPS). 2. Within one hour, IdentoGO emails a link and a UE ID. Check spam if it is not in the inbox. 3. Open the link, enter the online receipt or trace number, and pick an enrollment center, date, and time. 4. Bring the identification documents the appointment asks for.
IdentoGO's site is identogo.com. DPS also lists the phone number 888-467-2080 for the latest scheduling information. The appointment is in person. The FBI fingerprint check on the DPS fee schedule is $28.25.
Apply through TOPS, and the fees on the DPS scheduleDPS says original individual applications are submitted through TOPS. After you submit a paid application, you…04
DPS says original individual applications are submitted through TOPS. After you submit a paid application, you receive a checklist of what is still required. Security officer applicants must submit the training certificates. The step-by-step screens are in DPS's individual application instructions. If you enter an employer, that company may be asked to verify employment and may pay the fees. If you do not, you pay when you submit.
The Private Security fee schedule DPS publishes (revised September 3, 2019, the PDF linked from the program) lists:
- Non-commissioned security officer, original or renewal: $30 license, $5 pocket card, $2 subscription, $37 total.
- Same license, renewed 0 to 90 days late: $52.
- Same license, renewed more than 90 days late: $67.
- Commissioned security officer or personal protection officer, original or renewal: $50 license, $5 pocket card, $2 subscription, $57 total.
- Same, 0 to 90 days late: $82. More than 90 days late: $107.
- FBI fingerprint check: $28.25, in addition to the license line.
The schedule says fees submitted to DPS are not refundable or transferable. Do not add a fee that is not on that PDF. Qualified military applicants may have the original or renewal application fee waived under the military fee exemption and still pay the subscription fee, pocket card fee, and FBI fee. The rules for that exemption are on DPS's military fee exemption FAQ, not guessed here.
Can you work while the application is pending?Only what DPS states, on its [Working Prior to Licensure](https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/private-security/w…05
Only what DPS states, on its Working Prior to Licensure page, which cites Occupations Code section 1702.230:
- If 48 hours have passed since a substantially complete application under section 35.21 (including fees and electronic fingerprints), and the employee shows as "Not Licensed or Incomplete Application" or does not appear in the online search, the applicant may be employed in an unarmed capacity if the employer reviews the DPS Criminal History and Sex Offender databases, confirms the applicant is not ineligible for licensure, and keeps a record of that check.
- If the person appears in the online search as Licensed or Substantially Complete Application within those 48 hours, unarmed employment is allowed after a background check. A commercially available criminal history check may be used instead of the DPS criminal history database in that case. The DPS Sex Offender Registry is still reviewed either way.
- Those provisions do not allow employment in an armed capacity before licensure. Commissioned security officers and personal protection officers wait for the license.
Renewal37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.161(b) specifically exempts noncommissioned security officers from con…06
37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.161(b) specifically exempts noncommissioned security officers from continuing education. Commissioned security officers and personal protection officers shall complete six hours of continuing education, taught by schools and instructors approved to instruct commissioned security officers, and a commissioned officer submits a firearms proficiency certificate with the renewal application (section 35.161(g)). DPS's training page says that proficiency demonstration must be completed within 90 days of the renewal application date.
Renewal fees are the lines in the fee schedule above. The Level II and Level III guide covers the two-year term and the renewal window in more detail.