Texas licenses security officers through the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Private Security Program, under Occupations Code chapter 1702. There are two officer licenses:
- Non-commissioned security officer: unarmed. Requires the Level II course.
- Commissioned security officer: armed. Requires Level II and the Level III course.
A third license, personal protection officer (Level IV), covers bodyguard work and is built on top of a commission.
Your license comes through your employer
DPS licenses individual officers only when they are affiliated with a licensed company or a business registered to run its own security department. The application includes a letter from the company asking DPS to issue your license, the company's name and address, and the date you started. When you change jobs, the new employer files an employee information update ($17 on the DPS fee schedule). A commissioned officer's new employer has 14 days to notify DPS.
Who qualifies
- You must be at least 18 for either license. Personal protection officers must be 21.
- You cannot be currently charged with a Class A or B misdemeanor or felony that DPS rules treat as disqualifying, have been found incompetent by a court without being restored, or be required to register as a sex offender.
- DPS runs an FBI fingerprint background check on every applicant.
Non-commissioned officer, step by step
- Get hired by a licensed guard company.
- Complete the Level II course and test. A licensed Level III or Level IV training school can teach it, or the company itself can, using DPS's current Level II manual. The certificate goes in with your application.
- Get fingerprinted the way DPS prescribes. The FBI fingerprint check is $28.25 on the DPS fee schedule.
- The application goes in before you work. The license fee is $37: $30 for the license, $5 for the pocket card and $2 for the subscription fee.
The 48-hour rule
If DPS has not posted whether you meet the requirements within 48 hours of your fingerprints being submitted, you can start non-commissioned work, provided your employer checks DPS's public website that you are not disqualified by criminal history and not a registered sex offender, and keeps a copy of that search in your file. The rule does not cover armed work: a commissioned officer waits for the commission.
Commissioned (armed) officer
On top of Level II, a commission requires:
- The Level III course, at least 45 hours, taught at a DPS-licensed Level III school by a licensed instructor. It ends with a written test and a course of fire.
- Firearm proficiency demonstrated within 90 days of the application date.
- A Declaration of Psychological and Emotional Health: proof that you completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), signed by a licensed psychologist.
- Not being barred by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.
- The fee is $57: $50 for the commission, $5 for the pocket card and $2 for the subscription fee, plus the fingerprint check.
Full-time peace officers certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement can be exempted from Level III, and peace officers who retired in good standing within the last two years can be exempted from Levels II and III.
Renewal: every two years
Licenses and commissions expire no later than two years after they are issued; DPS staggers the exact dates. You can renew online up to 180 days before the expiration date, and up to a year after it with a late fee:
- Non-commissioned: $37 on time, $52 up to 90 days late, $67 after that
- Commissioned: $57 on time, $82 up to 90 days late, $107 after that
Non-commissioned officers have no continuing education requirement. Commissioned officers must complete 6 hours of continuing education (the renewal portion of Level III) at a DPS-approved school, and send a firearms proficiency certificate that is no more than 90 days old with the renewal. If you have been out of the industry for three years or more, DPS asks for current training certificates.
How tessura helps
tessura is free for guards. Add your Texas license to the credential wallet with the expiration date on your pocket card, and you get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before it lapses. If you carry a commission, the 90-day proficiency window is the date to plan around.
tessura is not affiliated with DPS or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with DPS.