Wisconsin regulates security guards through the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) under Wis. Stat. 440.26 and chapters SPS 30 to 35 of the administrative code. The credential is a Private Security Person permit, and it runs on an unusual calendar: every permit in the state renews on August 31 of even-numbered years.
Who needs a permit
- Guards employed by a licensed private detective or security agency. The agency itself holds a private detective agency license.
- Not in-house guards. Security staff employed directly by a business or industrial company, meaning it controls their work, withholds state and federal taxes, and carries workers' compensation and unemployment coverage, do not need the permit (DSPS form 2271).
- An agency may not employ anyone under 18 as a private security person (SPS 35.01).
Requirements
- At least 18 years old.
- No unpardoned felony, in Wisconsin or anywhere else. DSPS says there are no exceptions (Wis. Stat. 440.26(5m)).
- Misdemeanors and pending charges are reviewed case by case. DSPS can refuse a permit for a conviction substantially related to the work, subject to Wisconsin's fair employment law, and it needs certified copies of the police report, complaint and judgment for each conviction.
- No state training requirement for unarmed guards. Your employer may still train you.
How to apply
- Your agency fills out Form 3038, which you upload with your application.
- Apply and pay online through LicensE (license.wi.gov).
- Sign Form 2687, the FBI records release, and include a recent photo. Add Form 2254 only if you have convictions or pending charges.
- Get fingerprinted electronically. DSPS sends instructions after it receives your application and Form 2687.
- The application is not complete until every piece has arrived.
Working before your permit arrives
- Filing is not permission to work. DSPS says you are not eligible to work until you receive a permit.
- The temporary permit. Request it on the online application. DSPS issues it only if the state Department of Justice record check shows no criminal history. It lasts 30 days, cannot be renewed, and ends early if DSPS grants or denies your regular permit first (440.26(5r)).
- No weapons on a temporary permit. You may not carry a dangerous weapon, and a firearms permit is never granted to someone holding only a temporary permit.
Armed private security persons
- A firearms permit tied to your agency. DSPS issues it to the agency for you, and it is valid only while you work for that agency. A new employer needs a new permit (SPS 34.015).
- 36 hours with a DSPS-approved firearms proficiency certifier: firearm safety and care, handling and use under the state's law enforcement firearms training guide, legal use of firearms, ethics, lawful detention, and criminal and civil liability. The certifier gives you a notarized certificate of proficiency (Form 467).
- Every year. The permit expires 1 year after your last firearms training, and a 6-hour refresher renews it. Go more than 5 years without a certificate and you take the full 36 hours again.
- Prior armed experience. If you were authorized to carry on duty as an officer, guard or private detective somewhere else in the past 5 years, with at least 30 hours of equivalent training, the 6-hour course covers the Wisconsin law you are missing.
- The agency has conditions too: a substantial need for the armed post, a written client agreement for armed guards, a firearms policy on file with DSPS and liability insurance. A misdemeanor conviction can also bar armed work, subject to fair employment law.
- No concealed carry on duty, and a loaded firearm in a vehicle has to be in plain view, a handgun in a visible holster.
- The exceptions. Wisconsin concealed carry license holders (and out-of-state licensees Wisconsin recognizes), plus qualified current and former law enforcement officers, may carry on duty, concealed or otherwise, without the DSPS firearms permit (SPS 34.01(5) to (8)). Ask your agency how it applies this.
- Tasers and stun guns on duty take the firearms permit or one of those exemptions (SPS 34.065). Other dangerous weapons, like a baton, only with training that makes you proficient (SPS 34.07).
- Report any discharge outside training, target practice or hunting, and any use of deadly force, right away to local police and your supervisor.
Cost
- $27 for the permit plus an $8 background check. Add $10 for the temporary permit, for $45 in all.
- Renewal $27, or $52 late. A permit expired 5 years or more takes a new application at $52.
- The armed firearms permit has no DSPS renewal fee. The agency pays the background check costs, and the certifier's courses are paid separately.
Renewal and staying legal
- August 31 of every even-numbered year. Every permit renews on that date, even one issued a few months earlier. The last deadline was August 31, 2026; the next is August 31, 2028.
- You must work for a licensed agency to renew. Renewal runs a new criminal background check, so allow 7 to 10 business days.
- Carry your permit on duty, and your firearms permit if you are armed.
- Changing jobs: file Form 2323 within 5 days of starting with a new agency.
- Report any conviction to DSPS within 48 hours of the judgment.
- On active duty when it expires? Wisconsin Act 210 keeps your permit valid until 180 days after discharge (DSPS form R210).
- Don't look like police: no uniforms closely resembling the local police, and no flashing red or blue lights.
How tessura helps
Wisconsin's permit is simple until the calendar catches you: one renewal date for the whole state every other August, and for armed guards a permit that runs out a year after the last training and ends whenever you change agencies. tessura is free for guards: keep your permit, certificate of proficiency and refresher dates in the credential wallet and get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each deadline.
tessura is not affiliated with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with DSPS.