Wyoming doesn't license security guards or security companies at the state level. No state agency issues a guard card, sets training hours or signs off on firearms qualifications for private security. Cities and towns can license and regulate any business inside their limits (W.S. 15-1-103), and Cheyenne has an ordinance written specifically for guard companies.
What that means for you
- Your employer sets the bar. Age, experience, training, drug testing and record checks are the employer's call, and clients can add requirements through their contracts.
- Your certificates are your proof. With no state card, the training, first aid, CPR and firearms certificates you earn are what you show the next employer. Keep copies.
- Check the city. Before you take a post, ask the city clerk whether the city requires a license for the company or for you.
Cheyenne
Cheyenne requires a city business license for any detective, patrol or guard service business (Cheyenne Municipal Code ch. 5.48).
- Who can work for one: no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, good moral character, U.S. citizenship or lawful admission, and at least the age of majority. The business is responsible for checking the records of the people it hires (5.48.030).
- No city guard card: a 2019 ordinance repealed the old rule requiring individual guard applications and ID cards (Ord. No. 4268).
- The business license: $140 a year, a recent photo and proof of citizenship, and the police chief starts an investigation within 30 days of the application (5.48.040 and 5.48.050). Licenses last a year and can't be transferred.
- Insurance and bond: general liability of $100,000 per occurrence and $200,000 a year in total, plus a $10,000 bond kept in force for the whole license term (5.48.060).
- Out-of-town companies: with the police chief's approval, a company licensed elsewhere can work in Cheyenne for up to 60 days if it associates with a Cheyenne licensee (5.48.130).
Rules on the job in Cheyenne:
- Don't impersonate a peace officer or claim to be police or government. No sirens, blinker lights or police-style vehicle insignia, though a uniform and badge that identify you as a guard are allowed (5.48.090).
- Drawing or firing a firearm on duty is unlawful except when necessary to protect yourself from great bodily harm (5.48.110).
- You must report violations of city, state or federal law that come to your attention to the Cheyenne Police Department as soon as practicable, and you can't interfere with a police investigation.
- Firearms carry follows state law, W.S. 6-8-104 (5.48.100).
Casper and other cities
Casper's business license title has no chapter for guards or guard companies. Its private intrusion alarm ordinance covers alarm systems, not guards. Other cities and towns can still require a general business license, so ask the clerk wherever you'll work.
Arrests and shoplifters
- A private person may arrest someone for a felony committed in their presence, for a felony committed elsewhere when there is probable cause, and for two misdemeanors committed in their presence: theft and property destruction (W.S. 7-8-101). Other misdemeanors aren't on the list, so for trespass or a fight, call police.
- Theft of property worth less than $1,000 is a misdemeanor. At $1,000 or more, or for a firearm or livestock, it's a felony (W.S. 6-3-402).
- Stores: a merchant or merchant's employee with reasonable cause to believe someone is stealing store merchandise may detain and question them in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time. Reasonable cause and a reasonable detention are a defense to claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, assault, battery or slander (W.S. 6-3-405). The statute names the merchant's employees, so a contract guard should confirm with the employer and the store how stops work at that post.
Armed guards
- Wyoming has no armed guard license or state firearms qualification for private security.
- Concealed carry doesn't require a permit for U.S. residents who meet most of the permit requirements, including being at least 18 and legally allowed to have a firearm (W.S. 6-8-104). An optional permit from the attorney general lasts five years and helps when you carry in other states.
- Your employer and client decide whether a post is armed and what training and qualification they require. In Cheyenne, remember the city's narrow rule on drawing or firing.
Pay
Wyoming's own minimum wage is $5.15 an hour (W.S. 27-4-202), but the federal $7.25 applies to most employers. Guard pay runs far higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,130 security guards in Wyoming in May 2025, at a median of $18.85 an hour, 57 cents above the national guard median of $18.28. A quarter earned $17.08 or less, and the top tenth earned $32.54 or more. Security supervisors had a median of $24.88.
Starting a security company
- Wyoming has no state security company license. You register the business with the Secretary of State like any other company and get whatever license the city requires.
- In Cheyenne, that means the chapter 5.48 license, insurance and bond above.
- With no state standard, your training records, insurance and hiring rules are what clients judge you on.
How tessura helps
With no state guard card, your certificates are your proof. tessura is free for guards: keep training certificates, firearms qualifications, first aid and CPR cards and any city or other-state licenses in the credential wallet and get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each one expires.
tessura is not affiliated with the State of Wyoming, the City of Cheyenne or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm city requirements with the city clerk where you'll work.