How to become a security guard in Maine

Every Maine credential

All 2 individual credentials this regulator issues to security workers, from the entry-level card to specialty and instructor registrations. Rows marked ◇ are drafted from the regulator’s pages and await our reviewer’s sign-off.

Steps to get started

1. Get hired by a licensed Maine contract security company (or an in-house security department).
2. Meet the qualifications in 32 MRSA § 9410-A: age, citizenship or residency, and conviction and military-record limits.
3. Your employer reports you to the Commissioner of Public Safety before your first shift and files a statement that you qualify within 60 days, and before you carry a firearm or work a strike site.
4. Complete any training your employer requires; Maine sets no statewide hour minimum.

Professional Investigator License: Issued by the Maine State Police Special Investigations Unit under 32 M.R.S. ch. 89 (a different chapter from the ch. 93 security-guard law, but the same regulator). Qualifications under §8105 include 21+, HS diploma, citizenship/resident alien, and one experience path: completed investigative-assistant sponsorship plus 60 postsecondary credits; 3 years federal/military investigative service; 6 years of combined work (2+ years law/criminal-justice) and education; law-enforcement certification; or a comparable out-of-state PI license. Must pass the Chief's exam. Initial term is 2 years; renewals are 4 years.

Investigative Assistant License: Entry-level PI credential under 32 M.R.S. §8110-B: works under the sponsorship of a licensed professional investigator, logging hours toward the PI license (MSP provides a training log and proof-of-hours letter form). Application, surety bond and change-of-address forms are on the MSP page.

Working armed in Maine

Maine has no armed guard license or state firearms course for guards. Before a guard wears, carries or uses a firearm on duty, the employer's signed statement that the guard meets § 9410-A must be on file with the Commissioner (§ 9410-A(4)). Adults 21 and older may carry a concealed handgun without a permit (25 MRSA § 2001-A). Guards on armored car or valuables runs may carry a loaded weapon in the vehicle if it is not concealed (§ 9416). No one may be armed with a dangerous weapon at the site of a strike or labor dispute, even with a concealed handgun permit (§ 9412(5)).

Keep your Maine credential alive

The free wallet computes your renewal deadline from Maine's rules and reminds you at 60, 30, and 7 days. Exam prep for Maine follows.