How to become a security guard in Massachusetts

Every Massachusetts credential

All 2 individual credentials this regulator issues to security workers, from the entry-level card to specialty and instructor registrations.

Steps to get started

1. Get hired by a Massachusetts watch, guard or patrol agency licensed by the State Police. Guards who work only for their own employer, and are not let out to others, are outside the licensing law (M.G.L. c.147 §23).
2. Check the State Police moral turpitude list: a felony conviction or a conviction for any offense on it bars employment by a licensed agency (c.147 §28).
3. Before your first shift, give the agency a sworn statement with your identity, your parents' names and places of birth, 3 years of work history, and no disqualifying convictions (c.147 §28).
4. Submit the State Police electronic employee affidavit for each licensed agency you work for, using the company's license number and resident manager's name.
5. Complete your employer's training; the state sets no hours. Wear any badge on the left breast of the uniform, never with the word 'Police' (c.147 §29).
6. For armed work, get a License to Carry from your local licensing authority (21+) and carry only the weapons the State Police authorize (c.140 §131; c.147 §29).

Special State Police Officer (SSPO) Appointment: Under M.G.L. c.22C §63 the State Police colonel may, at the request of a college, university, other educational institution or licensed hospital, appoint its employees as special state police officers, with the same arrest powers as regular police officers for any criminal offense on the institution's property. Appointments last 3 years, subject to removal by the colonel, and officers remain subject to POST Commission certification (c.6E). The institution applies through the Certification Unit's agency intake form and candidate packet. The fee is set each year by the Commissioner of Administration.

Watch/Guard/Patrol or PI Agency Employee Affidavit (c.147 §28): Not a license. No one may be employed by a licensed watch, guard or patrol agency until they give it a sworn statement with their full name, date of birth and residence, their parents' names and places of birth, their occupations for the past 3 years, and that they have not been convicted of a felony or any offense involving moral turpitude; the agency keeps it on file for the State Police (M.G.L. c.147 §28). The State Police Certification Unit also requires every employee of a licensed agency to submit its electronic employee affidavit, once for each licensed employer, using the company's license number and resident manager's name. The Unit publishes the list of offenses it treats as moral turpitude. No fee is listed. A minor may not be employed as a guard if the job requires firearms.

Working armed in Massachusetts

There is no state armed guard license. A licensee's employees may carry only the weapons and equipment the State Police colonel authorizes, and a firearm carried on duty must be loaded (M.G.L. c.147 §29). Carrying a handgun also takes a License to Carry from the local licensing authority: 21+, a basic firearms safety certificate and an interview, valid up to 6 years (c.140 §131). No minor may be an armed guard (c.147 §28).

Keep your Massachusetts credential alive

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