Not a photo of a card. The state's own record.Verification

• The license number exists in the state registry and is marked active or issued.
• The registry name matches the name on the tessura profile.
• The expiry on the registry is in the future, and we show the check date.
• A license can lapse or be revoked after the check, so verified licenses are re-checked against the registry nightly once the last check is a week old; the badge clears if the registry no longer agrees, or if the number or type changes.
• California and Illinois publish periodic public rosters. A match there earns the distinct Official roster match label with an as-of date, not the State-verified label used for a live lookup.

Most state registries sit behind CAPTCHAs, block automated lookups, or publish no lookup at all. Licenses from those states show type and status as the guard entered them, with no badge, and every profile carries a link to the official registry so an employer can confirm in seconds. A guard can instead upload a photo of the card for tessura to review; that earns a distinct Document-verified mark, never the registry badge. Employers should always confirm licensure with the issuing authority before a hire.

The same rule covers the systems a guard lists (video management, access control, alarm monitoring, guard-tour, visitor, and notification platforms). Guards pick them from a fixed list; tessura does not test or verify that experience.

Every credential in a guard's wallet has its own visibility. Public credentials show type, status, and badge on the profile and in the directory; the license number itself is never public. Verified employers credentials, and every license number, open only to a company that (1) tessura has verified as a business and (2) the guard has applied to, accepted a contact request from, or joined the roster of. Each time a company opens them, the guard sees it in their dashboard. Private credentials stay in the wallet.

Personal concealed-carry permits can be added to the wallet but are never public and never a directory filter; only verified employers with a relationship see them.

ID-verified guards: A registry check proves a license exists under a name. Guards can add an ID-verified mark by checking a government ID and a selfie through Stripe Identity; the name on the ID must match the profile, and tessura stores only the result and the date, never the images.

Verified businesses: The Verified business badge means the company's agency license was matched against the state registry or its license document was reviewed by tessura. Only verified businesses can open the license details guards share with employers.

California roster matches use DCA/BSIS Public Information Files. Illinois roster matches use the IDFPR Professional Licensing dataset (ODbL 1.0). tessura is not affiliated with either agency.