Licence check
How do you know that guard is licensed?Check a licence
Pick your state. We tell you what the guard and the company are supposed to hold, what licence number to ask for, and the steps to confirm it in the regulator’s own records — 26 states publish a guard lookup and 35 publish a company lookup.
There are two licences and people usually check neither. The guard may need a credential of their own, and the company usually needs a separate licence to sell guarding at all. A guard with a valid card working for an unlicensed firm is a common and entirely legal-looking arrangement — right up to the point where something happens.
tessura issues none of these credentials and is not affiliated with any state agency. Every state page links to the regulator, whose answer is the one that counts.
Choose a state
What a guard must hold varies more than people expect: some states issue a card the guard carries, some register guards only through their employer, and a few license nobody at all.
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Guards hold a Security Officer Training Certification Identification Card.
Guards hold a Security Guard registration / identification card (noncommissioned).
Guards hold a Employee - Security Guard registration (in-house guards register as "Employee - In-House Security").
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Guards hold a Employee state-issued identification card (issued through the licensed agency under Iowa Code ch. 80A).
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Guards hold a Security Officer Registration (registration card).
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
No individual guard credential recorded for this state yet.
Guards hold a Security Officer license / private security licence — city-issued (St. Louis City, Kansas City). No state equivalent..
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Guards hold a Registered employee registration — the work card or pocket card, NRS 648.1493.
Guards hold a Security Guard licence (employee licence DSSP 247; individual licence DSSP 259).
Guards hold a Security Guard Level One (unarmed); Level Two is armed with non-firearm weapons.
Guards hold a Security Officer registration — registration classes are Apprentice, Security Officer and Commissioned Officer.
Guards hold a Private Security Guard (licence category: Unarmed).
Guards hold a Unarmed Private Security Professional certification.
No individual guard credential recorded for this state yet.
Guards hold a Employee Registration under a licensed private security guard business.
Guards hold a Contract/Proprietary Security Officer Unarmed — SLED’s own code is SNF.
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Guards hold a Level II Non-Commissioned Security Officer Registration.
Guards hold a Security guard (unarmed) — private security guard licence.
No state guard licence — city rules only, where they exist.
Are you the guard?
Keep your card, permits, and renewal dates in one place, and get a reminder before anything expires. The wallet and the compliance calendar are free, permanently.
See the guard tools