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Checking a guard or a security company in Maryland

This page is for whoever is doing the checking — a client, a property manager, a company vetting a subcontractor. It tells you what a guard and a guard company are supposed to hold in Maryland, and walks you to Maryland State Police, Licensing Division’s own records to confirm it.

tessura is not a Maryland agency and issues nothing. Every link below goes to the regulator, and the regulator’s answer is the one that counts.

Getting licensed yourself instead? The Maryland requirements, training hours, and application steps →

Check the guard

Maryland issues a credential to the guard, so you can check the person in front of you.

What they should hold

Every guard working a postSecurity Guard Certification12 hrs of training · renews every 3 years
If they carry a firearmWear & Carry Handgun Permit (armed security / employment sponsorship)16 hrs of training · renews every 2 years

Armed work: Guards may not carry a handgun on duty without a valid Maryland Wear & Carry permit, employer approval, and notice to the Secretary of State Police.

How to check it

  1. Ask the guard to show the physical Security Guard Certification that Maryland State Police mailed to them, and note the name, number and date on it. Certifications run three years from the year of issue, so work out the expiry from the issue year and reject anything older.
  2. Ask which licensed security guard agency or registered security guard employer they work for — under Md. Business Occupations § 19-401 an agency may only supply a certified guard, with a narrow exception while an application is pending and undisapproved.
  3. If the guard says an application is still pending, ask the employer for proof it submitted the application, fingerprint cards and records fee to the Secretary, and that MDSP has not disapproved it. That is the only lawful basis for an uncertified guard on your site.
  4. Since there is no public search, email the MDSP Security Guard Section with the guard's full name and date of birth and ask them to confirm the certification is current — do this before the guard starts, not after an incident.
  5. For guards hired or renewed from 1 January 2025, also ask for the certificate of completion of the 12-hour initial (or 8-hour continuing) security guard training from a Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission approved provider.
Why there is no link to click

Maryland genuinely certifies individual guards — but publishes no public credential search for them. MDSP's own FAQ answers 'How do I find out about my Security Guard status?' with 'Log into your Licensing Portal account', which only the guard themself can do. Verification by a client or employer is by email or phone to the Security Guard Section. Note two separate agencies: MDSP certifies the guard, while the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission only approves training PROVIDERS — the MPCTC provider list is not a list of certified guards.

MDSP Licensing Division, Security Guard Section: msp.professionallicensing@maryland.gov or (410) 653-4500. Postal: 1201 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville MD 21208, main (410) 486-3101.

Check the company

Maryland State Police, Licensing Division, Professional Licensing Unit licenses the firm itself here. This is the check most people skip, and it is usually the more important of the two.

What the firm must holdSecurity Guard Agency LicenseIssued by Maryland State Police, Licensing Division, Professional Licensing Unit

How to check it

  1. Ask the company for the exact legal name on its licence and its Security Guard Agency License number. A company that cannot produce a number for a licence it claims to hold has told you something.
  2. Open the Maryland State Police, Licensing Division, Professional Licensing Unit lookup and search for that name.
  3. Search the legal name, not the name on the uniform or the invoice. Brand names, DBAs, and the name on the truck are often not the licensed entity.
  4. Read the status and the expiry date, not just the presence of a record. An expired or suspended licence still returns a result.
  5. If nothing comes up, ask which entity holds the licence and in which state, then check that name. If the answer does not resolve, treat the licence as unconfirmed and call Maryland State Police, Licensing Division, Professional Licensing Unit before signing.
Open the Maryland State Police, Licensing Division, Professional Licensing Unit lookup →

Ask for insurance properly

A licence says the state let them operate. Insurance is what stands between you and a claim, and it is the easier of the two to fake — a certificate is only true on the day it was printed.

Maryland requires it by law

Commercial general liability including errors and omissions and completed operations: $1,000,000 total aggregate for an agency employing five or more guards, $500,000 for fewer than five. Since 2023 any agency employing even one guard must file proof.

One of the two strongest in the country. §19-504(c) names the INSURER as an obligor: if the cover is cancelled, forfeited or otherwise terminated, the agency AND the insurer must both notify the Secretary. Renewal adds a second checkpoint — proof must arrive at least 15 days before expiry or $25 a day runs until the licence expires and the agency is treated as closed.

If it lapses: Automatic. §19-504(d): the licence "is suspended automatically" on failure to maintain the insurance and stays suspended until the agency complies.

So the licence check above is worth repeating. Because a lapse here suspends the licence by operation of law rather than merely breaching a contract, a company that quietly dropped its cover after signing with you should eventually stop reading as currently licensed at the regulator. That is not instant, and a bad status has other causes, so it tells you to ask — not what happened. Re-checking costs you nothing.

Md. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. §19-504, as amended by Ch. 763 (2023) — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/chapters_noln/Ch_763_sb0760E.pdf

A certificate of insurance (COI) that names your business as an additional insured, not just the certificate holderCertificate holder means you were mailed a copy. Additional insured means their policy actually answers for you if you are pulled into a claim.
General liability, and workers’ compensation at your state’s statutory limitsIf a guard is hurt on your property and the company carries no workers’ comp, the claim tends to land on you. Ask for commercial auto too if they run patrol vehicles.
The policy number and the effective and expiry dates, on a certificate dated within the last monthAn undated or months-old certificate is the single most common tell. The dates let you ask the insurer about the right policy.
The name, agency, and direct phone number of the broker who issued it — then call themThe broker can confirm the policy is in force today. The certificate PDF cannot, and a forged or stale one looks identical to a real one.
A contract term requiring written notice to you before the policy is cancelled or non-renewedStandard certificates promise notice to the insured, not to you. Putting the duty on the company in the contract is what makes a mid-term cancellation a breach.
A fresh certificate part-way through the term, not only at signingRe-asking at 60 or 90 days costs you an email and defeats the whole get-the-COI-then-drop-it pattern.

tessura does not verify anyone’s insurance and has no access to insurers’ records. This is guidance for doing it yourself, not a statement about any company on this site. It is also not legal advice — for a contract of any size, have your own counsel or broker set the limits.

Where this comes from

Maryland requirements last reviewed August 28, 2026. Some details on this state are still pending a second check against the primary source. Rules change — the regulator’s page is authoritative if it disagrees with ours.

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