North Carolina security guard license lookup (PPSB)

North Carolina has no public online search for individual guards. Here is how to confirm one with PPSB instead, and how to check the company.

Careful: the NC PPSB Active Licensees Search is not a guard lookup

North Carolina does not publish its guard registrations. That search lists license holders, not the guards registered under them, so a properly registered guard returns nothing there. Confirm the guard with PPSB directly.

NC PPSB: submit a public records request through https://www.ncdps.gov/about-dps/boards-and-commissions/private-protective-services-board, or contact the Board office directly to confirm an individual registration.

NC PPSB Active Licensees Search: use it for the company, not the guard →

Step-by-step: how to look up a guard in North CarolinaExact steps to verify an officer with PPSB5 steps

Ask to see the guard’s PPSB registration card and note the Registrant ID and the BPN, which is the employing company’s number. You need both to get an answer from the board.
Do not judge the guard by the public "Active Licensees Search" at ppsapplication.permitium.com. Its "Security Guard And Patrol" filter returns only license holders, so a correctly registered guard produces zero results there, that silence is not evidence of anything.
Use that search for the COMPANY instead: enter the firm under Company Name, tick "Security Guard And Patrol", and confirm a license holder appears with a number in the form 288014-GP.
Email ppsasl@ncdps.gov or call (919) 710-8885 with the guard’s name, Registrant ID and BPN and ask staff to confirm the registration is active, and for armed work that the NCGS 74C-13 armed registration is current.
Check the date carefully for armed guards: armed registrations run only one year and must be renewed annually, so they lapse twice as fast as most credentials you will encounter.

Why there is no link to click: North Carolina registers individual guards under NCGS 74C-11, but registrant data is not public. The PPSB portal offers only "Active Licensees Search" and "Active Certified Trainer Search"; the licensee search returns license holders, company qualifying agents and sole proprietors, with numbers such as 288014-GP. Its "Security Guard And Patrol" filter looks like a guard search but is not one, and a properly registered guard returns nothing with no explanation. The "Registrant Lookup" that does query individuals was added inside the Permitium dashboard in late 2024 and is restricted to qualifying agents and their designees.

What credentials a guard should hold in North CarolinaNorth Carolina issues portable credentials directly to the officer4 credentials

Every guard working a postUnarmed Security Guard Registration16 hrs of training · renews yearly

If they carry a firearmArmed Security Guard Registration36 hrs of training · renews yearly

If they do close or executive protectionClose Personal Protection License40 hrs of training · renews every 2 years

If they move cash or valuablesUnarmed Armored Car Service Guard Registration16 hrs of training · renews yearly

Armed work: Armed guards (18+; 21+ to carry concealed) complete both the 16-hour unarmed and 20-hour armed courses, qualify at 80% on the range with their duty weapon, and take a 4-hour recertification course within 180 days of each annual renewal.

How to check the security company in North CarolinaThe North Carolina Private Protective Services Board licenses the firm itself (Security Guard and Patrol License)Agency license

What the firm must holdSecurity Guard and Patrol LicenseIssued by the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board

We hold this state’s roster, so you can search it on tessura first. For anything you sign, confirm it at the regulator using the steps below.

Ask the company for the exact legal name on its license and its Security Guard and Patrol License number. A company that cannot produce a number for a license it claims to hold has told you something.
Open the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board lookup and search for that name.
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.
Read the status and the expiry date, not just the presence of a record. An expired or suspended license still returns a result.
If nothing comes up, ask which entity holds the license and in which state, then check that name. If the answer does not resolve, treat the license as unconfirmed and call North Carolina Private Protective Services Board before signing.

Open the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board lookup →

Ask for company insurance & bonding properlyNorth Carolina requires liability coverage by statute — what to ask for on the COIRequired by law

North Carolina requires it by law

Liability cover of at least $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $100,000 for two or more, and $20,000 property damage, among the lowest mandated limits in the country.

If it lapses: The license is automatically suspended and is not reinstated until the licensee reapplies on the Board’s form with a proper certificate.

N.C.G.S. §74C-10, https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_74C/GS_74C-10.html

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 legal advice.

North Carolina license lookup: common questionsQuick answers on lookup timing, missing records, and armed permits4 questions

How do I look up a security guard registration in North Carolina?

North Carolina does not publish its guard registrations. The NC PPSB Active Licensees Search lists license holders, not the guards registered under them, so a properly registered guard returns nothing there. Confirm the guard with PPSB directly. NC PPSB: submit a public records request through https://www.ncdps.gov/about-dps/boards-and-commissions/private-protective-services-board, or contact the Board office directly to confirm an individual registration.

What is a security guard license called in North Carolina?

The North Carolina Private Protective Services Board (PPSB) issues the Unarmed Security Guard Registration. For armed work: Armed Security Guard Registration.

How do I check a security company’s license in North Carolina?

Companies need their own license from the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board: Security Guard and Patrol License. Search the company’s exact legal name at ppsapplication.permitium.com and read the status and expiry date on the record. tessura also keeps a copy of that roster, read on September 14, 2026, which you can search on this site.

Is tessura part of the state licensing agency?

No. tessura is not affiliated with any state licensing agency. Every lookup on this page belongs to the agency that runs it, and the agency’s record is the one that counts.

Official sources & more for North CarolinaRegulator links, licensing guides, and open jobs (last reviewed September 27, 2026)6 sources

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