Rhode Island security guard license lookup (BCI)

Rhode Island has no public online search for individual guards. Here is how to confirm one with BCI instead, and how to check the company.

No online guard lookup in Rhode Island

Rhode Island publishes no public online lookup for individual guards, so you confirm a guard directly with BCI.

Securitylicensing@riag.ri.gov, or RI Office of the Attorney General, 150 South Main Street, Providence RI 02903, (401) 274-4400.

Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General →

Step-by-step: how to look up a guard in Rhode IslandExact steps to verify an officer with BCI5 steps

Ask the guard which licensed security guard company employs them, plus their full legal name and date of hire.
Email Securitylicensing@riag.ri.gov and ask the Bureau of Criminal Identification to confirm the person is on the registered list for that company.
Cite the statute in your email, R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-5.1-18(a) requires the Attorney General to "keep and make available for public inspection a list of all persons who have been registered or licensed and the name of the company employing the person". This is a public record you are entitled to, not a favour.
If you get no reply, call the Attorney General’s office on (401) 274-4400 and ask for the Bureau of Criminal Identification, security guard licensing.
Confirm in writing both that the registration is current and that the company BCI names matches the company that sent you the guard.

Why there is no link to click: Rhode Island registers individual guards but publishes no online lookup. riag.ri.gov/securityguardlicense offers only the business-license application and the Securitylicensing@riag.ri.gov address, and the roughly 90 "active security guard licenses" it mentions are company licenses. Individual records are statutorily public but only on request: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-5.1-18(a) obliges the Attorney General to keep the list of registered persons, and the name of each employing company, open to public inspection.

Ask the company for the guard’s registration on its own letterhead, and check the company’s license below.

What credentials a guard should hold in Rhode IslandRhode Island registers guards through their employing agency1 credential

Every guard working a postSecurity Guard Employee Registration (Attorney General BCI)

Armed work: Rhode Island has no armed guard license and no permitless carry. Carrying a pistol on duty needs a carry license: from the city or town where you live or work (21+, a proper reason, found suitable) or from the Attorney General on a showing of need. Either costs $40, lasts 4 years and requires a qualifying score of 195 out of 300 at 25 yards (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-11, 11-47-12, 11-47-15, 11-47-18).

How to check the security company in Rhode IslandThe Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification licenses the firm itself (Private Security Guard Business License)Agency license

What the firm must holdPrivate Security Guard Business LicenseIssued by the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification

Ask the company for the exact legal name on its license. Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification does not publish license numbers here, so the name is what you can actually match.
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification publishes no public per-company lookup, so this cannot be done online.
Contact Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification directly and ask them to confirm the license status for that exact legal name. Ask for the answer in writing if the contract is significant.
Meanwhile, ask the company for a copy of the license itself and check that the name on it matches the entity that will sign your contract.

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification names the firms it licenses but publishes no license number; match on the legal name instead.

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

Rhode Island requires it by law

$300,000 for bodily or personal injury and $100,000 property damage, from a Rhode Island-licensed carrier. Unusually prescriptive on endorsements: assault and battery; personal injury including false arrest, libel, slander and invasion of privacy; damage to property in the licensee’s care, custody and control; and errors and omissions.

If it lapses: Cover is a continuing condition of the license, but chapter 5-5.1 spells out no automatic suspension or cure period.

R.I. Gen. Laws §5-5.1-22, https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-5.1/5-5.1-22.htm

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.

Rhode Island license lookup: common questionsQuick answers on lookup timing, missing records, and armed permits4 questions

How do I look up a security guard license in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island publishes no public online lookup for individual guards. Note the guard’s full name and any registration number they give you, and ask BCI to confirm it. Securitylicensing@riag.ri.gov, or RI Office of the Attorney General, 150 South Main Street, Providence RI 02903, (401) 274-4400.

What is a security guard license called in Rhode Island?

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General issues the Employee Registration under a licensed private security guard business.

How do I check a security company’s license in Rhode Island?

Companies need their own license from the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification: Private Security Guard Business License. There is no public per-company lookup, so ask the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Identification to confirm the license for the company’s exact legal name.

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 Rhode IslandRegulator links, licensing guides, and open jobs (last reviewed September 27, 2026)7 sources

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