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Checking a guard or a security company in Utah

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 Utah, and walks you to Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)’s own records to confirm it.

tessura is not a Utah 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 Utah requirements, training hours, and application steps →

Check the guard

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

What they should hold

Every guard working a postUnarmed Private Security Officer License8 hrs of training · state exam · renews every 2 years
If they carry a firearmArmed Private Security Officer License20 hrs of training · state exam · renews every 2 years
If they move cash or valuablesArmored Car Security Officer20 hrs of training · renews every 2 years

Armed work: Armed officers complete the 8-hour basic plus a 12-hour DOPL-approved firearms course, then 4 hours of firearms training every 6 months (16 hours per 2-year cycle).

Ask for the number

Digits, a hyphen, then the profession code 6303 — e.g. 13357353-6303 or 304589-6303

Live Licensee Lookup and Verification detail page showing "License Number 13357353-6303" for an Unarmed Private Security Officer, with further live rows 304589-6303, 10277500-6303 and 357507-6303.

How to check it

  1. Ask the guard for the full legal name on their DOPL licence and whether it is armed or unarmed.
  2. Open secure.utah.gov/llv/search/index.html, type the name into the Name Search box, and scroll the profession list to the "SECURITY COMPANIES & GUARDS" group.
  3. Tick "Unarmed Private Security Officer" or "Armed Private Security Officer" to match what the guard told you, then click Search. Use a normal browser — there is a reCAPTCHA behind the scenes.
  4. Click the person’s name to open the detail page, and confirm License Status reads Active with an Expiration Date in the future.
  5. Read the "Agency and Disciplinary Action" line, which either lists dockets and citations or states there are none within the statutory window. Utah is unusually forthcoming here.
  6. Check the "Education" table at the foot of the record for the training provider and completion date — a live record showed "Defencify (Online), Basic Education, 2023-04-28". An empty table on a guard who claims to be trained is worth a question.
Open the Utah DOPL Licensee Lookup & Verification (LLV) →

Shows licence status · shows the expiry date.

If the lookup finds nothing: Utah Division of Professional Licensing, dopl.utah.gov.

Check the company

Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) 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 holdContract Security CompanyIssued by Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)

How to check it

  1. Ask the company for the exact legal name on its licence and its Contract Security Company number. A company that cannot produce a number for a licence it claims to hold has told you something.
  2. Open the Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) 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 Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) before signing.
Open the Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) 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.

Utah requires it by law

Sources disagree — use the higher figure. The administrative rule sets $300,000 per incident and $1,000,000 aggregate; DOPL’s own current application packet requires $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total for the entire duration of licensure. Riders required for assault and battery, personal injury, libel and slander, broad form property damage, care/custody/control, errors and omissions, false arrest and invasion of privacy. Workers’ compensation is separately mandatory.

A filing-and-maintenance statute, with DOPL named as certificate holder. The cancellation duty is on the COMPANY, but drafted pointedly to close the obvious excuse: the company must notify the Division immediately on cancellation "whether such cancellation was initiated by the insurance company or the insured agency". It is still self-reporting, and "immediately" has no day count.

If it lapses: A current certificate must be on file at all times and available for immediate inspection. Failure to make the immediate notification is an independent violation. The sanction path is not stated in rule.

Utah Code §58-63-302(1)(j); Utah Admin. Code R156-63a-302d — https://commerce.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/security-company-application.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

Utah requirements last reviewed September 14, 2026. Rules change — the regulator’s page is authoritative if it disagrees with ours.

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