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Checking a guard or a security company in Virginia

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 Virginia, and walks you to Virginia Dept. of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS)’s own records to confirm it.

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

Check the guard

Virginia 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 Security Officer Registration18 hrs of training · state exam · renews every 2 years
If they carry a firearmArmed Security Officer Registration34 hrs of training · state exam · renews every 2 years
If they do close or executive protectionPersonal Protection Specialist (32)60 hrs of training · state exam · 8 more hrs within 24 months of being issued · renews every 2 years
If they work with a dogSecurity Canine Handler (04S)30 hrs of training · state exam · 8 more hrs within 24 months of being issued · renews every 2 years
If they move cash or valuablesArmored Car Personnel (03)28 hrs of training · state exam · 4 more hrs within 24 months of being issued · renews every 2 years

Armed work: Armed officers (21+) add 16 hours of handgun training covering marksmanship, low-light, and judgmental shooting; the firearm endorsement renews annually with a 4-hour handgun refresher.

Ask for the number

DCJS ID is "99-" followed by four to seven digits — 99-4386 and 99-1022649 are both valid. The credential number is separate: two letters plus seven digits, e.g. RE-0003294.

Live External Verification Tool results returning DCJS IDs 99-409798, 99-043268, 99-4386 and 99-1022649, with credential numbers RE-0003294, RE-1015509 and VE-0003621. DCJS’s own walkthrough PDF says "Make sure to include dash after the 99." Do not treat a short ID as malformed — the digit count genuinely varies.

How to check it

  1. Ask the guard for the name and DCJS number on their registration card.
  2. Open the DCJS External Verification Tool and type the surname or the DCJS ID into the "Search Individual Credential" box, then click the Submit button directly beneath it.
  3. Do not stop at the results table. It shows "Private Security Services Registration" for armed officers, unarmed officers, alarm respondents and electronic security technicians alike, so the row alone does not tell you the person is a security officer at all.
  4. Click the person’s name to open the pop-up and read "Registered Categories". This is the only place that distinguishes "Unarmed Security Officer/Courier" from "Armed Security Officer/Courier" — and it is where you would catch someone registered solely as an Electronic Security Technician, which live results do contain.
  5. Confirm Credential Status reads Active and the Expiration Date is in the future. "Reinstatement Pending" and "Expired" both appear in live results and neither means current.
  6. For an armed post, check the Firearm Expiration Date in the same pop-up. It is tracked separately from the registration, so a current registration can sit alongside a lapsed firearm endorsement.
  7. Know the tool’s two blind spots before you rely on a null result: DCJS says it returns only the most recent credential, and it does not cover temporary registrations, so a newly hired guard working on a temporary may not appear.
Open the DCJS External Verification Tool (EVT) →

Shows licence status · shows the expiry date.

If the lookup finds nothing: Use the "Contact Private Security Services" link on dcjs.virginia.gov/division-licensure-and-regulatory-services. Note DCJS’s published instruction — "Please do not contact DCJS to verify credential or application status of an employee" — so staff will not confirm personal details by phone and the verification tool is the intended channel.

Check the company

Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Licensure and Regulatory Services 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 holdPrivate Security Services Business LicenseIssued by Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Licensure and Regulatory Services

How to check it

  1. Ask the company for the exact legal name on its licence and its Private Security Services Business License number. A company that cannot produce a number for a licence it claims to hold has told you something.
  2. Open the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Licensure and Regulatory Services 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 Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Licensure and Regulatory Services before signing.
Open the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Licensure and Regulatory Services 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.

Virginia requires it by law

$1,000,000 general aggregate comprehensive general liability from a Virginia-authorised insurer. Beware stale sources: DCJS’s own FAQ still recites the pre-2017 figures of $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate, which the 2017 final regulation replaced.

Virginia is unusual in requiring DCJS itself to be named CERTIFICATE HOLDER rather than merely shown a certificate. A certificate holder is who a carrier’s own cancellation machinery addresses, so DCJS ordinarily hears — but as a matter of policy administration rather than legal duty. No statutory insurer obligation and no day count. Filing is required at initial application and every renewal.

If it lapses: Cover is a condition precedent to an operative licence and a continuing condition of holding it; uninsured activity can invalidate the licence. The automatic-suspension mechanism is not spelled out.

6VAC20-172-40(B)(2) and -50 — https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincodeexpand/title6/agency20/chapter172/partIV/

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

Virginia requirements last reviewed August 28, 2026. Rules change — the regulator’s page is authoritative if it disagrees with ours.

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