Security Guard License in Connecticut

The State of Connecticut requires anyone working as a security guard to obtain a Security Officer Certification Identification Card, prior to a Security Service Company registering such employee with the State’s Special License and Firearms Unit. To get a guard card in the state of Connecticut, potential security guards must:

1. Be at least 18 years of age and (armed security officers must be at least 21 years of age), to work armed.
2. Proof of the legal ability to work in the United States.
3. Undergo a criminal history background check through the CT Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
4. No person shall be approved for the security officer certification identification card that has been convicted of a felony, any sexual offense or any crime that would tend to question the honesty and integrity of the person.
5. The applicant will provide fingerprints.
6. Complete an 8-hour course of required training. The training and exam may be administered by a certified training facility.

According to Connecticut’s Department of Public Safety (DPS), Security Officer Certification Identification Card “applicants must complete a course of instruction approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety, at their expense. The course is offered by private instructors and involves classroom criminal justice training. Upon completion of the course, the instructor signs off on the reverse side of the application form DPS 135-C. The application form and fingerprints are then submitted to the Special License and Firearms Unit.”

The Security Officer card is good for 24 months unless suspended or revoked.

The total cost of obtaining the certification card is $100.00, plus fingerprint cards (State & FBI) with two Cashiers Check or Money Order, one in the amount of $ 50.00 and the other $19.25, payable to the Department of Public Safety.

After a criminal history background check has been completed on the prospective applicant, he or she will be notified of the approval or denial of the certification identification card.

CT’s DPS website also notes that “your employer is responsible for insuring that the employee has obtained the security officer certification identification card, the employee will not be allowed registration with out it.”

Failure to register an employee or allowing such person to work without the proper certification card may result in the suspension or revocation of the company’s business license.

For more information potential security officers may go to the State’s DPS web site.