The Security Industry Authority licence is the legal foundation of private security in England. If someone is guarding your premises, controlling your doors or responding to your alarms, the odds are the law requires them to hold one — and as the client, you have a duty to check.
What the SIA is and why it exists
The Security Industry Authority is the government body that regulates the private security industry under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Its job is to raise standards and keep people with serious criminal histories out of positions of trust.
Licensing covers the main front-line roles: security guarding, door supervision, close protection, cash and valuables in transit, public space surveillance (CCTV), key holding and vehicle immobilising.
Which roles need which licence
Licences are role-specific. A door supervisor licence covers licensed premises work; a security guarding licence covers static and patrol duties; CCTV operators need a public space surveillance licence. A guard working outside their licence category is working illegally.
Stewards at events are a common grey area: crowd management that involves searching, refusing entry or ejecting people is security work and needs a licence, whatever the badge says.
The two-minute check every client should run
Ask your provider for the name and licence number of every officer assigned to your site, then verify them on the SIA's public register. Check the licence type matches the role and that it is in date. Any hesitation from a provider at this request is a red flag.
Go one step further and ask how officers are vetted. The industry benchmark is BS 7858 — background screening covering identity, employment history and criminal record checks.
What good looks like beyond the licence
A licence is the floor, not the ceiling. The providers worth hiring add first-aid training, conflict management, site-specific assignment instructions and supervised delivery with digital reporting — the difference between a person in a hi-vis and a professional security service.
Every Xtreme Protection officer is SIA licensed, BS 7858 vetted and first-aid trained as standard. Call +44 2046 402840 to verify our credentials before you hire us — we would rather you checked.
Related services & coverage
Yes. Using unlicensed security staff is an offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, and clients who knowingly engage unlicensed guards expose themselves to prosecution and uninsured risk.
Use the SIA public register online — search by name or licence number and confirm the licence type and expiry date match the officer on your site.
Generally no — the licensing requirement applies to contracted security. However, door supervision at licensed premises requires a licence whether the staff are employed in-house or contracted.