Resources / SIA licence
SIA licensing for security employers: licence types, fees and validity
Anyone you supply to a client to guard premises, property or people needs an SIA licence for that sector, and so do your directors and managers. Since 1 April 2026 a licence costs £204 and lasts three years. It never renews itself, so expiry dates belong in your planning as much as in the officer's wallet.
Licence fee since 1 April 2026
£204
For a first application and a renewal alike. The SIA does not refund the fee.
- Validity
- Three years; one year for vehicle immobilisers
- Licence types
- Seven front line, one non-front line
- Renewal
- Opens four months before expiry
Who needs an SIA licence in a security company
An individual needs a licence when two conditions meet: the work is done under a contract for services, and it involves a licensable activity. The SIA's own guidance gives the standard example: a security company places a guard in a shop and charges the shop for it. Self-employed operatives contracted directly by a client fall under the same rule.
In-house staff employed by the business they protect usually need no licence. Two activities are the exception and always need one: door supervision at licensed premises, and vehicle immobilisation, which is licensable only in Northern Ireland.
The duty reaches the boardroom. Directors, partners, managers and supervisors of a business that supplies licensable staff need a licence even if they never stand a shift. If they personally carry out licensable work at any point, it has to be a front line licence; otherwise a non-front line licence is enough. The SIA applies this to executive and non-executive directors, shadow directors and directors of parent companies, as set out in its guidance for directors.
Some roles stay outside licensing. Checking tickets or invitations at an event, directing people to seats, toilets or first aid, unpaid volunteering under an agreement and reacting to a sudden incident do not need a licence. A steward who refuses someone entry or makes them leave has crossed into licensable work.
SIA licence types at a glance
There are seven front line licences and one non-front line licence. The licence follows the duties on the post, not the job title, and some licences cover the work of others.
Security guarding
Photocard
Needed forGuarding premises or property against damage, theft, unauthorised access or disorderly behaviour, including CCTV used to guard against unauthorised access or theft
Also coversNothing beyond its own sector
Door supervision
Photocard
Needed forGuarding licensed premises, meaning venues licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on site or to provide regulated entertainment
Also coversSecurity guarding
Close protection
Photocard
Needed forGuarding people against assault or injury
Also coversDoor supervision, security guarding, CCTV to guard premises or property
Public space surveillance (CCTV)
Photocard
Needed forUsing CCTV to identify or monitor people to guard against disorder, damage or injury, including viewing recorded footage
Also coversCCTV used for security guarding
Cash and valuables in transit
Photocard
Needed forGuarding property while transporting it in a vehicle designed for secure transport
Also coversNothing beyond its own sector
Key holding
Letter
Needed forKeeping, or controlling access to, keys or devices that operate a lock
Also coversNothing beyond its own sector
Vehicle immobilisation (Northern Ireland only)
Photocard
Needed forClamping, blocking or removing a vehicle and charging the owner for its release
Also coversNothing beyond its own sector
Non-front line
Letter
Needed forDirectors, partners, managers and supervisors who do not carry out licensable work themselves
Also coversKey holding
Two of these rules are easy to get wrong when officers move between contracts. A door supervisor licence covers security guarding, but a security guard licence does not cover door supervision. And a security guard licence does not allow an officer to watch CCTV to protect people or prevent disorder: that is public space surveillance work and needs its own licence. Every front line licence also covers the activities of a non-front line licence.
What an SIA licence costs in 2026
An SIA licence costs £204, for a first application and a renewal alike. From April 2020 the SIA used historic reserves to take £20 off, so applicants paid £184. Those reserves ran out and the rebate ended on 1 April 2026. The statutory fee itself has stood at £204 since April 2023.
First licence, new or renewal
£204
From 1 April 2026
Each additional licence
£102
Only if applied for on the same day and the same application form (since 1 June 2026)
Vehicle immobiliser licence
£204
No discount applies
Replacement card (lost, stolen or damaged)
£7
The new card carries a new licence number
The SIA does not refund the fee in any situation, including a refused or cancelled application. Training is paid separately to the training provider, and the SIA does not set that price. Until 1 June 2026 the 50% discount applied to an additional licence applied for at any time; an officer who adds a sector months later now pays the full £204 again, which is worth planning for when you move staff between door and guarding contracts.
Employers may pay on an officer's behalf. Any business can use the free Licence Pay Only service; approved contractors can also submit applications through Licence Assist or Licence Management. Each route needs the officer to accept a link between their SIA online account and yours, and the details are on the SIA's business services page.
How long an SIA licence lasts
Every SIA licence lasts three years, except the vehicle immobiliser licence, which lasts one year. Officers can apply to renew four months before expiry, and any time left on the old licence is added to the new one. A licence that has already expired cannot be renewed: the officer starts a new application and may not do licensable work until it is granted.
Once the SIA grants a licence, the officer can start work in that sector the same day. Until the photocard arrives, which should be within 14 days of the grant, the officer carries the licence granted letter and photo ID. Key holding and non-front line licences come only as a letter. Our SIA licence renewal guide sets out the renewal window, refresher training and what to do when a renewal is still pending at expiry.
What the law expects from you as the employer
Section 5 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 makes it an offence to provide security services by means of an operative who does not hold the right licence. The maximum is six months' imprisonment on summary conviction and five years on indictment. The Act gives a defence to a business that did not know and had no reasonable grounds to suspect, or that took all reasonable steps to prevent unlicensed work. Both defences depend on records you can produce later, which is why the SIA licence check needs a date, a name and a result on file. How courts have applied the offence is covered in our article on SIA licensing offences.
The licence conditions bind the officer, but they shape your deployment brief. Front line licence holders must wear the licence where it can be seen while working, unless the role is covert, and must tell the SIA within two days of a conviction, caution or charge for a relevant offence. Breaching a condition is itself an offence under section 9 of the Act. The full list is in the SIA's licence conditions.
Company approval is a separate, voluntary layer. The SIA licenses individuals, not companies; the Approved Contractor Scheme is how a business shows it meets the regulator's standard. Both public registers are explained on our SIA register page, and the scheme itself in our guide to the Approved Contractor Scheme.
Keeping licence records next to the rota
A licence check on the day of hire answers one question once. The expiry date three years later is the part that slips, because it often sits in a spreadsheet the rota planner does not open. In COREDINATE, the guard tour and patrol system, an SIA licence can be stored as a qualification with its validity and the supporting document. Officers see their own qualifications grouped as valid, expiring soon, applied for or expired, and the duty roster takes qualifications into account when it allocates shifts. COREDINATE does not connect to the SIA register, so the register check itself stays a separate, recorded step.
Frequently asked questions
Do company directors need an SIA licence if they never work on the front line?
Yes, if the company supplies licensable staff under contracts for services. A director who never carries out licensable work needs a non-front line licence; one who does needs a front line licence. The rule covers non-executive directors, shadow directors and directors of parent companies.
How much does an SIA licence cost in 2026?
£204 per licence from 1 April 2026, for new applications and renewals. A second licence on the same application form, submitted the same day, costs £102. The fee is not refundable.
How long is an SIA licence valid?
Three years for every licence type except vehicle immobilisation, which lasts one year. Licences do not renew automatically; officers can apply to renew four months before expiry without losing the remaining time.
Does a door supervisor licence cover security guarding?
Yes. A door supervisor licence covers security guarding, and a close protection licence covers both. A security guard licence does not cover door supervision or public space CCTV work.
Do in-house security staff need an SIA licence?
Usually not. Staff employed directly by the business they protect are outside licensing, except for door supervision at licensed premises and, in Northern Ireland, vehicle immobilisation, which need a licence in-house too.
Put licence expiry dates where shifts are planned.
Test COREDINATE's guard tour and patrol system free for 14 days.