SIA licence/Licence check
SIA licence check: how employers verify security staff
To check an SIA licence, search the SIA's public register of licence holders with the officer's 16-digit licence number, or with their surname plus date of birth and role. Confirm the licence is current and in the sector the post needs, record who checked and when, and check again while the officer stays deployed.
What you search with
16digits
The licence number on the card or the licence granted letter. Without it, search by surname plus date of birth and role.
- Cost
- Free. The register is public.
- No result
- Read it as no current licence
- Why record it
- Section 5 defence, Private Security Industry Act 2001
How to check an SIA licence on the register
The register is free and public. GOV.UK's Check security staff have a licence to work page links to it and states the employer's side plainly: you must check the licence before hiring someone for private security work.
Search by number first.
Enter the 16-digit licence number from the card or the licence granted letter. If the officer has no number to hand, search the register of licence holders by surname with personal details such as date of birth and security role.
Match the sector to the post.
The licence must cover the duties on the assignment, not the job title. A door supervisor licence covers security guarding; a security guard licence does not cover door supervision or public space CCTV. The full matrix is on our SIA licence types page.
Read a missing result as no licence.
All current licence holders appear on the register. In a published freedom of information response, the SIA said that a name and date of birth search with no result is a clear indication that the person does not hold a current licence.
Record the check.
Write down the date, the name of the person who checked, the search used, the sector and the licence expiry date. File it with the officer's records before the first shift.
Accept the letter while the card is in the post.
An officer can work from the day the SIA grants the licence, carrying the licence granted letter and photo ID until the card arrives. Key holding and non-front line licences are only ever issued as a letter.
When the register result does not match the officer's story
Most mismatches have an ordinary cause, but each one has to be resolved before the officer goes on a licensable post.
- The number returns nothing
- A replacement card carries a new licence number, so an old card or a photocopy can point to a number that no longer exists. Search again by name and date of birth.
- Name search returns nothing
- Treat it as no current licence. Typing errors aside, the SIA has said a current licence holder with those details would be shown.
- The licence is in another sector
- The officer can work only in the sectors the licence covers. A security guard licence on a door supervision post is unlicensed door work.
- The licence is suspended
- A suspension takes effect immediately, and the officer may not do licensable work while it lasts, including during an appeal.
- The SIA is revoking the licence
- The SIA writes first and revokes after 21 days if there is no response. The officer can appeal to a magistrates' or sheriff court within 21 days, and the licence stays live during that appeal unless it has also been suspended.
The rules on both are in the SIA's guidance on why it revokes or suspends licences.
Why the written record matters
Section 5 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 makes it an offence to provide security services through an operative who is not licensed for the work. On indictment the maximum is five years' imprisonment. The section gives two defences: that you did not know and had no reasonable grounds to suspect the officer was unlicensed, or that you took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
A dated check against the register is the most direct evidence for either defence. An undated note that someone "saw the card" is weak evidence for both. The offence is written around whoever provides the security services, not only the officer's direct employer, so a main contractor deploying a subcontractor's officers has the same reason to search those names itself. Prosecutions and sentences are covered in our article on supplying unlicensed staff.
Re-checking licences while officers are deployed
A licence that was valid at hire can expire, or be suspended or revoked, during a contract. Officers must tell the SIA within two days of a conviction, caution or charge for a relevant offence; they are not obliged to tell you. Your trigger therefore has to be the register, not the officer.
The SIA's free Licence Status Checker lets you build watchlists, for example one per site or event, filled with data from the public register. It needs an SIA business account. The SIA's own guide to its business services (version 6, April 2020) describes watchlists of up to 10,000 licence numbers uploaded as a CSV file, sortable by sector, role and expiry date, and notes that expired licences stay visible for three months as Non Active. Approved contractors who qualify for the Licence Management service also receive updates when a licence held by a linked officer is suspended or revoked. All four services are described on the SIA's business services page.
How often to re-check is your decision; no rule sets an interval. Checking the watchlist before each rota is published ties the check to the moment a name is put on a licensable post, which is the moment the section 5 defence is about.
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Free SIA licence check and renewal log
Our log is a Word and PDF template in three parts. Part A records each check before deployment: officer, licence number, sector, expiry date, search method, result, whether the sector matches the post, who checked and when. Part B tracks renewals, and part C records watchlist re-checks during a contract and what was done about any exception. Edit it to match your own screening file.
If you are hiring short-term staff for the winter, our article on seasonal security staff covers licence dispensation notices and BS 7858 screening for temporary starters.
From licence check to shift plan
The register tells you a licence is valid today. Whether the officer on Saturday's door shift holds the right one is a planning question. COREDINATE's guard tour and patrol system stores each officer's SIA licence as a qualification with its validity dates and a copy of the card or letter, shows it as valid, expiring soon, applied for or expired, and its duty roster takes qualifications into account when shifts are allocated. It does not query the SIA register, so the register search above remains your recorded check.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check an SIA licence without the licence number?
Yes. The register of licence holders can be searched by surname together with personal details such as date of birth and security role. If that search finds nothing, the SIA treats it as a clear indication that the person holds no current licence.
Is the SIA licence check free?
Yes. The public register of licence holders costs nothing to search, and the SIA's Licence Status Checker for watchlists is also free, although it needs an SIA business account.
Can an officer start work before the SIA licence card arrives?
Yes, from the day the licence is granted. Until the card arrives, the officer must carry the licence granted letter and photo ID such as a passport or driving licence.
Do I need to check the licences of a subcontractor's officers?
The section 5 offence applies to whoever provides security services through an unlicensed operative, so a main contractor has good reason to search the names itself. Ask the subcontractor for a named list with licence numbers before the first shift and record your own register checks.
How often should I re-check SIA licences?
No rule sets an interval. Licences can expire, be suspended or be revoked during a contract, and officers report convictions to the SIA rather than to you, so re-check before shifts are allocated. The SIA's free watchlists make this a single list per site.
See licence expiry next to the rota.
Test COREDINATE's guard tour and patrol system free for 14 days.