"All our staff are SIA licensed" appears on virtually every security company's website, including ours. It is worth knowing what that sentence actually guarantees — because it means less than most buyers assume, and the gap is where poor providers hide.
What the SIA is
The Security Industry Authority is the regulator for the private security industry in the UK, set up under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. It licenses individuals, not companies. Anyone carrying out a licensable activity without a licence is committing a criminal offence, and so is the business supplying them.
The licence types that matter
Most work falls under one of these:
Door Supervision. Required for guarding premises licensed for alcohol or regulated entertainment. This is the broadest front-line licence — it also permits security guarding, which is why door supervisors can cover most assignments.
Security Guarding. Guarding premises, property or people against theft, damage or trespass. Covers retail, corporate, construction and vacant property work. It does not permit door supervision at licensed premises.
CCTV (Public Space Surveillance). Required to operate CCTV equipment to monitor public areas or identify individuals. A guard watching a monitor in a back office is not necessarily covered by their guarding licence.
Close Protection. Personal protection of individuals. A separate and considerably more demanding qualification.
Key Holding. Holding keys to premises and responding to alarms.
There is a practical consequence here: a licence is specific to an activity. A security guarding licence does not let someone work a nightclub door. If a supplier sends a guarding-licensed officer to a licensed venue, both they and you have a problem.
What a licence does guarantee
To hold one, a person must have:
- Passed an identity check
- Been through a criminal record check
- Completed the mandated training and qualification for that licence type
- Renewed within the last three years
That is a real floor, and it is meaningful. It is also the entire list.
What it does not guarantee
A licence says nothing about whether someone is good at the job. It does not cover:
- Experience. A licence issued last week looks identical to one held for a decade.
- Suitability for your site. Retail loss prevention and nightclub door work are different skills.
- Employment checks beyond the criminal record check. References, right to work and work history are the employer's responsibility, not the SIA's.
- Supervision and management. Whether anyone is checking that officers turn up, stay alert and report properly is a matter of how the company operates.
- Insurance. The licence is personal. Public liability cover is the company's, and you should ask for it separately.
How to check a licence is genuine
The SIA runs a free public register. You can look up any licence number and see whether it is valid, what type it is, and when it expires. It takes seconds.
Ask your supplier for the licence numbers of the officers who will actually be on your site — not a general assurance, and not just the manager's. A company that hesitates at this request is telling you something.
Front-line officers must also wear their licence visibly while working. If they are not, ask why.
The questions worth asking instead
Since the licence is a floor rather than a standard, these tell you more:
- Who specifically is attending, and what is their experience of sites like mine? Not "our team is experienced" — names and background.
- What happens if someone calls in sick at 6pm on a Saturday? The answer reveals whether there is real depth behind the contract.
- How are incidents recorded, and will I see the reports? Written, time-stamped records protect you as much as them.
- Who supervises the officers on shift, and how often are sites checked?
- What is the actual hourly rate, and what does it include? A rate far below the market usually means someone is being underpaid, which shows up as turnover and no-shows.
In short
An SIA licence is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. Treat it as the entry requirement it is, verify it properly on the public register, and then ask the questions that tell you what you are actually buying.
If you would like to talk through what cover your site needs, contact us — we are happy to give you the licence numbers before you commit to anything.