{"id":45488,"date":"2026-05-14T10:24:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/?p=45488"},"modified":"2026-05-14T10:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:26:49","slug":"reading-sia-licence-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/reading-sia-licence-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read &amp; Verify SIA Licence Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;re on the door. A new face turns up for the shift, hands you an SIA licence card, and walks off to get changed. You glance at it. Looks fine. Photo matches. Hologram&#8217;s there. Job done?<\/p>\n<p>Not quite. A licence card is only as good as the check behind it, and getting that check wrong can cost you, your employer, and the licence holder a lot more than a quiet word from the boss.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how to read an SIA licence card properly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/how-to-check-sia-licence-cards\">how to verify it<\/a> in under a minute, and what to do when something doesn&#8217;t sit right. For the full application process and licence benefits, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/sia-licence-guide\/\">SIA licence guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What&#8217;s Actually On an SIA Licence Card<\/h2>\n<p>Every SIA licence card carries the same information in the same place. Once you know where to look, spotting a dodgy one gets a lot easier.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The licence holder&#8217;s photo<\/strong> \u2014 front of the card, top left. Compare it to the person standing in front of you. Sounds obvious. People still skip it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Full name<\/strong> \u2014 printed under the photo.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role\/sector<\/strong> \u2014 for example &#8220;Door Supervisor&#8221;, &#8220;Security Guard&#8221;, &#8220;CCTV (Public Space Surveillance)&#8221;, or &#8220;Close Protection&#8221;. This is the bit most employers fail to check properly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Licence number<\/strong> \u2014 a 16-digit number, usually starting with the sector code. You&#8217;ll need this for the online check.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expiry date<\/strong> \u2014 the licence is valid up to and including this date. The day after, it&#8217;s not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hologram<\/strong> \u2014 a tamper-evident security feature on the front. It should shift colour as you tilt the card.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The back of the card carries the SIA logo, a signature strip, and a contact number for the SIA. There&#8217;s no chip, no magnetic strip \u2014 the card is essentially an ID document, not a smart card.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<h2>How to Verify an SIA Licence in 30 Seconds<\/h2>\n<p>The SIA runs a free online licence checker. According to GOV.UK guidance, anyone can use it \u2014 employers, venue managers, members of the public, police. You don&#8217;t need an account.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the process:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to the SIA&#8217;s Register of Licence Holders on the SIA website.<\/li>\n<li>Enter the 16-digit licence number from the card.<\/li>\n<li>Hit search.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The result tells you whether the licence is <strong>valid<\/strong>, <strong>expired<\/strong>, or <strong>suspended<\/strong>, and confirms the role the holder is licensed for. If the system returns nothing, the number is wrong \u2014 or the card is fake.<\/p>\n<p>Do this <em>before<\/em> the shift starts, not after an incident.<\/p>\n<h2>Common Problems on the Door<\/h2>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/h3>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1408\" height=\"704\" class=\"wp-image-44237\" src=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2.jpg\" alt=\"a security officer working a new role after getting another SIA licence\" \/>\n<h3>\n\n\n<\/h3>\n<h3>Wrong Role for the Job<\/h3>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/licence\/security-guard-licence\">Security Guard licence<\/a> does not cover door supervision at a licensed premises. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/licence\/cctv-licence\">CCTV licence<\/a> doesn&#8217;t cover physical security on the floor. If the role on the card doesn&#8217;t match the job, the person is working unlicensed \u2014 full stop.<\/p>\n<p>This is the single most common compliance failure the SIA finds during inspections. Staff with valid licences, deployed in the wrong role, by employers or security team leads who didn&#8217;t check carefully enough.<\/p>\n<h3>Expired Licences<\/h3>\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/sia-licence-expiry\/\">expired SIA licence<\/a> is <strong>not<\/strong> a valid licence. There&#8217;s no grace period. If someone&#8217;s working past their expiry date \u2014 even by a day \u2014 they&#8217;re committing an offence under section 3 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. So is the employer who deployed them.<\/p>\n<p>The SIA recommends checking expiry dates well in advance and reminding staff to renew at least 16 weeks before their card runs out.<\/p>\n<h3>Suspended Licences That Look Fine<\/h3>\n<p>This is the sneaky one. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/suspended-sia-licence\/\">suspended SIA licence card<\/a> looks identical to a valid one. The hologram&#8217;s intact, the date&#8217;s not passed, the photo matches. The only way to know is the online checker.<\/p>\n<p>The SIA can suspend a licence for several reasons \u2014 pending criminal investigations, breaches of licence conditions, or fitness concerns. The card itself doesn&#8217;t change. Only the register does.<\/p>\n<h3>Fake or Altered Cards<\/h3>\n<p>Fakes do exist, though they&#8217;re rare. Warning signs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A hologram that doesn&#8217;t shift colour when tilted<\/li>\n<li>Misaligned text or a photo that looks stuck on<\/li>\n<li>A licence number that returns no result on the SIA register<\/li>\n<li>A role title that doesn&#8217;t match SIA categories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you suspect a card is fake, don&#8217;t accuse anyone on the spot. Report it to your DPS, your employer, and the SIA via their reporting line.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1313\" height=\"524\" class=\"wp-image-45125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/slider1.jpg\" alt=\"a security officer holding an SIA licence card\" \/><!-- \/wp:post-content --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:image {\"id\":44237,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} --><\/p>\n<h2>What Happens If You Get It Wrong<\/h2>\n<p>The legal consequences are serious, and they don&#8217;t only fall on the individual.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For the licence holder:<\/strong> working without a valid SIA licence is a criminal offence carrying up to six months in prison, a fine of up to \u00a35,000, or both.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For employers and venue operators:<\/strong> supplying unlicensed security \u2014 knowingly or through poor checks \u2014 carries the same penalties. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know&#8221; is not a defence. The SIA expects employers to verify every licence, every time.<\/p>\n<p>The SIA has issued substantial fines and prosecuted directors personally for repeated failures to check. Door supervisors have lost licences for working a single shift after expiry.<\/p>\n<h2>Build It Into Your Routine<\/h2>\n<p>Checking licences sounds like admin. It&#8217;s not \u2014 it&#8217;s the bit of the job that keeps you out of court.<\/p>\n<p>A sensible routine looks like this: verify every new staff member&#8217;s licence on the SIA register before their first shift. Keep a dated record of the check. Re-verify any licence within 30 days of its expiry date. And spot-check at random across the team.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re working through an agency or looking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/sia-licence-renewal-checklist\">renew your licence<\/a> after completing the mandatory <a href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/security\/top-up-refresher\">SIA refresher training<\/a>, get familiar with the register now. It&#8217;s the same tool you&#8217;ll use for the rest of your career.<\/p>\n<p>A licence card is a piece of plastic. The register is the truth. Always check the register.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to read an SIA licence card, verify it on the SIA register in seconds, and spot expired, suspended or fake cards before they cost you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":45518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4076],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sia-licence"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SIA Licence Cards Explained: How to Read &amp; Verify Them<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover essential tips for checking SIA licence cards, ensuring your security team is qualified and compliant for every shift.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/reading-sia-licence-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Read &amp; 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