The licence application cost is £190. This is paid directly to the SIA, the licensing authority for the security industry.
A newly issued SIA licence is valid for 3 years.
The roles that you can undertake will depend on which SIA licence you have. A holder of an SIA CCTV Licence can watch public images but can’t work as a security guard. In the same way a holder of an SIA Door Supervisor licence can’t work as a CCTV Operative.
It can take 25 working days to process a licence application. In some cases, this can take up to 6 weeks due to additional security checks.
It is illegal to work in the security industry without an SIA Licence. However, some employers can qualify for exemptions under Section 4(4) of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.
The SIA will check the course qualification, identify and criminal background during the licence application process.
You may apply for a non-frontline SIA licence without passing the course. For all frontline roles such as Security Guarding, Door Supervisor, CCTV Operator, Close Protection etc you must pass the course before applying for the licence.
