Florida Class D security license renewal: an employer's guide

Who needs a Class D license

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Licensing, regulates private security under Chapter 493, Florida Statutes. "Any individual who performs the services of a security officer shall have a Class 'D' license" (§493.6301). The law exempts unarmed officers employed exclusively to work on their own employer's premises (§493.6102).

The initial license requires at least 40 hours of professional training at a school or training facility licensed by FDACS (§493.6303).

Term and renewal timing

Class D and Class G licenses are valid for two years (§493.6111(2)). The statute requires FDACS to mail a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration, and makes each licensee responsible for renewing on or before the expiration date (§493.6113).

In practice, FDACS says it mails the renewal application about 95 days before expiration (FDACS: renewing your license), and its Security Officer Handbook advises applying 60 to 90 days before (FDACS handbook). Class D licenses can be renewed online through the FDACS online renewal site, which asks for the mailed renewal notice and a passport-style photo taken within the last six months.

Fees and the three-month cutoff

Sources: Rule 5N-1.116 and §493.6113(5). Online card payments add a 2.5% convenience fee (FDACS online renewal site).

Two more rules raise the stakes. A renewal applicant may not perform any regulated activity between the expiration date and the date of renewal (§493.6113(6)). And someone whose license has been expired for a year or more is treated as an initial applicant and must complete the 40 hours of training again (§493.6303(4)(b)).

No continuing education for Class D

Florida's renewal statute adds training requirements at renewal for Class G and certain other license classes, but not for Class D (§493.6113(3)). For an unarmed officer, renewal is the application and the fees.

Class G: the armed officer's annual deadline

The Class G statewide firearm license is where Florida gets strict:

• Each year of the two-year license, the holder must complete at least four hours of firearms requalification taught by a Class K instructor (§493.6113(3)(b)). Requalification includes passing a 48-round course of fire (FDACS Class G requirements).
• If the four hours are not completed during the first year, the license is automatically suspended. FDACS rules require proof of each annual requalification by the month and day of the expiration date printed on the license, and reinstatement after a missed first year takes another 28 hours of training (Rule 5N-1.132).
• The Class G renewal fee is $112 plus the $16.75 retention fee (Rule 5N-1.116). The rule also says a licensee who holds more than one license is charged only one retention fee, so an officer renewing both Class D and Class G may not owe it twice.

So an armed officer has a requalification deadline every year on the same month and day, plus the two-year renewal of both the Class D and the Class G.

Employer duties

• Carry rules. Class D and Class G licenses must be in the licensee's possession while on duty, and every agency must furnish its licensed employees an identification card (§493.6111).
• 15-day employee report. Within 15 days of hiring or terminating anyone who holds or has applied for a Chapter 493 license, the agency must notify FDACS through an online Employee Action Report (Rule 5N-1.142).
• Arrest notice. A licensee who fails to notify the employer within three calendar days of an arrest is subject to discipline (§493.6118(1)(z)).

Penalties

Employing or contracting with an unlicensed or improperly licensed person is grounds for discipline (§493.6118(1)(n)), which can include suspension, revocation, and administrative fines of up to $1,000 per count (§570.971). Performing regulated work without the required license is a first-degree misdemeanor for a first violation. A second or later violation is a third-degree felony, and FDACS may also seek a civil penalty of up to $10,000. That criminal provision does not apply to unlicensed activity within 90 days after a license expires (§493.6120(1)), but the renewal rule above still bars working between expiration and renewal.

To check an officer's status, use FDACS Search for a Licensee.

What to track for each Florida officer

• Class D expiration, with reminders at 90 and 60 days.
• For armed officers, the Class G expiration and the annual requalification deadline on the same month and day.
• Hire and termination dates, so each Employee Action Report goes in within 15 days.