Security licensing · 16 states
Security guard licenses renew every year in North Carolina and Washington, every two years in nine of the states below, every three in Illinois, Maryland and Oklahoma, every four in Arizona, and every five in Nevada. The table gives the license name, the issuing agency and the renewal period for 16 states, each checked on the regulator's own site.
Each row shows the credential a guard holds, the agency that issues it (linked to its own site), how often it renews, and the filing window or lapse rule we found, with the official source. Where CertsDue has written a state guide, the state name links to it.
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| State | License | Issuing agency | Renewal period |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArizonaCertsDue guide | Security guard registration (unarmed or armed) | Arizona Department of Public Safety, Licensing Unit | Every 4 yearsDPS accepts renewals up to 180 days before expiration and returns earlier filings.Source: DPS licensing FAQ |
| CaliforniaCertsDue guide | Security guard registration (guard card) | Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), Department of Consumer Affairs | Every 2 yearsFile at least 60 days before expiration. A registration not renewed within 60 days after expiration is canceled.Source: Bus. & Prof. Code §7583.20 · BSIS fact sheet |
| FloridaCertsDue guide | Class D security officer license (Class G adds a statewide firearm license) | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Licensing | Every 2 yearsA license cannot be renewed 3 months or more after it expires. The officer submits a new application.Source: Fla. Stat. §493.6111 · §493.6113 |
| GeorgiaCertsDue guide | Employee registration and weapon permit | Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies, Secretary of State | Every 2 years, on one shared dateEvery registration and weapon permit expires August 31 of each odd-numbered year (next: August 31, 2027). The late period runs through September, and missing it has the same effect as revocation. Unarmed guards are not required to register with the Board but must be trained.Source: Rule 509-2-.01 · Board FAQ |
| IllinoisCertsDue guide | Permanent Employee Registration Card (PERC) | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) | Every 3 years, on May 31Every PERC expires May 31 on a three-year cycle (next: May 31, 2027). A card expired less than a year can be restored by paying the lapsed renewal fees. After a year, the guard applies for restoration with proof of fitness and fingerprints.Source: 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1240.550 · 225 ILCS 447/10-25 |
| Maryland | Security guard certification | Maryland State Police, Licensing Division | Every 3 yearsA certification is valid 3 years from the year of issuance. File the renewal in the MDSP Licensing Portal at least 90 days before expiration, with 8 hours of approved continuing training. A late fee of $5 a day, up to $150, applies if it arrives less than 30 days before expiration.Source: MDSP security guard certification page |
| NevadaCertsDue guide | Registered employee work card | Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board (PILB) | Every 5 yearsA registration expires 5 years after it is issued. The renewal application, photo, fingerprints and fee must reach the Board on or before the expiration date.Source: NRS 648.1493 |
| New JerseyCertsDue guide | Security Officer Certification under the Security Officer Registration Act (SORA) | New Jersey State Police, Private Detective Unit | Every 2 years (armed: every year)Renewal needs an 8-hour refresher with a SORA-certified instructor before the certification expires. NJSP emails the officer at 90, 60 and 30 days before expiration.Source: NJSP SORA FAQ · SORA page |
| New YorkCertsDue guide | Security guard registration | New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services | Every 2 yearsRenewal opens 90 days before expiration. Once the ID card expires the guard cannot continue working, and a registration expired 6 months or more must be reapplied for.Source: NY DOS: renew or update a license |
| North Carolina | Unarmed guard registration card (armed guards hold a firearm registration permit) | North Carolina Private Protective Services Board | Every yearThe unarmed registration card and the armed firearm registration permit both expire one year after they are issued. The Board may require continuing education before renewal.Source: G.S. 74C-11 · G.S. 74C-13 |
| Oklahoma | Security guard license (unarmed or armed) | Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) | Every 3 yearsRenewal needs proof of continuing education plus a notice of employment or current bond or insurance. A license expired more than 30 days cannot be renewed, and the guard reapplies.Source: CLEET security guard page |
| Oregon | Private security professional certification (unarmed, or armed and unarmed) | Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) | Every 2 yearsUnarmed renewal means a refresher class every two years. DPSST accepts renewal paperwork up to 180 days before expiration and charges a late penalty after it. Armed holders also complete a firearms qualification and armed refresher every year.Source: DPSST renewal page |
| Tennessee | Armed or unarmed security guard registration | Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, Private Protective Services | Every 2 yearsA 90-day grace period follows expiration, with a $20 late fee for each month late. After that the guard must reapply or reinstate. Unarmed renewal needs 2 hours of refresher training. Armed renewal needs 4 hours and a firearms requalification.Source: TDCI renewal page |
| TexasCertsDue guide | Security officer license (non-commissioned) or commission (armed) | Texas Department of Public Safety, Private Security Program | Every 2 yearsRenewal opens 180 days before expiration and stays open for one year after it, with late fees. After a year the officer applies again. Commissioned officers also submit a firearm proficiency certificate no more than 90 days old.Source: DPS individual license FAQ |
| VirginiaCertsDue guide | Unarmed security officer registration (firearms endorsement for armed) | Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) | Up to 24 monthsA renewal received within 60 days after expiration can be reinstated for an added fee, but the officer cannot work in the gap. A firearms endorsement lasts up to 12 months.Source: 6VAC20-174 |
| Washington | Security guard license (unarmed or armed) | Washington State Department of Licensing | Every yearDOL accepts renewals up to 120 days before expiration. A license not renewed within one year of expiration is canceled, and the guard must meet initial licensing requirements again.Source: WAC 308-18-160 · DOL renewal page |
Three different clocks hide behind the phrase "renewal period." The term is how long a card lasts: one year in North Carolina, five in Nevada. The filing window is when the regulator takes a renewal: Texas opens 180 days before expiration, Maryland wants the file at least 90 days ahead, and California wants it at least 60 days ahead. The lapse rule is what happens when the date passes: a grace period in some states, a hard cancellation in others.
Two states put every card on the same date. Georgia registrations expire August 31 of each odd-numbered year, and Illinois PERCs expire May 31 every three years. If you employ 60 guards in Illinois, all 60 renewals land in the same few weeks, so the training records behind them need to be ready early.
A card in a guard's wallet shows what was true on the day it was printed. Arizona's Department of Public Safety says a photocopy of a registration, or the ID card itself, is not proof that the registration is currently valid, and it tells employers to check status through its public portal. The Illinois statute goes the other way: an employer may keep a copy of the state's License Lookup page in the employee file in place of a copy of the card (225 ILCS 447/35-30).
Our guard license lookup tool lists the official verification page for each state in the table, what you can search by, and tips for reading the result.
This page covers the 16 states we have checked so far. A state is added only after we confirm its license name, its issuing agency and its renewal period on an official page, and each row carries the source it was checked against. A state that is missing is not necessarily a state without rules, so check with the regulator if you hire guards there. Rules change, which is why the page carries its check date.
It depends on the state. Among the 16 states in the table, renewal runs every year in North Carolina and Washington, every two years in nine states, every three years in Illinois, Maryland and Oklahoma, every four years in Arizona, and every five years in Nevada. Armed credentials can run on a shorter clock than the unarmed card, as in New Jersey, where an armed certification lasts one year.
Not in the states we checked that address it. California says a person is prohibited from performing the duties of a security guard with an expired registration. Florida bars regulated work between the expiration date and renewal. New York says the guard cannot continue in employment once the ID card expires. Virginia says it is unlawful to operate without a valid registration, including during the reinstatement period. Check the row for your state.
The name changes by state, but the practical test is the same: there is a card or record with an expiry date that the guard and the employer both have to keep current. States call it a registration (Arizona, California, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia), a certification (Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon), a license (Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington), or a card (the Illinois PERC and the Nevada work card).
No. Georgia's board says unarmed security guards are not required to be registered with the Board, although they must be trained under the Board's rules. Other states differ, and rules change, so confirm with the state regulator before assuming a guard needs no credential.
Use the regulator's own lookup, not a photocopy of the card. Our guard license lookup tool lists the official verification page for each state in this table, what you can search by, and tips for reading the result. Open the guard license lookup tool.
Put every guard's expiration date in one list and sort it by date. The free certification tracking spreadsheet gives you a ready-made layout that colors expired, 30-day and 90-day dates, and the training matrix tool builds the same view in your browser. Get the free tracking spreadsheet.
Rules change. This page summarizes public sources as of October 10, 2026 and is not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the agency named in each row before acting on them.