Security services for businesses: licensing, scope, one contractor

Static guarding places officers on a site: an office, retail unit, warehouse, empty building or construction site. Mobile patrols visit several sites on a schedule and often include alarm response and opening or locking up. Key holding means the company holds your keys and attends when an alarm activates. Reception and concierge roles mix customer service with access control. Event security covers search, crowd management and door supervision at a venue or outdoor event.

Construction sites have their own pattern: out-of-hours cover, gate control during the day, checks on plant and materials, and often remote CCTV monitoring. Many buyers combine a patrol or remote monitoring with a response service rather than paying for a full-time officer on a site that is empty at night.

The Security Industry Authority issues licences to individuals who carry out licensable activities under a contract for services. Where you engage a security company to supply officers, those officers need the relevant front line licence: security guarding, door supervision, close protection, cash and valuables in transit, or public space surveillance (CCTV). Key holding is also licensable. Directors and managers of a company supplying licensable services need a front line or non-front line licence as well.

Staff you employ directly, in-house, do not usually need a licence. The exception is door supervision at licensed premises, which needs a licence whether in-house or contracted. Stewarding duties such as directing people to seats or first aid do not need a licence, but refusing entry or ejecting people does. Most front line licences are photocards that officers must wear while working, and you can check any licence on the SIA's public register of licence holders.

The SIA's Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) approves companies, not individuals. It is voluntary, and approval is given for specific activities: a firm may be approved for door supervision but not security guarding. There are no levels of approval; a company is either approved for an activity or not, and it is a criminal offence to claim approval falsely. Check the company and the activity on the SIA's register of approved contractors.

ACS approval tells you the company has been assessed against a standard for things like vetting, training and management. It does not replace your own checks on insurance, references for similar sites and how the company supervises officers out of hours.

A clear specification is what makes quotes comparable over time and keeps the contract enforceable. Describe the site, the risks you are managing and the outcomes you expect, then the duties. Assignment instructions, the document officers work from on site, should come out of this and be agreed before the start date.

• posts, hours and days, including bank holidays and cover for breaks
• duties: access control, patrols, CCTV monitoring, alarm response, lock-up
• reporting: incident reports, daily logs, how you receive them
• supervision: visits by a supervisor, out-of-hours escalation
• required licences and whether ACS approval for the activity is a condition
• public and employer's liability insurance levels you expect
• notice periods, price review terms and what happens when staff transfer

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn's Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. It places duties on those responsible for certain premises and events, tiered by the number of people it is reasonable to expect. For the enhanced tier, the responsible person must notify the SIA when they become responsible and when they cease to be. The duties sit with the venue or event organiser, not with the security contractor, but a competent contractor should be able to help you plan procedures and staffing. Follow the Home Office guidance for when the duties take effect.

Source: gov.uk

When a guarding contract passes from one company to another, the officers who work on your site may transfer to the new contractor under TUPE, which the government lists as a service provision change. A new contractor's price has to account for their existing terms, so ask bidders how they have treated TUPE. Also check how the price changes when the National Living Wage rises, and whether overtime and extra hours are charged at a different rate.

You describe the site or event, the hours and the duties. The request is offered, without your company's contact details, to security firms serving your area; one company can buy it, after which it leaves our shop. Before that company sees your details, we email you its name, address and phone number. Offrano is free for you as the buyer of security.

There is no guarantee that a contractor will take the request, and it is withdrawn after 21 days if none does. Offrano checks that the buyer is a registered business. It does not check SIA licences or ACS approval, so verify both on the SIA registers before you sign.