How to Get an Armed Security License in Maryland

To work as an armed security guard in Maryland, you need two separate credentials from the Maryland State Police Licensing Division: a security guard certification that authorizes you to work, and a Wear and Carry Permit that authorizes you to carry a handgun while you do. Learning how to get an armed security license in Maryland really means learning how to get both, because one without the other does not let you carry on the job.¹²

The Two Credentials You Need

Maryland splits armed security licensing into two tracks. The security guard certification covers your authority to work as a guard. The Wear and Carry Permit covers your authority to carry a handgun in public, including while on duty. Both come from the Maryland State Police Licensing Division, and both are explicitly required before you can carry a firearm as part of your security work.³ Treating them as one process is the most common mistake. They have different ages, different training, different fees, and different renewal cycles.

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18 to apply for a security guard certification.¹ The Wear and Carry Permit requires that you be at least 21, with a narrow exception for active members of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, or uniformed services.² For most people, this means 21 is the practical floor for armed work even if you can hold the guard certification earlier.

For the Wear and Carry Permit, you cannot have a felony conviction or a misdemeanor conviction with a sentence of more than one year, any conviction involving controlled dangerous substances, or active probation for certain offenses. You cannot have been involuntarily committed to a health facility for more than 30 consecutive days, and you cannot have a current protective order against you. The Secretary of State Police also reviews whether you have shown a pattern of violence or instability that would make handgun possession dangerous.⁴

The security guard certification has its own disqualifiers under COMAR 29.04.01.02: a felony or a Maryland “crime of violence” (robbery, arson, burglary, kidnapping, manslaughter other than involuntary, murder, rape, and attempts at those offenses), addiction to narcotics, barbiturates, or amphetamines, habitual drunkenness, and prior confinement to a mental health facility.⁵ Some denials are mandatory. The Secretary must deny, revoke, or refuse to renew certification for anyone convicted of a disqualifying crime under the Public Safety Article or a crime of violence under the Criminal Law Article, and for anyone found by a court or hearing board to have used unlawful or excessive force or made false statements during prior employment as a police officer.⁶ Lying on either application is independently disqualifying.

One procedural requirement catches people off guard: you need a formal endorsement from a licensed Maryland security guard agency before you can apply. The agency is confirming it intends to employ you in an armed capacity. You cannot do this as a freelancer and look for work later.

Training You Must Complete

Each credential has its own training, and they do not substitute for each other. The security guard certification requires a 12-hour initial course approved by the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission, covering legal authority, emergency response, and the scope of a guard’s powers. Former law enforcement officers who served within the past three years can skip this course.⁷

The Wear and Carry Permit requires 16 hours of instruction from a Qualified Handgun Instructor approved by the Maryland State Police, covering handgun safety, Maryland’s use-of-force laws, and storage.² The course ends with a live-fire qualification; you need at least 70% on the prescribed course of fire.⁸ Your instructor signs MSP Form 29-14, the certified qualification score sheet, which you upload with your application.

Plan on about 28 hours of classroom and range time across both tracks. The guard course typically runs $85 to $250, with firearms training often priced separately and higher once range fees and ammunition are included.

How to Apply

Both applications go through the Maryland State Police Licensing Portal. You will need your Social Security number, full residential and employment history, a passport-style photograph taken within the past six months, documentation of both training courses, and a precise listing of any prior arrests. Everything has to match your government-issued ID exactly.

You also need a LiveScan fingerprint submission for the state and federal background check. When you go to an approved LiveScan provider, bring the correct ORI number (MDMSP6000) and authorization number (9300000802) for the security guard certification.⁹ Without those numbers on the receipt, the Licensing Division cannot match your results to your file, and the application stalls. LiveScan providers charge their own administrative fee on top of the state’s background check fee.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The security guard certification initial application fee is $15.¹ The Wear and Carry Permit initial application fee is capped at $125, paid electronically.¹⁰ Add training and fingerprinting on top of those, and total out-of-pocket before you can start work usually lands between $400 and $700 depending on your training provider and LiveScan location.

The Licensing Division has 90 days to act on a Wear and Carry Permit application.² During busy periods, processing often runs close to that limit. Missing documents are the easiest way to blow past the 90 days, because the clock effectively pauses while the Division waits on you.¹¹ Approved credentials come to your home address in the mail.

If You Are Denied

A denial is not automatically final. For the security guard certification, § 19-408 points to the hearing provisions in § 19-410, so you have a right to a hearing before the denial takes effect.⁶ For the Wear and Carry Permit, the Licensing Division sends a disposition notification through the portal or by email. If the denial relies on incorrect information or on circumstances that have since changed, respond quickly and bring documentation. Delay helps no one.

Keeping the License Active

The two credentials renew on different cycles, and letting either lapse means you cannot legally work armed.

The security guard certification renews every three years. Renewal requires 8 hours of continuing security training approved by the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission, a $10 renewal fee, and a new FBI fingerprint check.¹² If you never completed the current 12-hour initial course (for example, if you were certified under an older provision), you must complete the full 12-hour course at renewal instead of the 8-hour continuing education.¹

The Wear and Carry Permit runs on its own schedule. The initial permit expires at the end of your birth month, two years after it was issued. After that, you renew for successive three-year terms. The renewal application fee is capped at $75, and the firearms training requirement drops to an 8-hour refresher with a Qualified Handgun Instructor rather than a repeat of the full 16-hour course.⁸¹⁰

On the Job

Maryland law is explicit that a security guard must hold a valid Wear and Carry Permit before carrying a handgun while providing security services.³ You must carry your certification card at all times while on duty. Your authority is tied to the agency that sponsored your application; if you change employers, you need to update your records with the Licensing Division because the credentials do not automatically travel with you to a new agency.

Armed guards also have a reporting obligation. Any use of force against a person while providing security services for your agency must be reported, and failure to comply can jeopardize both your certification and the agency’s license.

1
Maryland Department of State Police. Security Guard Certification
2
Maryland Department of State Police. Wear and Carry Permit
3
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Business Occupations and Professions 19-413 – Requirements to Carry Handguns
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Public Safety 5-306
5
Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 29.04.01.02 – Certification Card
6
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Business Occupations and Professions 19-408 – Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of Certification
7
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Business Occupations and Professions 19-402 – Qualifications for Certification
8
Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 29.03.02.05 – Training Requirement
9
Maryland Department of State Police. Fingerprinting – Section: Security Guard (Individual)
10
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Public Safety 5-304
11
Maryland State Police. Maryland State Police Licensing Division Portal Update
12
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Business Occupations and Professions 19-404.1 – Expiration and Renewal of Certification