New Hampshire Private Security Contractors: Licenses and Armed Work

To work in private security in New Hampshire you need a New Hampshire security guard license issued by the Department of Safety’s Division of State Police under RSA 106-F. The statute recognizes three separate licenses — one for the agency, one for an independent individual, and one for each employee who performs security duties — and each carries its own application, fee, and background check.¹ If you plan to carry a firearm on duty, expect an additional layer of state and federal requirements on top of the basic license.

Which License You Need

RSA 106-F:5 makes it illegal both to operate a security guard service without an agency license and to work as an employee of a licensed agency without your own individual license. The statute splits the field into three categories:

An agency (security guard service) is a business entity that employs security guards or furnishes them to clients.
An individual licensee is a security guard who works independently with no employees.
An employee licensee is someone who performs security duties for a licensed agency.²

The definition of “security guard” itself is broad. It covers crowd control, fire watch, access control, transport of money or valuable documents, personal protection, and bodyguard work. If you provide what the public would reasonably consider executive protection, RSA 106-F classifies you as a security guard and you need a license.²

Out-of-state companies must also register as a foreign corporation under RSA 293-A before doing security work in New Hampshire.

Individual and Employee Licenses

Applications go to the Permits and Licensing Unit within the Division of State Police, using forms hosted on the New Hampshire State Police website.³ Before issuing a license, the Commissioner of Safety investigates your character, competency, and integrity. If your application is denied, you receive a written explanation and have 15 days to request a hearing.⁴

Criminal history is central to the review. The individual application asks whether you have ever been convicted of a felony, or a misdemeanor involving theft, dishonesty, fraud, controlled substances, violence, domestic violence, or abuse of any type that has not been pardoned or annulled.⁵ A yes answer does not automatically bar you, but you must explain the circumstances in detail, and the Commissioner has discretion to disapprove for just cause.⁴

You’ll submit fingerprints through LiveScan electronic imaging or traditional ink cards, along with two passport-style photographs. Every field on the application must be completed accurately; false information can result in criminal charges and a permanent licensing ban.⁵ Once licensed, you must carry the identification card issued under rules adopted by the Commissioner.⁴

The fees under Saf-C 2205.04 are:

Individual license (independent, no employees): $150
Employee license: $5, paid by the employing agency

Individual applicants also pay a $25 criminal record check fee and a $10 background investigation fee, bringing the total for a new individual application to $185.⁵ If you apply for more than one type of individual license at the same time, each one carries its own $150 fee.⁶ RSA 106-F:7 caps employee licensing fees at $100, with the employing agency responsible for paying.⁷

Agency License

Running a security guard service takes more than an individual license. The agency itself must be licensed, and the requirements are heavier.

Every licensed agency must post a surety bond of $50,000. If the same person holds more than one type of license under RSA 106-F (for example, a security guard service license and a private detective agency license), the bond increases by $50,000 for each additional license type.⁸ The bond must remain active for the full license period, and agencies submit certified evidence of continuing coverage at renewal.⁷

Agencies are also expected to carry general liability insurance, with specific coverage limits set through administrative rules rather than the statute. Armed operations should look carefully at whether their policies cover assault and battery, since many standard liability policies exclude that risk.

Agency licensees must notify the Commissioner within 10 business days of discharging or terminating any licensed employee, and of any change in firm membership, corporate officers, or office location. Failure to report is grounds for suspension.⁹

Agency fees under Saf-C 2205.04:

Agency license with one licensed person: $150
Agency license with more than one licensed person: $350⁶

Working Armed

Carrying a firearm on duty triggers a separate track. Before an armed security guard license is approved, the applicant must submit to a fingerprint examination conducted by the FBI, on top of the state background check.⁴

RSA 106-F:8 sets the firearms proficiency standards. Every armed guard must qualify at initial licensure and at least once per year afterward:¹⁰

A practical or tactical pistol or revolver course for the specific weapon carried, with a minimum qualifying score of 75 percent.
Shotgun familiarization for guards whose employers issue shotguns, plus a rifle qualification course if rifles are also part of the equipment.
Four hours of classroom instruction covering firearms techniques and safety, laws on the use of deadly force, and the moral and ethical use of force, certified by a qualified firearms instructor.

Requalification is annual, not tied to the two-year license cycle. If your proficiency lapses, you cannot legally carry a firearm on duty even if the underlying license is still valid. Anyone not certified under RSA 106-F:8 cannot openly carry or display any weapon, or advertise that they carry one for protection.¹¹

Federal Firearm Prohibitions Apply Independently

A state license does not override federal firearm law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it is a federal crime for any of the following to possess a firearm or ammunition:¹²

Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, even if the actual sentence was shorter or suspended.
Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Anyone subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders.
Anyone who is a fugitive from justice, an unlawful user of controlled substances, or has been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution.
Anyone dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces.

A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction that looks minor on a state record triggers a permanent federal firearm ban under the Lautenberg Amendment. Penalties for violating § 922(g) run up to ten years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000, and the Armed Career Criminal Act imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum for anyone with three or more qualifying prior violent felony or serious drug convictions. New Hampshire’s licensing process catches many of these issues, but the federal prohibition applies on its own terms. Anyone who somehow obtains a state armed guard license despite a disqualifying conviction is committing a federal crime every day they carry a weapon on the job.

What Licensees Cannot Do

RSA 106-F:10 lays out restrictions that trip up new agencies:¹¹

The word “police” cannot appear on any seal, card, badge, or advertisement, and no trade name or designation can imply an association with any government agency.
If a security guard wears a badge, it must be limited to one on the left breast of the uniform and one on the cap while on duty.
Guards not certified under RSA 106-F:8 cannot openly carry or display any weapon or advertise carrying one for protection.
Performing licensed work without the license, or falsely representing that someone is licensed, is a violation.
Sworn law enforcement officers at any level of government cannot simultaneously hold a private investigator or agency license.

One provision catches licensees off guard: they cannot act as agents for anyone who is judicially or statutorily prohibited from contacting another person. If a client is under a restraining order, a licensee who knowingly acts on that client’s behalf to make prohibited contact is violating the statute. Good-faith reliance on the client’s representation that no such prohibition exists is an affirmative defense, but once the licensee learns of the prohibition, they must stop immediately.¹¹

Renewal

Every license under RSA 106-F is valid for two years from the date of issue. Renewal applications must be submitted at least 15 days before the current license expires.⁷ Agency renewals require the same fee as the original application and certified evidence that the surety bond remains in force. Employee licenses renew on the same two-year cycle.

Armed guards should track two clocks: the two-year license renewal and the annual firearms proficiency requalification under RSA 106-F:8.¹⁰ Missing the annual qualification suspends your authority to carry even while the underlying license is still active.

Working Across State Lines

The New Hampshire license does not transfer, and no formal reciprocity agreements exist for private security. If a contract takes your agency into Vermont or Massachusetts, you need whatever license that state requires on its own terms. Out-of-state agencies wanting to operate in New Hampshire must register as a foreign corporation and obtain a New Hampshire security guard service license before performing any work.

1
Justia. New Hampshire Code 106-F – Private Investigators, Security Guards, and Bail Recovery Agents
2
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:2 – Definitions
3
New Hampshire Department of Safety. Permits and Licensing Security/Detectives
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:6 – Issuance of License
5
New Hampshire Department of Safety. Individual Application for Private Investigator, Security Guard or Bail Recovery Agent License
6
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Administrative Code Saf-C 2205.04 – License Fees
7
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:7 – License Application and Renewal Fees
8
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Administrative Code Saf-C 2208.01 – Bond Required
9
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:9 – Surety Bond, Notification
10
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:8 – Licensee Firearms Proficiency
11
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 106-F:10 – Prohibitions
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts