To work as a security guard in New York City, you need a Security Guard Registration Card issued by the New York State Department of State. Getting your security guard license in NYC means completing an 8-hour pre-assignment training course, submitting to a fingerprint-based background check, and mailing in the DOS-1206 application with a $36 fee. Plan on roughly $140 to $150 in government fees before training tuition, and expect several weeks from your first class to a card in hand.
Who Qualifies
New York’s General Business Law sets the floor. You must be at least 18, have no disqualifying criminal convictions, and show what the statute calls “good moral character and fitness.”1New York State Senate. New York General Business Law 89-H – Requirements for a Registration Card You also cannot have been declared incompetent by a court due to mental illness, and you cannot have been fired from a law enforcement or corrections agency for misconduct. If you resigned from such an agency while facing misconduct charges, you can submit an explanation and ask for a waiver, but approval sits with the Department.
Criminal history is where most denials happen. The law defines a “serious offense” that automatically disqualifies you: any felony involving assault, manslaughter, murder, sex offenses, kidnapping, burglary, arson, larceny, robbery, forgery, weapons possession, and drug crimes, among others.2New York State Senate. New York General Business Law 89-F – Definitions Misdemeanors don’t automatically disqualify you, but the Secretary of State can deny an application for any misdemeanor that relates to security guard duties. A shoplifting conviction from years ago could still be grounds for denial because it touches on the trust central to the job. Pardoned convictions, youthful offender adjudications, and sealed records are not counted against you.
Take the 8-Hour Pre-Assignment Training First
Before you apply, complete the 8-hour pre-assignment training course at a school approved by the Division of Criminal Justice Services. The course covers the legal authority and limits of security guards, use-of-force rules, emergency procedures, and communication.3Division of Criminal Justice Services. Security Guard Training The certificate goes in with your application. Without it, your application is incomplete.
Tuition varies by school, generally a few hundred dollars depending on the provider.
Get Fingerprinted
Every applicant submits electronic fingerprints, which run through both the FBI and the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. You schedule the appointment with an approved vendor (currently IDEMIA), and the fingerprinting itself takes about 15 minutes at a walk-in location. Fees have three parts: $75 to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, $12 to the FBI, and a vendor processing fee of $17.50.4Department of State. Electronic Fingerprinting The vendor fee can change in January and July, so confirm the total before your appointment.
You’ll get two receipts afterward. One is for your records; the other goes with your application. The transaction number on that receipt lets the Department of State pull your background check results.
File the Application
The form is the DOS-1206, “Employee Statement and Security Guard Application,” which you download from the Department of State website. Fill in your personal information, employment history, and the character and fitness questions. Attach your 8-hour training certificate and your fingerprint receipt.
Mail the packet with a $36 non-refundable fee to the Division of Licensing Services. Pay by check or money order made out to the Department of State, or by Visa or MasterCard using a credit card authorization form. Do not send cash.5Department of State. Become a Security Guard The mailing address is:
NYS Department of State
Division of Licensing Services
PO Box 22001
Albany, NY 12201-2001
Be careful filling out the form. Discrepancies between what you write and what the background check turns up will flag your application for extra investigation, which means delays at best and denial at worst.
What the License Costs
Fees stack across three separate payments to different entities:
- Application fee: $36, paid to the Department of State with your application.1New York State Senate. New York General Business Law 89-H – Requirements for a Registration Card
- Fingerprinting: about $104.50 total ($75 DCJS + $12 FBI + $17.50 vendor), paid at the time of fingerprinting.4Department of State. Electronic Fingerprinting
- 8-hour pre-assignment training: varies by school, typically a few hundred dollars.
Government fees alone come to roughly $140 to $150. Employers typically cover the on-the-job and annual in-service training after you’re hired, though this varies.
Training Obligations After You’re Hired
Once you land a job, a 16-hour on-the-job training course kicks in. You have 90 working days from your start date to finish it.6Department of State. Security Guard Training Requirements The course is tailored to your work site and covers duties like incident reporting, access control, and public interaction relevant to your post. Your employer arranges this course.
Every calendar year after that, you owe an 8-hour in-service training course to keep your registration active.3Division of Criminal Justice Services. Security Guard Training Since registration runs two years, that means two annual in-service courses before your renewal date. Miss one and you won’t be eligible to renew.
Renewing Your Registration
A security guard registration is valid for two years from the date of issuance.7Department of State. Renew or Update Security Guard License The Department of State mails renewal forms about 90 days before your expiration date. Renewal costs $25, and you need to have completed both annual 8-hour in-service courses during the registration period.5Department of State. Become a Security Guard Unarmed guards use form DOS-2012; armed guards use DOS-1246.
If the renewal form doesn’t show up, don’t assume you’re off the hook. Contact the Department of State at security@dos.ny.gov or 518-474-7569 and request a duplicate.
Penalties for Working Without a Registration
Working as a security guard without a valid registration, or allowing someone to work without one, is a misdemeanor. A first conviction carries up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A second conviction rises to up to one year in jail and a fine between $1,000 and $2,500.8New York State Senate. New York General Business Law 89-P – Violations Penalties apply to the guard and to the security company that hired them, and each violation counts as a separate offense. Failing to surrender your card when required after a revocation or suspension carries an additional fine of up to $250.
Two Credentials the Basic License Doesn’t Cover
Carrying a firearm on the job requires a separate credential, the Special Armed Guard Registration Card. It requires a valid unarmed registration, a New York State pistol permit, and a 47-hour firearms training course covering handling, safety, live-fire qualification, and the law on deadly physical force.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 6027.5 Minimum Standards of the 47 Hour Firearms Training Course Armed guards then complete an extra 8-hour armed in-service course each year on top of the standard one.
Security staff in many NYC high-rises also need the FDNY’s F-89 Certificate of Fitness to serve as a Fire and Life Safety Director. That’s a separate FDNY process involving a 31-hour course, two computer-based exams, and an onsite practical exam at the building where you’ll work, with a $25 application fee and a $15 renewal every three years.10Fire Department. F-89 Fire and Life Safety Director If you’re aiming at lobby security or concierge work in Manhattan office towers or luxury residential buildings, this certificate widens your options considerably.