Security guard license requirements in Florida (2026)

If you run a guard company in Florida — or you’re about to start one — the rules live in one place: the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Licensing, operating under Chapter 493, Florida Statutes. This guide covers what the Division actually requires for unarmed guards, armed guards, and the agency license itself, with every requirement linked to the regulator’s own pages.

Requirements checked as of August 29, 2026. Rules change; before you act on anything here, confirm it on the Division’s private security pages.

Who regulates guards in Florida

The FDACS Division of Licensing licenses the private security industry under Chapter 493, Florida Statutes. Unlike Georgia, Florida licenses both the individual guard and the company: every working guard holds a personal Class “D” license, every armed guard adds a Class “G,” and the business itself holds a Class “B” agency license. The Division publishes the full class list — knowing which letters apply to you is half the battle.

Unarmed guards: the Class “D” license

Any individual who performs the services of a security officer must have a Class “D” license — there is no “work under the company’s license” shortcut in Florida.

Per the Class “D” requirements page, an applicant must:

Be at least 18 years old, and be a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien, or hold Department of Homeland Security work authorization.
Complete a minimum of 40 hours of professional training at a security officer school or training facility licensed by FDACS (a Class “DS” facility). Currently certified Florida law enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation officers can satisfy the training requirement with their certification, and relevant U.S. Armed Forces training or education also qualifies.
Apply online, in person at a regional office, or by mail — with fingerprints, a photograph, and no disqualifying criminal history.

A Class “D” license is valid for 2 years (s. 493.6111(2), F.S.). By statute, the Class “D” license fee is capped at $45 (s. 493.6302 — the Department sets the actual fee by rule, “not to exceed” that amount); check the current new-application fee schedule for the exact total including fingerprint processing before you budget.

Armed guards: add the Class “G” statewide firearm license

A Class “D” license alone never authorizes a firearm. Only Class “D,” “M,” or “MB” licensees may bear a firearm on duty, and any of them who does must also hold a Class “G” statewide firearm license.

The Class “G” requirements page spells out the training:

28 hours of classroom and range training from a Class “K” firearms instructor: 12 hours of legal aspects, 8–11 hours of operational safety and mechanical training, and firearms qualification — with no more than 8 of the 28 hours on the range.
144 rounds fired for initial licensure — 48 rounds of practice fire plus two 48-round qualification cycles.
4 hours of requalifying training every year to maintain the license, including a 48-round cycle of fire. This annual clock runs inside the 2-year license term — miss it and the license is out of compliance even though the card hasn’t expired.

Florida also restricts what an armed guard carries. Per the Division’s approved firearms list (s. 493.6115, F.S.): .38 revolver, .380 or 9mm semiautomatic, .357 revolver loaded with .38 ammunition only, .40 handgun, or .45 ACP. Shotguns, rifles, and select-fire weapons are limited to narrow assignments such as armored car work or guarding government facilities where the contract specifically requires them — and a Class “G” licensee may carry no more than two firearms on duty.

The Class “G” fee is capped at $150 by statute (s. 493.6107); again, confirm the current amount on the fee schedule. Like the “D,” it runs on a 2-year term.

Starting a company: the Class “B” agency license

Any person, firm, company, partnership, or corporation that engages in business as a private security agency must have a Class “B” license — and the license covers one location only. Each branch office needs its own Class “BB” branch license.

Two requirements catch new owners:

Insurance before issuance. Under s. 493.6110, F.S., a Class “B” license may not be issued until the applicant files a certification of commercial general liability coverage with a combined single limit of at least $300,000 for death, bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury. If the policy is cancelled and replacement proof isn’t on file before cancellation takes effect, the agency license is automatically suspended.
A designated manager. Anyone managing a Class “B” agency or branch needs a Class “MB” manager license, which requires two years of lawfully gained, verifiable, full-time security experience (with allowances for up to one year of related college coursework, supervisory experience, or relevant military training). The same page notes the exception: a Class “M” licensee, or a Class “D” licensee who has held that license at least two years, may be designated manager without the “MB.”

Statutory fee caps: Class “B” $450, Class “BB” $125, Class “MB” $75 (s. 493.6302). Agency and branch licenses are valid for 3 years — a different cycle than the 2-year individual licenses your guards hold.

Renewals

Per the Division’s renewal page and FAQ:

FDACS mails renewal applications approximately 95 days before expiration.
Class “D” and “G” can renew online; agency, branch, manager, instructor, and school licenses renew by mail or at a regional office.
Individual licenses (including managers) run 2 years; agency, branch, and Class “K” licenses run 3 years.
A license expired less than three months can still be renewed with a late fee; expired longer than that, and you’re filing a new application — training proofs and all.
Class “G” holders owe 4 hours of requalification every year regardless of where they are in the renewal cycle.

Current renewal amounts are on the Division’s renewal fee schedule.

Common pitfalls (from the regulator’s own pages)

Guards must carry the license on duty. Section 493.6111(1), F.S. requires Class “D,” “M,” “MB,” and “G” licenses to be in the licensee’s possession while working.
Paying online is not renewing. The renewal page warns that “submitting a payment alone does not constitute the submission of a renewal application.”
The three-month grace window is a cliff. Past it, the FAQ says a lapsed licensee starts over with a new application.
A lapsed insurance certificate suspends the agency automatically — no hearing, per s. 493.6110.
The .357 loophole isn’t one. It’s approved only with .38 ammunition, and the two-firearm limit applies on every post.

Keeping all of this current is the actual hard part

Getting licensed once is a project; staying licensed is a system. A 20-guard Florida company is tracking a 3-year agency license, a manager license and individual “D” licenses on 2-year cycles, “G” licenses with an annual 4-hour requalification buried inside them, and a $300,000 insurance certificate that suspends the whole business the day it lapses. Watchbill tracks every guard’s certifications and expiration dates in one place and warns you before anything lapses, so compliance stops living in a spreadsheet you check when you remember to. We’re onboarding independent guard companies now — start a free 30-day trial at getwatchbill.com.

Requirements change; verify with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing before acting. This guide is educational, not legal advice.