Starting a security company in the UK

Private security in the UK runs on the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The Security Industry Authority, the SIA, enforces it across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Its logic differs from most of Europe: instead of vetting the business, it vets every person who does or controls licensable work. Your company exists the moment you register it, but it cannot put anyone on a door or a site until the right people hold the right cards.

Which work needs an SIA licence

A licence is needed when the work is licensable and is supplied under a contract for services, meaning your firm places a guard with a client and charges for it. The licence types are:

• security guarding
• door supervision
• close protection
• cash and valuables in transit
• public space surveillance (CCTV)
• key holding
• vehicle immobilisation, in Northern Ireland only
• non-front line, for people who manage or direct but do not do the work themselves

Some tasks fall outside licensing. Stewards who show people to seats, toilets or first aid do not need a licence, and neither does someone who only checks tickets or invitations. Once that person refuses entry or removes someone, the work becomes licensable. Staff employed directly by the business they protect usually do not need a licence, with one big exception: door supervisors at licensed premises always do.

Choosing the service you start with

Each licence type is a separate market with its own buyers. Door supervision serves pubs, clubs and late venues, and because door staff at licensed premises need a licence even when employed in-house, those venues are used to checking cards. Security guarding covers offices, building sites, retail and empty properties. Key holding means holding keys and responding to alarms, and it needs no licence-linked qualification, which makes it a common add-on for a small firm. CCTV monitoring of public space needs its own licence and a control room or a partner that runs one.

Start with one or two services your team can deliver well, then add types as you hire. Every guard usually needs a separate front line licence for each activity they perform, so a narrow start also keeps your licence bill and training costs down in year one.

Directors and managers need a licence too

This is the rule new founders miss. If your company supplies security operatives, every director needs an SIA licence, and so does anyone who manages or supervises those operatives. That includes non-executive directors, shadow directors who steer the board from outside it, and directors of a parent company.

If you will stand on a door yourself, take the front line licence for that activity; it also covers what a non-front line licence allows. If you will only run the business, one non-front line licence is enough. Build these applications into your start date, because no director can wait for theirs while the firm already trades.

What a licence costs and what the checks involve

Before applying, a front line applicant needs a licence-linked qualification from an approved training provider, except for key holding and non-front line licences. The SIA then checks identity, criminal records and, in most cases, the right to work in the UK. Anyone who spent six continuous months or more abroad in the last ten years must supply overseas criminal record checks. The fee is not refundable, even if the application is cancelled because of wrong information, so check documents carefully first.

Your firm can apply on behalf of staff and pay the fee for them. Many employers do, because it shortens the time between hiring and the first billable shift.

Using an unlicensed guard is a criminal offence

Section 5 of the 2001 Act makes it an offence to use an unlicensed security operative. The client that hires you has a reason to ask for proof, and you carry the risk if a subcontractor sends someone without a valid card. Check every licence on the SIA register before the first shift and again when it nears expiry.

Licence holders also carry duties. Front line staff must wear the licence where it can be seen while working, unless the job is covert, such as a store detective. They must tell the SIA about convictions, cautions or charges, about investigations into a relevant offence, and about changes to name, address or right to work. Breaching these conditions is itself an offence under section 9.

The Approved Contractor Scheme

The SIA also approves companies, but only through the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme. Approval is pass or fail, per activity: a firm can be approved for door supervision and not for security guarding. There are no gold or silver levels. Claiming approval you do not have, even by showing the logo, is a criminal offence.

For a start-up, approval is rarely the first step. It becomes worth it when you tender for larger contracts, councils or venues that list it as a requirement. Keep the evidence it asks for from day one so the audit later is a formality.

Martyn's Law and what it means for your clients

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn's Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. It asks those responsible for certain public premises and events to prepare for an attack, with duties that rise with the number of people reasonably expected to be present. The Home Office has published statutory guidance.

The duty sits with the venue or event, not with your firm. Still, it changes what clients ask of a security supplier: trained staff who know the evacuation and lockdown plan, and reports that show what was checked. That is a selling point for a young firm that documents well.

Staff records you need from the first shift

Night work and long shifts are normal in security, so track working time per guard. The National Living Wage rises to £13.21 from April 2027. A staff scheduling tool that blocks a guard whose licence has expired, together with a time tracking app, keeps these records without paperwork. A work order app on the guard's phone captures patrols and incidents with a timestamp.

You also handle personal data about guards, visitors and sometimes CCTV footage. Most firms pay the ICO data protection fee of £52 or £78 a year. Read UK GDPR vs EU GDPR and do I need a privacy policy before you collect anything.

Your first month, step by step

1. Week 1. Register the company, open a business account and get employers' liability insurance with at least £5 million cover.
2. Week 1 and 2. Make sure every director and manager applies for an SIA licence; book licence-linked training for anyone who will work front line.
3. Week 2 to 4. Hire guards who already hold a valid licence, or apply for theirs. Check each one on the register.
4. Before the first contract. Set up your rota, patrol logging and invoicing. Register for VAT once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in twelve months.

Price each contract so that wages, holiday, insurance and licence costs are covered. The margin calculator and the break-even calculator help you set an hourly rate that holds up.

Invoicing and admin

Security clients are businesses, councils and event organisers who pay on invoice. From 1 April 2029 VAT invoices move to e-invoicing; the guide to e-invoicing in the UK explains what that means for you. If your rota lives in a spreadsheet today, read Excel scheduling or planning software before it breaks.

Winning clients

Buyers of security want proof before price. Your website should show which licensable activities you cover, how guards are trained and how you report. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile so local clients find you. A website from VBS starts from 1,500 euro; see our website design service. If clients want to see patrol reports themselves, a client portal or a dedicated app does that. For hiring guards at scale, AI for HR shows what you can automate.

Next step

With licences in place for your guards and directors, insurance on file and a rota that knows who may work where, you are ready for your first contract. What sets you apart after that is how you plan and report. Our page for security companies shows how scheduling, patrol logging and automatic client reports work together.