How to Get an Armed Guard Card
Armed guards work for security agencies or private companies to protect the property to which they are assigned. Although they are armed, security guards are private employees with limited official capacity. Unlike police officers, their services are reserved for their employers instead of for the general public. In most states, those who apply for an armed guard card must be 21 or older and must submit to a background check.
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Instructions
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Apply for a guard job at a licensed private security agency (see Resources below). Some of the information you will need to fill out your application include: your social security number, your employment history for the last seven years, your address history for the last seven years and details of your education.
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Submit your fingerprints with your application and include a passport-sized color photograph of yourself.
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Take a training course. This training course lasts for 8 hours and must be completed before you can start receiving assignments as an unarmed security guard. Your new employer may pay for this course on your behalf or you may have to pay for it yourself.
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Submit evidence of your training to the department in charge of licensing in your state. The verification document must be signed and dated by the training agency.
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Take a firearms training course. The duration of this course varies from state to state. Some last for 16 hours while others could take up to 40 hours. The training course must be taken with a certified firearms instructor or at a certified firearms training center.
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Submit the Armed Security Guard training form to your local licensing office. The form must be signed and dated by your security guard agency and by the firearms instructor.
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Include the appropriate fees. This should be in cash or money order. The fees usually cover the fingerprinting as well as the licensing.
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Renew your license within 60 days before the expiration date. If you renew it after it expires, you will be subject to a late fee. You can renew an expired license within 90 days after it the expiration date.
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Tips & Warnings
The validity of your card varies by state. In some states, armed guard cards are valid for two years from the date of issue. In other states, they are valid for five years. The training you complete for an armed guard card in one state is not transferrable to other states. You would need to go through training again to obtain an armed guard card in a different state.
Your armed security guard only permits you to work as an armed guard with the company through which you obtained your license.
