Security officers and door supervisors do not have a CPD scheme. What they have is a licence, and since 1 April 2025 renewing it means holding a refresher qualification as well as the licence-linked qualification you already had. That is a harder requirement than CPD, because without it the licence lapses and the work stops.
This guide sets out what the SIA actually requires to get and keep a front line licence, what the refresher and first aid rules mean in practice, which awarding organisations are accepted, and where ordinary workplace training fits around the licensing regime — including, honestly, where it does not.
At a glance: Nexis CPD offers £9 CPD-accredited online courses relevant to security work, with a verifiable e-certificate on passing — and any three courses cost £18. These are not SIA licence-linked qualifications; see the caveat below.
The licensing regime in outline
Front line security work in the UK is licensed by the Security Industry Authority under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. A front line licence lets you do licensable work — door supervision, security guarding, close protection, CCTV operation, cash and valuables in transit, key holding, and vehicle immobilising in Northern Ireland.
Two things follow that catch people out. First, the licence attaches to you, not to your employer, so it moves with you between jobs and lapses with you. Second, you cannot lawfully do licensable work without it, and working unlicensed is a criminal offence for the individual as well as a problem for the company that deployed them.
Getting a licence: qualification first
To apply for a front line licence you need a current full licence-linked qualification for the role you want, awarded by an SIA-approved awarding organisation. For door supervisors and security guards those are currently Highfield Qualifications, Laser Learning Awards, NOCN, Pearson, QNUK and SFJ Awards.
One change worth knowing if you are holding an older certificate: the SIA has confirmed that qualifications granted by BIIAB on or after 11 August 2026 are not accepted. Qualifications granted before that date still stand.
The first aid requirement
Before you can take the licence-linked training — whether the full qualification or the refresher — you must already hold a first aid qualification. For door supervisors and security guards that is an Emergency First Aid at Work qualification or equivalent. For close protection operatives it is a level 3 first aid qualification (First Aid at Work or equivalent).
The detail that causes cancelled course bookings: your first aid certificate must be valid for at least another 12 months when you register, and you have to show it to the training provider. A certificate with ten months left will not do, even though it is still in date.
Which licence do you actually need?
People routinely buy the wrong qualification, so it is worth being clear about the split:
- Door supervisor — required for guarding licensed premises where alcohol is supplied, or where public entertainment takes place. It is the broader of the two common licences: a door supervisor licence also covers security guarding work.
- Security guard — guarding premises, property or people where door supervision is not required. Cheaper and quicker to qualify for, but it does not let you work the door of a licensed venue.
- CCTV (public space surveillance) — operating CCTV equipment to monitor public areas or identify individuals. A separate qualification and licence.
- Close protection — personal protection work, with its own qualification, higher first aid requirement and its own refresher award.
If there is any prospect of working licensed venues, the door supervisor route is usually the better economics, because it covers both kinds of work on one licence rather than requiring a second qualification later.
Renewing: the refresher requirement since April 2025
This is the change that reshaped the industry’s training year. For renewals from 1 April 2025, holders of a door supervisor or security guard licence must hold, in addition to their existing licence-linked qualification:
- the Level 2 Award for Door Supervisors in the Private Security Industry (Refresher), or
- the Level 2 Award for Security Officers in the Private Security Industry (Refresher)
Close protection operatives have their own equivalent: the Level 2 Award for Close Protection Operatives in the Private Security Industry (Refresher).
The same first aid rule applies to the refresher: you must hold the relevant first aid qualification before you can take it. In practice that means the renewal sequence is: check your first aid certificate has more than 12 months to run, renew it if not, then book the refresher, then apply.
Timing your renewal
You can apply to renew four months before your current licence expires, and any remaining time on the current licence carries over to the new one, so applying early costs you nothing. Given that the refresher depends on a valid first aid certificate, and that both need course availability, four months is a sensible planning horizon rather than a generous one.
Letting a licence lapse is the expensive outcome. You cannot do licensable work in the gap, which means lost shifts for you and a rota problem for whoever deployed you.
Top-up training: the earlier change
Accredited “top-up” awards were introduced for door supervisors and security guards in October 2021, requiring licence holders with older qualifications to update them before applying or renewing. If you have been licensed for several years, you may have already been through that process. The 2025 refresher requirement sits on top of it: the top-up brought older qualifications up to the current standard, while the refresher is a recurring requirement at renewal.
If you are unsure which of these you have completed, your SIA account and your certificates will tell you, and it is worth checking before your renewal window opens rather than during it.
What else the SIA checks
The qualification is one part of the application. The SIA also assesses:
- Identity — documentary proof, checked against the application
- Right to work in the UK
- Criminal record — a check of convictions, cautions and other relevant history
- Mental health declarations, where relevant to the role
A criminal record is not automatically disqualifying. The SIA considers the offence, how long ago it was and its relevance to licensable work, which is why disclosure matters more than people expect: a non-disclosure that surfaces later is treated far more seriously than the original matter usually is.
Working while your application is processed
You cannot do licensable work until your licence is granted. There is a limited exception for some applicants working under an employer’s approved arrangements while a first application is processed, but it is narrow, and it does not apply to everyone. Do not assume it covers you: the offence of working unlicensed sits with the individual, and “my manager said it was fine” is not a defence. Check your own status on your SIA account before taking a shift.
For renewals the position is simpler: apply within the four-month window and your existing licence continues until it expires, so there is no gap to manage — provided the refresher and first aid are already done.
Front line and non-front line licences
The SIA issues two kinds of licence, and the distinction matters for supervisors and business owners:
- Front line — for anyone personally working as a security operative. Requires the licence-linked qualification, and is the licence this article is mostly about.
- Non-front line — for people who manage, supervise or employ security operatives but do not personally do licensable work. No licence-linked qualification is required.
The SIA’s own guidance is blunt about the choice: only apply for a non-front line licence if you will not personally be working as a security operative. Supervisors who occasionally cover a shift need the front line licence.
Licences last three years, with the exception of a vehicle immobiliser licence, which lasts one year. It is also worth knowing that licensing criteria change over time, so someone who held a licence years ago is not automatically eligible today.
Five reasons renewals get delayed
- First aid certificate with under 12 months left. The single most common blocker, because it stops you booking the refresher at all.
- Booking the refresher too late. Course availability is finite, and demand spikes around renewal seasons.
- Applying outside the four-month window, then discovering the qualification gap with weeks rather than months to fix it.
- Missing or mismatched identity documents — a name that differs between documents needs evidence of the change.
- Non-disclosure. A conviction that was never going to prevent a licence becomes a serious problem once it looks concealed.
What the licence does not cover
The licensing regime sets the entry standard for the role. It is not a full account of what an employer must train you in, and it does not refresh year to year the way a genuine CPD scheme would.
Separate from the SIA, your employer has duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to provide the information, instruction and training needed for your safety — on recruitment, and again whenever you face new or increased risks. For security work, the risks that most often justify additional training are:
- Conflict and aggression. The core operational risk in door and guarding work, and the area where a poor response creates both injury and liability.
- Lone working. Night shifts, empty buildings and single-officer sites. There is no law banning lone working, but the risk assessment and the arrangements behind it are required — see is lone working legal.
- Fire safety. Security staff are frequently the first responders to an alarm, and are often given fire warden duties on top of the security role — see how many fire wardens you need.
- Reporting and record keeping. Incident logs are evidence, and RIDDOR reporting duties apply to security employers like any other — see what is RIDDOR.
Where online courses fit, and where they do not
Being direct about this, because the industry is full of misleading claims: an online awareness course is not SIA licence-linked training and will not get you a licence or renew one. Licence-linked qualifications and the refresher awards must come from an SIA-approved awarding organisation, and include assessed, in-person elements. No online CPD course substitutes for them, ours included.
What online training legitimately does is cover the employer-side duties above, and give officers structured knowledge in areas the licence qualification touches only briefly. That is worth something to a security company evidencing its health and safety arrangements, and to an officer building a case for supervisory work.
A practical set for security staff
- Conflict Management — de-escalation and managing aggression, the core operational risk
- Lone Working Awareness — the control measures behind single-officer and night-shift work
- Fire Safety Awareness — alarm response and evacuation duties
Those three together cost £18 rather than £27, because any three courses trigger the pay-for-2-get-3 offer. Add them to the cart and the discount applies automatically. Depending on the site, Modern Slavery Awareness (relevant to licensed premises and transport hubs), Mental Health Awareness and Customer Service Skills are common additions for officers in public-facing roles.
For security companies
If you deploy licensed staff, three record-keeping habits prevent most problems:
- Track licence expiry dates centrally, with a reminder at the four-month mark when renewal opens. A lapsed licence discovered on the night is a staffing emergency and a compliance one.
- Track first aid expiry separately. Because the refresher cannot be taken without a first aid certificate valid for 12 months, first aid expiry effectively drives the whole renewal timetable.
- Keep your own training records for the health and safety duties that sit outside licensing. When an incident is investigated, the question is what training the officer had, and the answer needs dated evidence.
One further habit is worth building in: when an officer moves site, check whether the new posting introduces risks their training has not covered. A guard moving from a quiet office reception to a late-licence venue, or from a retail unit to a construction compound, is exactly the “new or increased risk” that triggers a fresh training duty. Sites change faster than licences renew, and the gap between the two is where most avoidable incidents sit.
Frequently asked questions
Do security officers need CPD?
There is no CPD scheme for SIA licence holders. Instead there is a licensing requirement: you need a current licence-linked qualification to apply, and since 1 April 2025 door supervisors and security guards renewing a licence must also hold the relevant Level 2 refresher award. Employers have separate health and safety duties to train staff for the risks of the role.
What is the SIA refresher training requirement?
For renewals from 1 April 2025, door supervisors must hold the Level 2 Award for Door Supervisors in the Private Security Industry (Refresher), and security guards the Level 2 Award for Security Officers in the Private Security Industry (Refresher), in addition to their existing licence-linked qualification. Close protection operatives have an equivalent refresher award.
Do I need first aid training for an SIA licence?
Yes. Door supervisors and security guards must hold an Emergency First Aid at Work qualification or equivalent before taking licence-linked or refresher training, and close protection operatives need a level 3 first aid qualification. The certificate must be valid for at least another 12 months when you register, and you must show it to the training provider.
When can I renew my SIA licence?
You can apply to renew four months before your current licence expires, and any remaining time on your current licence carries over to the new one, so applying early does not cost you days. Because the refresher award requires a first aid certificate with at least 12 months left to run, start by checking your first aid expiry date.
Can I do SIA training online?
Licence-linked qualifications and refresher awards must be obtained from an SIA-approved awarding organisation and include assessed elements that an online awareness course does not replace. Online CPD courses cannot get you a licence or renew one. They are useful for the separate training duties employers have, such as conflict management, lone working and fire safety.
Which awarding organisations does the SIA accept?
For door supervisor and security guard qualifications the approved awarding organisations are currently Highfield Qualifications, Laser Learning Awards, NOCN, Pearson, QNUK and SFJ Awards. The SIA has confirmed that qualifications granted by BIIAB on or after 11 August 2026 are not accepted, though those granted before that date still count.
Training courses for security staff
£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100% online, verifiable e-certificate. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18.
This article is general information, not legal advice or a statement of SIA policy. Nexis CPD is not an SIA-approved awarding organisation and does not deliver licence-linked qualifications, top-up or refresher awards; those must be obtained from an approved awarding organisation. Licensing requirements change — always confirm the current rules with the SIA before applying or renewing.