General Licensing guidelines for Contract Security Companies in the State of Utah
All companies providing security officers in Utah and all persons working as security officers must be properly licensed with the Utah Department of Commerce and the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, (DOPL) before doing any activity which may be considered as “being engaged in the business”as defined by R156-63a-102(5) This includes soliciting business in Utah “ Contract security company means a person engaged in business to provide security or guard services to another person for the purpose of protecting tangible personal property, real property....by the assignment of security officers employed by the company...”
The applications for the licenses are available on-line at: www.dopl.utah.gov or at the Division of Occupational & Professional Licensing at 160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City. The company license fee is currently $ 330.00. The licensing process usually averages around 30-60 days. After all of the requested information is submitted the only usual delay is in processing the fingerprints and having the Board approve the Qualifying Agent. The Qualfying Agent is required to be a resident of Utah. The QA also needs to demonstrate 6,000 hours of experience, pass a competency examination and be a resident of Utah. The Utah Qualifying Agent Exam is difficult. The referenced publications are available through E-Bay, Amazon or ASIS International. Be sure to purchase the correct editions. The QA has to be approved by the Security Personnel Licensing Board, but the company will be issued a license at the time when all of the licensing requirements are met.
Copies of the Security Personnel Licensing Act (Title 58-63), Security Personnel Licensing Act (R156-63a ) and the General Rules of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing are available on line at the DOPL website. These documents govern the operation of security companies and security personnel in the state. R 156-63a details uniform requirements, vehicle markings and the state approved training required.
Security is one of the DOPL professions which has Citation Authority for unlicensed practice. The standard fine is $ 1,000.00 for the first occurrence and $ 2,000.00 per occurrence (day) there after.
We as a group meet with the DOPL several times a year to discuss the Rules and matters concerning our profession.
