Minnesota Security Guard License Requirements

Minnesota does not issue an individual license to security guards. Instead, the Minnesota Board of Private Detective and Protective Agent Services licenses protective agents (security companies), and Minnesota Statutes sections 326.32 to 326.339 set the rules for the people those companies employ. In practice, that means three things: a fingerprint background check through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) before you can work, 12 hours of certified training within your first 21 days, and 6 hours of training every year. Armed officers need Board-certified firearms training and additional annual hours. This guide explains each requirement, the disqualifying offenses, armed work, and your legal authority.

How Minnesota regulates security work

Under Minn. Stat. §326.336, a licensed protective agent may employ as many unlicensed people as it needs, but it remains responsible for their conduct. The company must submit your full set of fingerprints and your written consent to the BCA, which forwards them to the FBI. The company must issue you an identification card and keep training records. In-house security officers who work directly for a hospital, retailer or university to protect their employer’s own property are generally outside the protective agent licensing law; their employer sets the rules.

	Contract security officer	Licensed protective agent (company)
State license	None	Required, from the Board
Background check	BCA/FBI fingerprints, filed by employer	Board investigation of owners and qualified representative
Training	12 hours in 21 days + 6 hours yearly	Responsible for providing and documenting it
ID card	Issued by employer, carried at all times	Issues cards to all employees

The background check and disqualifying offenses

Until your employer receives a BCA report showing no disqualifying conviction, you are a conditional employee. A conditional employee can be trained but may not work as a protective agent. Disqualifying offenses include a Minnesota felony (or an equivalent offense elsewhere) and the other offenses listed in §326.3381, subdivision 3, except misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor assault. If you are later convicted of a disqualifying offense, your employer must dismiss you immediately.

Minnesota’s 2023 Clean Slate law provides automatic expungement for many lower-level offenses after waiting periods, and you can petition for expungement of others. If you have an older record, check whether it qualifies before you apply.

The training

12 hours within 21 days

Under §326.3361, every employee must complete 12 hours of certified pre-assignment or on-the-job training within the first 21 days of employment, or equivalent training before starting. The Board certifies the training programs. Topics include the role and legal authority of a protective agent, observation and reporting, emergency response, ethics and customer relations.

Your training certificate belongs to you. A certificate from another Minnesota licensee counts if it was completed within the previous three calendar years, and your current or former employer must give you a free copy on request. Keep copies; they save you from repeating the course when you change jobs.

6 hours every year

Everyone covered by the law, including company owners and managers, must complete 6 hours of continuing training every year.

Armed officers and other weapons

Before you carry or use a firearm, baton, chemical spray, electronic incapacitation device or a restraint technique, the Board must certify that you completed training for it. For armed employees the training covers proper use and risks of the weapon, first aid, alternatives to force (including when force should not be used) and the legal limits on force and deadly force under Minn. Stat. §§609.06 and 609.065. Armed employees need an additional 6 hours of training every year plus annual certification. You may not carry or use any weapon while you are still in on-the-job training. Carrying a pistol in public in Minnesota generally also requires a state permit to carry, which requires you to be 21.

How to start working security in Minnesota, step by step

1. Get hired by a Board-licensed protective agent, or by an in-house security department.
2. Provide fingerprints and written consent; your employer sends them to the BCA.
3. Begin training as a conditional employee while the background check is pending.
4. Start working once the BCA report shows no disqualifying conviction, and complete your 12 hours within 21 days of hire.
5. Carry your employer-issued ID card at all times on duty and show it on request.
6. Keep up with 6 hours of training every year.

Costs

The Board does not charge individual security officers a license fee. Employers submit and usually pay for the BCA background check and provide the 12-hour training. Armed officers may pay for their own permit to carry and some firearms training, depending on the employer.

Your authority in Minnesota

Licensed protective agents and their employees have no police powers. Under Minn. Stat. §629.37, a private person may arrest for a public offense committed or attempted in their presence, when the person arrested has committed a felony although not in their presence, or when a felony has in fact been committed and they have reasonable cause to believe the person committed it. The arrested person must be taken to a judge or peace officer without unnecessary delay. In retail, Minn. Stat. §629.366 lets a merchant or merchant’s employee with reasonable cause detain a suspected shoplifter for a reasonable time to investigate. Your employer’s post orders are often stricter. Minnesota law also requires security uniforms and vehicles to be distinguishable from police.

Returning your ID and equipment

When you leave a job, you must return your ID card, badge and any equipment bearing the company’s name within ten days after your employment ends or after a written request sent by certified mail, whichever is later. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor. Keep proof that you returned everything.

Choosing an employer in Minnesota

Since the company is your licensing, training and accountability, choose carefully. Verify that it is licensed with the Board, ask what its 12-hour training covers and whether it is Board-certified, and ask who pays for annual training and armed certification. Employers in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud hire for corporate campuses, healthcare, retail, events and industrial sites. Minnesota winters are hard on outdoor posts, so ask about indoor rotation and cold-weather gear; our cold-weather gear guide can help.

Getting the most from your 21-day training window

The 12 hours you complete in your first three weeks are the foundation of everything you do on post. Use the window well:

• Shadow experienced officers on your actual site during on-the-job training. Learn the patrol routes, alarm panels, key control and who to call for each type of problem.
• Ask for the post orders in writing and keep them handy. They define what you may and may not do.
• Practice your reports. Write a sample incident report and ask your trainer to review it. Our incident report template shows the structure.
• Learn your emergency procedures for fire, medical, severe weather and active threats, including where to shelter during Minnesota’s tornado season.
• Get your certificate. Make sure you receive a copy of your training certificate before day 21, and keep it with your records.

If you plan to move into armed work later, tell your supervisor early. Weapons training must be certified by the Board before you carry anything, and some employers only send officers with a strong track record.

Moving to Minnesota from another state

There is no Minnesota guard card to transfer, but you still need Minnesota’s 12 hours of certified training within 21 days of hire, a BCA background check and annual training. A Minnesota peace officer license satisfies the training requirements. Out-of-state law enforcement or security training may count as “equivalent training” if the Board accepts it.

Common reasons applicants are turned down

• A felony or other listed disqualifying conviction found by the BCA.
• Working a post before the background check clears.
• Missing the 21-day training deadline.
• Carrying a weapon without Board-certified training.
• Undisclosed history that surfaces in the FBI check.