How to become a security guard in Pennsylvania
Here's exactly what Pennsylvania requires, and the official portal to apply. Finish it and you can start getting booked on XGuard.
Pennsylvania has no statewide unarmed guard license — get hired by a county-licensed agency
PA licenses agencies (and sole-trader detective/security licenses), not individual unarmed guards, and it does so county-by-county through the Courts of Common Pleas — there is no single state portal. York County's page is shown as a representative example of how the county-court process works.
- 1Understand there's no individual state licensePennsylvania does not license individual unarmed security guards at the state level — only businesses/agencies are licensed, and that happens at the county Court of Common Pleas under the Private Detective Act of 1953.
- 2Find a county-licensed agencyLook for a security/detective agency licensed by the Court of Common Pleas in its home county; your county's Clerk of Courts can confirm a firm's license status.
- 3Get hired as their employeeApply directly to that agency — no personal state license is required for you to work as their guard.
- 4Want to work solo instead?To operate independently rather than as an employee, see the Agency track — you'd need your own Private Detective Act license through your county's Court of Common Pleas.
Get Pennsylvania Act 235 lethal weapons certification
This is a state-level PSP credential — unlike guard/agency licensing, it does not go through the county courts.
- 1Confirm you need itAct 235 covers watch guards, protective patrolmen, detectives, and criminal investigators who must carry and use lethal weapons on the job.
- 2Submit your initial applicationSend your application and fingerprints to the PSP Lethal Weapons Certification Unit.
- 3Pass medical screeningPass physical and psychological examinations, including vision and hearing tests.
- 4Train and certifyOn approval, complete training at a PSP-certified Act 235 school, then pay the $30 certification fee through TACS.
License your PA security/detective agency through your county court
This is the sole-trader/self-employed route as well as the company route — an individual PI/agency license lets you operate solo, while a detective agency license is needed to employ others. Licensing is county-by-county; York County is shown as a representative example — apply through the Court of Common Pleas in your own county.
- 1Confirm your experienceYou need 3 years of verified investigative/security experience — as a sworn police officer, military investigator, attorney's investigator, or employee of a PA-licensed detective/security agency.
- 2File your petitionFile a petition with the Clerk of Courts in the Court of Common Pleas of the county where you live or where your business is based.
- 3Pass the background checkThe county District Attorney's office investigates you before a court date is set; attend a hearing if one is scheduled.
- 4Post bond and pay feesPost a $10,000 surety bond payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and pay the county's filing, fingerprint, appointment, and badge fees.
Once you're licensed
Create your free XGuard profile now — upload your license the moment you have it, and we'll verify it and start matching you to paid security work near you.
Start your XGuard profileXGuard guides you to the official process; the state issues your license. Figures are sourced from official regulators and verified before publishing, but requirements can change — always confirm on the official portal linked above.