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Security licensing requirements in North Rhine-Westphalia

Requirements for North Rhine-Westphalia are being verified. Details below may be incomplete. Tell us what you need.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, security licensing is handled by the competent local authority (zuständige Behörde). XGuard lists no required guard documents for North Rhine-Westphalia at the moment. Independent professionals and agencies both list on XGuard; local rules decide who must hold which license.

How licensing works in North Rhine-Westphalia

Who licenses

The competent local authority (zuständige Behörde) under section 34a of the Trade Regulation Code (Gewerbeordnung, GewO); the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Industrie- und Handelskammer, IHK) run the instruction certificates and exams.

Who needs a license

Every guard employed by a security business needs an IHK certificate of instruction (Unterrichtung). Guards doing certain tasks also need the full expert examination (Sachkundeprüfung): patrols in public traffic areas or areas with actual public traffic, shoplifter protection, entrance control at discotheques, and, in a leading function, guarding of asylum accommodation and of access-protected large events. The business owner or the person managing the business must pass the examination.

Steps

  1. Be employed by, or own, a licensed security business; guards work as employees, and a self-employed person needs the owner's examination.
  2. Instruction: at least 40 lessons of 45 minutes at an IHK, taught in German at level B1. How long the certificate stays valid: varies — check your IHK (https://www.ihk.de/aachen/bildung/sach-und-fachkunde/unterrichtung-fuer-beschaeftigte-im-bewachungsgewerbe-604608).
  3. Or pass the Sachkundeprüfung when your tasks require it; exam content and fee: varies — check your IHK (https://www.ihk.de/aachen/bildung/sach-und-fachkunde/unterrichtung-fuer-beschaeftigte-im-bewachungsgewerbe-604608).
  4. Reliability check: the authority obtains trade-register and criminal-record extracts, a police statement and a state intelligence statement, and repeats the check at least every five years.
  5. The employer registers staff in the Bewacherregister (security-guard register), run by the Federal Statistical Office since 1 June 2019.

Typical timeline

varies — check the local authority and your IHK (https://www.ihk.de/aachen/bildung/sach-und-fachkunde/unterrichtung-fuer-beschaeftigte-im-bewachungsgewerbe-604608).

Verification

No public register is confirmed. The Bewacherregister serves businesses and section 34a authorities, not clients.

XGuard verifies licenses by document review and, where the regulator publishes a lookup, against that lookup.

Frequently asked

Who issues security licenses in North Rhine-Westphalia?

Security licenses in North Rhine-Westphalia are issued by the competent local authority (zuständige Behörde).

Next steps

Sources

Last verified: July 2, 2026

XGuard is a marketplace. It does not employ security professionals or issue licenses, and it does not promise work. Requirements change, so confirm with the regulator before you apply.