How to Verify a Security Guard’s SIA Licence Using the Public Register

Every security company operating in the UK has a legal obligation to deploy guards who hold a valid SIA licence. Yet licence checks are often manual, inconsistent, and easy to let slip — particularly when you’re managing dozens or hundreds of guards across multiple sites.

This guide explains how to use the SIA Public Register to verify a guard’s licence, what the results mean, and how growing security companies are automating the process to remove human error entirely.

What Is the SIA Public Register?

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) maintains a publicly accessible database of all licensed individuals in the UK private security industry. The register records the following for each licence holder:

• Full name
• Licence number
• Licence category (e.g. Door Supervisor, Security Guard, CCTV Operator)
• Licence status (Active, Expired, Revoked, or Suspended)
• Expiry date

Any member of the public can search the register at no cost via the SIA website. For security companies, it is an essential compliance tool.

Why Licence Verification Matters

Deploying an unlicensed guard — even unknowingly — can result in serious consequences for your business:

• Criminal prosecution: Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, deploying an unlicensed individual is a criminal offence that can result in an unlimited fine.
• ACS deregistration: If you hold SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) status, a compliance failure involving an unlicensed guard can put your accreditation at risk.
• Contract loss: Most commercial and public sector contracts require ACS membership or SIA compliance as a condition of award.
• Insurance voidance: Your liability insurer may refuse to pay out on claims arising from incidents involving unlicensed personnel.

Checking licences is not optional — it is a fundamental part of operating a lawful security business.

How to Verify an SIA Licence Manually

The manual process for checking a single guard’s licence takes less than two minutes:

1. Visit the SIA licence checker at services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk
2. Enter the guard’s licence number — a 16-digit number found on the front of their SIA licence card
3. Review the result: check the name matches the guard you intend to deploy, the licence category is correct for the role, and the status shows as Active
4. Record the verification date and result for your compliance records

The SIA Public Register is updated in real time, so the information you see reflects the current licence status at the moment of your search.

What to Do If a Licence Appears Invalid

If a search returns an Expired, Revoked, or Suspended result, do not deploy that guard until the situation is resolved. Steps to take:

• Contact the guard and ask them to provide their physical licence card for review
• If their licence has expired, they must renew before returning to work
• If the licence has been revoked or suspended, seek legal advice before taking further action
• Document the discovery and your response in writing

A common scenario is a guard who has applied for renewal but whose licence has lapsed during processing. The SIA offers guidance on interim arrangements in some cases — contact the SIA directly if you believe this applies.

How Often Should You Check Licences?

Best practice is to verify licences:

• Before the first deployment of any new guard
• Every 30 days as a routine compliance check across your workforce
• Immediately before any high-profile deployment (e.g. events, government sites)

For a small team, monthly manual checks are manageable. For operations deploying 50 or more guards, manual spot-checking introduces gaps. A guard whose licence expired midway through a month may go undetected until the next scheduled review — leaving you exposed in the interim.

Automating SIA Licence Verification at Scale

Security companies managing large workforces increasingly use guard management software that integrates directly with the SIA Public Register. Rather than running individual checks manually, the system queries the register automatically on a set schedule — flagging any guard whose licence status has changed since the last check.

TacDesk includes SIA Public Register auto-sync as a standard feature, giving operations managers a live view of which guards hold valid licences and automatically alerting the team when a licence is due to expire or has changed status. This removes the compliance blind spot that manual monthly checks create and provides an auditable record of every verification — valuable evidence in the event of an ACS audit or insurance claim.

For companies holding or pursuing ACS accreditation, the ability to demonstrate a systematic, documented licence-checking process is particularly valuable. An automated audit trail is far more compelling to an SIA assessor than a spreadsheet last updated three weeks ago.

Building a Licence-First Culture

Beyond the technology, licence verification works best when it is embedded in your onboarding and deployment process as a non-negotiable step — not something that gets checked when someone remembers. This means:

• Licence number captured as a mandatory field in your guard onboarding records
• Verification confirmed before any first deployment is authorised
• Expiry dates tracked with alerts triggered at least 90 days before renewal is due
• A clear policy that guards whose licences lapse are stood down until renewal is confirmed

These steps take minutes to establish but can prevent incidents that cost you far more.

Summary

Licence verification is a non-negotiable part of running a compliant security operation. The SIA Public Register gives you everything you need to check individual licences quickly — but for larger workforces, manual checks introduce risk. Automating the process ensures no guard slips through the net, protects your ACS status, and gives you a complete audit trail without adding administrative burden to your team.