ALABAMA SECURITY GUARD AGENCY LICENSE

The license. Contract Security Company License (issued by the Alabama Security Regulatory Board; agency form titled 'Company License Application') [16]

Who needs it. Any individual, firm, association, company, partnership, LLC, corporation or similar business entity engaged in the business of providing, or undertaking to provide, a security officer on a contractual basis to another person or entity; also any person who provides security services for more than one employer in any one-week period (except a permanent change of employment). Exempt (34-27C-17): entities using their own employees for security (proprietary), employees guarding only for their own employer, and sworn peace officers. [1]

Local licensing. Licensing is exclusively state-level. Code of Ala. § 34-27C-18(a) bars cities and counties from licensing, training or regulating contract security companies or security officers, except for a bona fide business or occupational tax. Subsection (b) supersedes any local provision. Quote (v-al-code-34-27c): "No governmental subdivision of this state shall enact any legislation, code, or ordinance, or adopt any rule relating to the licensing, training, or regulation of contract security companies or individuals functioning as security officers, other than for the imposition of a bona fide business tax or occupational tax, or both." A local general business license or tax may still apply. Private investigators and alarm/electronic security contractors are licensed by other state boards and are outside this product.

Your guards. Each security officer/armed security officer must apply to the ASRB for a personal license within 30 days after initial employment and carries a temporary card meanwhile. A company employing an officer in violation is itself in violation. The company must report adverse eligibility information within 10 days (34-27C-7(d)). Persons working fewer than 30 calendar days per year are exempt from individual licensing (r. 832-X-1-.09). Personal application: https://asrb.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Full-PersonalApplication-7-13-2026.pdf [1]

Role

Qualifying Agent (QA): an individual employed by the company and licensed by the Board as a security officer. The QA application form calls this a 'Qualifying Agent Certification'. [1]

Experience

Three years of experience as a manager, supervisor, or administrator with a contract security company, OR three years of supervisory experience with any federal, military, state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency. [1]

Age & background

Age 21+ (or 18+ if not allowed to carry any firearm in the course of employment). U.S. citizen or legally present non-citizen. Sworn statement of no unpardoned felony or crime of moral turpitude, no unrestored adjudication of mental incompetency, and no habitual drunkenness or narcotics addiction/dependence. Two complete fingerprint sets for an ALEA state and FBI national criminal history check, at the applicant's cost. [1]

• QA must be personally licensed by the Board as a Security Officer or Armed Security Officer. [9]
• QA is responsible for all regulated activities of the company (and may be personally disciplined). [9]
• No individual may be QA for more than one company without prior written Board approval. [1]
• Company must notify the Board within 10 working days if the QA stops serving and obtain a substitute within 30 days; Board may extend for good cause up to three months. [1]
• QA certifies (notarized Certification of Experience/Training) that he or she is an employee of the company. [17]
• Because the QA must hold a security officer license, a non-exempt QA must complete Board-approved initial training of at least 8 hours with a Certified Trainer. [1]
• QA application requires certification of at least 8 hours of initial/basic training from a Certified Trainer. [17]
• Application must list at least three unrelated, disinterested references. [1]
• Board must be notified within 30 days of changes in officers, directors, or management. [1]

Insurance

Contract security company licensees must file certificates of insurance with the Board. Minimum coverage is $2,000,000 for bodily or personal injury and $200,000 for property damage, with endorsements for general liability, personal injury, and workers' compensation. The policy may not be modified or cancelled without 30 days' prior notice to the Board. The insurer must be licensed in Alabama or in the state where the insurance is purchased, with a designated agent for service filed with the Secretary of State. [1]

Branch offices

No separate branch-office license or fee found. The current license (or a duplicate copy) must be posted at all business offices of the licensee in Alabama. [1]

• Security Company License (initial or annual renewal): $250 (Rule 832-X-1-.10 (last amended eff. April 14, 2025; company amount unchanged)) [9]
• Security Company License Late Fee: $125 [9]
• Contract Security Company License Replacement Fee: $50 [9]
• Company application checklist (rev. 7-13-2026): company license fee $250 (late $125; replacement $50): $250 [16]
• Qualifying Agent personal license fee charged with company application = $75 license + $37 background check (late $25; replacement $10): $112 (July 1, 2025) [16]
• Agency breakdown of $112 per personal application ($75 license + $37 background): $112 (July 1, 2025) [20]
• Agency home-page notice of personal fee: $112 (July 1, 2025) [12]
• Rule: Personal Application and License (QA's personal license); criminal history check fee separately 'Fee Assessed by ALEA': $75 (April 14, 2025 (rule); agency began charging July 1, 2025) [9]
• Rule: Personal License Late Fee: $25 [9]
• Statutory cap: company license fee (max $350; increases max $50 per licensing period): $350 [1]
• Statutory cap: security officer license fee (max $100; increases max $25 per licensing period) - applies to QA's personal license: $100 [1]
• Payment method: cashier's check, money order, or business check from a Board-licensed contract security company, payable to ASRB [16]

1. New companies must apply to the Board before providing regulated services in Alabama. [9]
2. Complete and notarize the ASRB Company License Application (company info, DBA, all partners/principal officers/directors/business managers, Qualifying Agent). [16]
3. Domestic corporations attach a Certificate of Good Standing from the Alabama Department of Revenue; foreign corporations attach a Certificate of Authority from the Alabama Secretary of State. Certificates must be originals dated less than 30 days before receipt. [16]
4. Attach certificate(s) of insurance meeting § 34-27C-6. [16]
5. QA completes the personal license application (Qualifying Agent box), 2 passport-style color photos, DD-214 if applicable, proof of age/citizenship, Authorization for Release of Information, and Certification of Experience/Training. If the QA license is already current, submit only pages 1-2 with insurance and Secretary of State registration. [16]
6. QA completes the ALEA Criminal History Information Release form and two fingerprint cards. [16]
7. Mail forms and checks to ASRB, PO Box 309536, Montgomery, AL 36130-9536 (FedEx/UPS: 603 Interstate Park Dr, Montgomery, AL 36109). [16]
8. Post a certified copy of the submitted application in all Alabama offices of the company. [16]
9. After submission, the company may continue regulated activities until the Board approves or denies. [16]
10. Incomplete applications: applicant notified and must respond within 30 days or the application is denied. Applications missing fingerprint cards, notarization, or the notarized ALEA form are returned (policy effective July 1, 2025). [20]
11. Board issues or denies the license in writing within a reasonable period after receiving all required information. [1]

Renewal

The company license is annual: it expires September 30 and the renewal must be submitted before October 1. A late fee may be imposed after October 1, and renewals are not accepted after October 31; after that the company must file a new application (Rule 832-X-1-.12(3)). The QA's personal license expires two years from issuance and needs board-approved refresher training (renewal form: at least 8 hours), a supplemental background check, fingerprints, and the $112 fee. [1]

Disqualifiers & waivers

Statute: sworn statement of no felony or crime of moral turpitude without a full pardon (34-27C-4(d)(3)). Rule 832-X-1-.05: a felony makes the applicant ineligible unless fully pardoned. A misdemeanor involving moral turpitude bars licensing for 5 calendar years from the most recent conviction, and a misdemeanor violent offense for 10 years. A misdemeanor sexual offense bars licensing absent a full pardon. Required sex-offender registrants are ineligible. Under the Board's own rules, the waiver is a full pardon or expiry of the period. Separately, Act 2025-388 (eff. Oct 1, 2025) amended § 41-9A-2 so that an 'occupational licensing board' may not deny for convictions not directly related to the occupation, for pardoned/expunged convictions, or for vague 'good moral character' standards. It also created a pre-application determination process (§ 41-9A-2.1; 30 days; fee up to $20). [9]

• 2025-04-14 (rule); ASRB began charging the new personal fee July 1, 2025Fee rule 832-X-1-.10 amended: Personal Application and License fee set at $75.00 (company fee unchanged at $250.00). Ala. Admin. Code r. 832-X-1-.10 [9]
• 2025-07-01ASRB fee/procedure change: $75 license + $37 background = $112 per personal (incl. QA) application; one payment per application; 30-day cure period for incomplete applications. ASRB Memorandum dated May 19, 2025 [20]
• 2025-10-01Act 2025-388 (SB138) amended §§ 41-9A-1 and 41-9A-2 and added § 41-9A-2.1. Occupational licensing boards may not deny licenses for convictions not directly related to the occupation, must weigh case-by-case factors and publish their standards, and must issue pre-application disqualification determinations within 30 days. Act 2025-388, § 4 [4]
• approved 2026-05-14; implementation date unknownBoard approved a contract with FieldPrint, Inc. for electronic fingerprinting; no go-live date announced. As of 2026-11-09 the Forms page still requires two fingerprint cards. ASRB minutes May 14, 2026 (OCR) [26]
• 2026-06-01ASRB administrative staff moved from a private management firm (Smith Warren) to state government; office now 603 Interstate Park Drive, Montgomery. ASRB minutes May 14, 2026 (OCR) [26]
• 2026 (forms dated 7-13-2026, posted under /2026/09/)All ASRB application forms reissued (rev. 7-13-2026; Company, QA, Personal, Renewal, Certified Trainer) and posted on the Forms page. ASRB Forms page [13]
• 2027-10-01LATER IN 2027 (already enacted): the Board's Sunset Law continuation runs only until October 1, 2027. The 2027 Legislature must continue it, and a 2027 sunset bill could amend ch. 34-27C. No 2027 bill has been found yet. Act 2024-146 (2024 SB124) [5]
• n/aNOT ENACTED (awareness only): 2025 SB193 (Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing) was indefinitely postponed, and 2026 SB227 died pending committee action in the second house. No 2025 or 2026 act amends ch. 34-27C. 2025RS SB193; 2026RS SB227 [7]

• Code of Ala. 1975, Title 34, Chapter 27C, §§ 34-27C-1 to 34-27C-18 — Alabama Security Regulatory Board (Act 2009-640, as amended through Act 2023-470) [1]
• Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 41-9A-1, 41-9A-2, 41-9A-2.1 (as amended/added by Act 2025-388, eff. Oct. 1, 2025) — Occupational licensing boards - criminal-conviction standards [3]
• Act 2024-146 (2024 SB124) — Sunset Law continuation of the ASRB until October 1, 2027 [5]
• Ala. Admin. Code ch. 832-X-1 (rr. 832-X-1-.01 to -.15; chapter marked 'Revised 4/14/25') — Alabama Security Regulatory Board - Administration and Procedure [9]

1. Code of Alabama 1975, Title 34, Chapter 27C (§§ 34-27C-1 to -18) · retrieved 2026-11-09
2. Code of Alabama 1975, Title 34, Chapter 27C · retrieved 2026-11-09
3. Code of Alabama 1975, §§ 41-9A-1 to 41-9A-5 (as amended by Act 2025-388) · retrieved 2026-11-09
4. Act 2025-388 (2025RS SB138 Enrolled) · retrieved 2026-11-09
5. Act 2024-146 (2024RS SB124 Enrolled) - ASRB continued until Oct 1, 2027 · retrieved 2026-11-09
6. Act 2023-470 (2023 SB187 Enrolled) - amends §§ 34-27C-2, 34-27C-4 · retrieved 2026-11-09
7. ALISON bill full-text searches 2025RS/2026RS; 2026 SB227 engrossed text and status · retrieved 2026-11-09
8. ALISON bill status 2023-2026 (SB193 2025, SB227 2026) with bill texts · retrieved 2026-11-09
9. Ala. Admin. Code ch. 832-X-1, Administration and Procedure (Revised 4/14/25) · retrieved 2026-11-09
10. Ala. Admin. Code ch. 832-X-1 · retrieved 2026-11-09
11. APA-3 Certification - Amend 832-X-1-.10 Fees (filed Feb 18, 2025; eff. April 14, 2025) · retrieved 2026-11-09
12. ASRB home page (fee notice effective July 1, 2025) · retrieved 2026-11-09
13. ASRB Forms page · retrieved 2026-11-09
14. ASRB News page · retrieved 2026-11-09
15. ASRB Rules, Regulations, and Law page · retrieved 2026-11-09
16. ASRB Company License Application and Checklist (rev. 7-13-2026) · retrieved 2026-11-09
17. ASRB Qualifying Agent / Guard License Application (rev. 07-13-2026) · retrieved 2026-11-09
18. ASRB Guard / Certified Trainer / QA Renewal (rev. 7-13-2026) · retrieved 2026-11-09
19. ASRB Personal License Application (rev. 7-13-2026) · retrieved 2026-11-09
20. ASRB Memorandum May 19, 2025 - New License Fee / Application Process Updates (eff. July 1, 2025) · retrieved 2026-11-09
21. ASRB Disqualifying Convictions handout · retrieved 2026-11-09
22. ASRB Minutes July 17, 2025 (OCR) · retrieved 2026-11-09
23. ASRB Special Meeting Minutes Sept 11, 2025 (OCR) · retrieved 2026-11-09
24. ASRB Minutes Nov 13, 2025 (OCR) · retrieved 2026-11-09
25. ASRB Minutes Feb 12, 2026 (OCR) · retrieved 2026-11-09
26. ASRB Minutes May 14, 2026 (OCR) · retrieved 2026-11-09

Compiled from the primary government sources above, retrieved on the dates shown. This page is a research summary, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the issuing authority before you file.