MAINE SECURITY GUARD AGENCY LICENSE

The license. Contract Security Company License (a license "to be a contract security company" under the Private Security Guards Act, 32 M.R.S. ch. 93) [1]

Who needs it. Any person engaged in the business of providing, or who undertakes to provide, a security guard for another person (a contract security company). §9404(1) literally says no person may 'act as a security guard' without the company license; because employees of a licensed company are exempt (§9404(2)(B)), in practice the license is held by the business and guards work under it. 'Security guard' means anyone who for any consideration protects individuals or property, prevents/observes/detects unauthorized activity on private property, prevents unlawful intrusion, larceny, vandalism, abuse, arson or trespass on private property, or provides street patrol or armored car service. Exempt: proprietary security organizations (in-house guards solely for the organization) and their employees (§9404(2)(A)); employees of a licensed contract security company (§9404(2)(B)); law enforcement officers with appointing-authority permission, unless employed as guards by a contract security company (§9417(1)); persons employed by the U.S., the State, a political subdivision or public instrumentality while performing official duties (§9417(2)); locksmiths, unless employed as guards by or doing business as a contract security company (§9417(3)). [1]

Local licensing. Licensing is state-level under 32 M.R.S. ch. 93 (Commissioner of Public Safety / Maine State Police). Chapter 93 contains no local-licensing or preemption provision. The Secretary of State's DPS rule index (16-219, 16-222) lists no rule chapter for contract security companies or security guards (16-222 ch. 9 is a firearms written exam for private investigators only), although 32 M.R.S. §9414(3) directs the Commissioner to adopt rules; the MSP Regulations page says there are no proposed regulations. Individual guards are NOT licensed or carded by the State; the licensed company must report each guard to the Commissioner and certify a background investigation (§9410-A).

Your guards. No state guard card or individual registration: employees of a licensed contract security company are exempt from §9404, and the company is responsible. Guard minimums under §9410-A(1): 18+, citizen/resident alien, no dishonorable discharge within 5 years, no 1+-year crime (or §9412 crime within 5 years), fewer than 3 convictions for crimes punishable by less than 1 year within 5 years, not a fugitive, drug user or person with substance use disorder, not dangerous due to mental disorder, no current guardian/conservator, and records releases. The company must notify the Commissioner of each new guard before the guard starts and file a signed background-investigation statement within 60 days; at renewal, Addendum B lists guards employed since the last license. [1]

Role

Agent (statutory term; §9413 also says 'qualifying agent'). For a corporation the §9405 qualifications must be met by an agent - a principal corporate officer, partner, owner or majority shareholder, or a Maine resident who manages or supervises the company's security guard business in Maine; for a partnership by each partner; otherwise by the natural person applying. [1]

Experience

None required. The statutory issuance criteria (§9405(1-A)(A)-(G)) contain no experience, training, education or examination requirement - only good moral character, age, citizenship/resident-alien status, discharge and criminal-history criteria, a complete application, records releases and the fee. [1]

Age & background

18 or older; U.S. citizen or resident alien; not dishonorably discharged from military service; not convicted of a crime punishable by one year or more imprisonment (any time) or, within the past 5 years, of any crime enumerated in §9412 (same rules for juvenile adjudications); good moral character, judged in writing solely on governmental records from the 5 years before the application (family/household abuse records, 3+ convictions for crimes punishable by less than one year, 3+ civil-violation adjudications, §9411-A suspensions, reckless or negligent conduct). Applicant answers statutory questions on pending charges, prior convictions, fugitive status, drug use/substance use disorder, dangerous mental disorder, guardianship/conservatorship (Title 18-C), dishonorable discharge within 5 years and illegal-alien status. [1]

• Who must meet the qualifications: each partner of a partnership; an agent of a corporation; or the natural person applying. [1]
• Application must be subscribed and sworn by each partner; for a corporation by at least one principal corporate officer and, if different, by the qualifying agent; otherwise by the natural person applying (§9407(2)). [1]
• The application form asks (Yes/No) whether the applicant is a high school graduate or holds a high school equivalency; the statute does not make this a licensing requirement. [15]
• Application must list every employee who will perform security guard functions in Maine (full name, current and prior-5-year addresses, date/place of birth, height, weight, eye color); for employees who will work at a labor dispute or strike site the applicant must already have done the §9410-A background investigation and file a signed statement. A photograph of the applicant taken within 6 months is also required. [1]
• Applicant must authorize release of involuntary-commitment, court, law-enforcement and military records and submit to fingerprinting if needed to resolve identity questions. [1]
• Agency packet: copy of U.S. birth certificate or resident alien card, copy of military discharge if applicable, and a state criminal history record from every other state lived in during the last 5 years. [15]
• Notify the Commissioner within 30 days of any change in qualifying agent, officers or directors, or other material change. [1]
• License must be posted conspicuously in the licensee's principal office in Maine within 72 hours of receipt (failure is an unlawful act under §9412). [1]
• License is not assignable or transferable; on death, disability or cessation of business by a non-corporate owner, the successor, heir, devisee or personal representative may apply within 60 days. [1]

Surety bond

Surety bond of $10,000 if the licensee is a Maine resident, $50,000 if nonresident (a corporation is resident if incorporated in Maine; any other person is resident if the natural person who qualifies for the license resides in Maine). Statute: given to the Commissioner, on the Commissioner's form, executed by a surety company authorized in Maine, conditioned on honest conduct; any injured person (including an aggrieved labor union officer) may sue on it. The agency form (Form P-28 (7/20)) binds principal and surety 'unto the State of Maine'. The bond form is sent with the approval letter; renewals require a continuation bond. [1]

Branch offices

No separate branch-office license or fee appears in Chapter 93 or the agency forms. The license must be displayed in the principal office in Maine, and posting the license (or permitting it to be posted) on premises other than those described in the license is an unlawful act under §9412. [1]

• Statute: original license application fee $400 - $100 submitted with the application and $300 upon issuance (32 M.R.S. §9407(1)). If a license expired and was not renewed within 60 days, the application is treated as original with original fees. [1]
• Statute: annual renewal fee $200, refundable upon denial of renewal (32 M.R.S. §9408). [1]
• Agency packet: new application $121.00 ($100.00 plus $21.00 background check) with the application; $300.00 upon issuance; renewal $221.00 ($200.00 plus $21.00 background check). Checks payable to 'Treasurer, State of Maine'. [15]
• Renewal packet cover sheet: renewal fee of $221. [17]
• Older (not currently linked) cover letter identifies the $21 as the State Bureau of Identification record check fee. [21]

1. Complete the 3-page Application for Contract Security Company License (form CS-(5/09)): eligibility questions, 5-year address history, company/DBA information, prior license history, employee list; all pages completed and signed. [15]
2. Complete the release forms: Form P-3E Authority to Release (2 pgs) and Form 577 DHHS Authorization (3 pgs; Riverview/Dorothea Dix psychiatric center records); witness may be anyone over 18. [15]
3. Enclose the $121 initial fee (check to 'Treasurer, State of Maine'); the $300 balance is paid once the application is approved. [15]
4. Enclose a color photo taken within six months, copy of U.S. birth certificate or resident alien card, copy of military discharge if applicable, and out-of-state criminal history records for any state lived in during the last 5 years. [15]
5. Mail the complete packet (8 pgs) to the Maine State Police Weapons and Professional Licensing Unit, 164 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. [15]
6. Processing takes about six to eight weeks; an approval letter and bond form are sent. File the executed surety bond (Form P-28) and pay the $300 issuance fee; the license issues. [15]
7. After licensure, before any employee not on the application list begins guard work in Maine, notify the Commissioner; within 60 days of the start date, complete the background investigation and file a signed statement that the employee meets §9410-A(1) (and before the guard carries a firearm or works a labor-dispute/strike site). [1]

Renewal

One-year term, renewable annually unless revoked or suspended. Statutory renewal fee $200 (agency packet: $221 including $21 background check). Renewal packet: application, Addendum B listing only guards employed since the last license (write NONE if none), release forms P-3E and 577, fee; a renewal with a NEW PRINCIPAL also needs photo, birth certificate/resident alien card and discharge papers. An approval letter requesting a continuation bond follows in about 6-8 weeks. A license expired and not renewed within 60 days is treated as an original application with original fees and requirements (§9407(1)). [1]

Disqualifiers & waivers

Disqualifiers: under 18; not a citizen/resident alien; dishonorable discharge; conviction of a crime punishable by 1+ year (any time) or of a §9412 crime within 5 years (juvenile equivalents too); lack of good moral character (5-year look-back on government records); an affirmative answer to any §9405(1-A)(F)(5) question other than the pending-charge questions (a), (b), (d), (e) is cause for refusal. A prior refusal to issue alone is not cause for refusal. The Commissioner may refuse to renew after an APA hearing; only the District Court may suspend or revoke, on §9411-A grounds (material misstatement, ineligibility under §9405, failure to list employees, knowingly employing guards who fail §9410-A(1), failure to report/investigate guards under §9410-A(2)-(4), violation of Commissioner rules, knowingly encouraging or allowing labor-dispute violations under §9412(4)-(6)). After refusal to renew or revocation, no reapplication for 5 years. No waiver procedure appears in the statute. [1]

• 2025-09-2432 M.R.S. §9418 (confidentiality of contract security company applications and background information), first paragraph, amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 111, §11 (L.D. 1828, Right to Know Advisory Committee recommendations). Drafting-conformity change: the current text ends the confidentiality sentence at 'are confidential' (the bill's quoted prior text also said 'and may not be made available for public inspection or copying'; pdftotext does not show strike-through, so compare against the current statute). Applications and collected records remain confidential and waivable by the applicant in writing. No change to fees, bond, qualifications or procedures. Approved May 23, 2025, during the First Special Session (convened March 25, adjourned June 25, 2025); not an emergency law, so effective on the session's general effective date. P.L. 2025, c. 111, §11 (amending 32 M.R.S. §9418) [1]

• 32 M.R.S. §§9401-9418 (Title 32, Chapter 93) — Private Security Guards Act [1]
• 16-219 C.M.R. ch. 39 — Adjudicatory and Licensing Proceedings (general Department of Public Safety procedural rules for licensing proceedings before the Commissioner; no substantive contract-security rule chapter exists) [7]

1. 32 M.R.S. Chapter 93, Private Security Guards Act (§§9401-9418), Revisor of Statutes PDF current through October 1, 2026 · retrieved 2026-11-09
2. 32 M.R.S. Chapter 93 (verify-pass copy of the same Revisor PDF; identical text) · retrieved 2026-11-09
3. 32 M.R.S. Chapter 93 table of sections (Revisor HTML) · retrieved 2026-11-09
4. P.L. 2025, ch. 111 (H.P. 1223, L.D. 1828), chaptered law · retrieved 2026-11-09
5. P.L. 2025, ch. 111 (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
6. 132nd Legislature First Regular and First Special Sessions - Legislative Digest of Bills and Summaries of Enacted Laws (excerpts) · retrieved 2026-11-09
7. 16-219 C.M.R. ch. 39, Adjudicatory and Licensing Proceedings (Dept. of Public Safety) · retrieved 2026-11-09
8. 16-222 C.M.R. ch. 9, Rules and Regulations Relating to Private Investigators (PI firearms exam only; not applicable to contract security) · retrieved 2026-11-09
9. MSP Regulations page + Secretary of State DPS rules index (16-219, 16-222): no contract security rule chapter · retrieved 2026-11-09
10. Secretary of State - Department of Public Safety rules index (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
11. Maine State Police - Regulations page · retrieved 2026-11-09
12. Maine State Police - Professional Investigator and Contract Security Licenses · retrieved 2026-11-09
13. Maine State Police - Professional Investigator and Contract Security Licenses (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
14. Maine State Police - Weapons and Professional Licenses landing page · retrieved 2026-11-09
15. Contract Security Company License - New Application packet (CSC_New_Application_FULL23.pdf; form CS-(5/09)) · retrieved 2026-11-09
16. Contract Security Company License - New Application packet (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
17. Contract Security Company License - Renewal Application packet (CSC_Renewal_Application_FULL23.pdf) · retrieved 2026-11-09
18. Contract Security Company License - Renewal Application packet (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
19. Surety Bond for Professional Investigator, Investigative Assistant or Contract Security Company, Form P-28 (7/20) · retrieved 2026-11-09
20. Surety Bond Form P-28 (7/20) (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
21. Contract Security Company Application Procedure cover letter (older version; not linked from current agency page) · retrieved 2026-11-09
22. Laws Relating to Private Security Guards (Bureau of Maine State Police, June 2018) · retrieved 2026-11-09
23. Laws Relating to Private Security Guards (verify-pass copy) · retrieved 2026-11-09
24. Maine State Police - Active Contract Security Companies as of 11/7/2026 · retrieved 2026-11-09
25. Active Contract Security Companies as of 11/7/2026 (verify-pass copy) · 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.