MISSISSIPPI SECURITY GUARD COMPANY LICENSING

The license. None. Mississippi has no state license for a security guard agency / contract security company (no PPO / Class B / watch-guard-patrol agency equivalent). The only state credential in this field is the individual DPS 'Security Guard Permit' (Statewide Security Guard Gun Permit) under Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1), an individual weapons-carry permit for armed guards while on duty - not a business license. [7]

Who needs it. Business: no state business license is required. Individual: a bank guard, company guard, watchman, railroad special agent/representative who is not a sworn officer, or an agent or employee of a patrol service, guard service or valuables-transport company must hold the DPS Security Guard Permit to carry a pistol/firearm while on duty. Unarmed guards need no state credential. [1]

Local licensing. UNVERIFIED. No state statute, DPS page or 2025-2026 bill was found that creates or delegates licensing of guard companies.

Your guards. No state registration for unarmed guards. Armed guards (including agents/employees of a patrol or guard service) need the individual DPS Security Guard Permit: https://www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/Firearms/Security_Guard_Permits [9]

• Individual Security Guard Permit (not a business license), original: $100.00 nonrefundable permit fee (statute, 97-37-7(1)(a)). [1]
• Original permit total $132.00 = $100.00 permit fee + $32.00 fingerprint/background check (DPS fee page). The statute does not state the $32 figure; it authorizes DPS to charge a fee covering FBI and state record checks. [4]
• Statutory basis for background-check fee (amount set by DPS, not stated in statute). [1]
• Renewal: $50.00 renewal fee (statute) + $32.00 background check = $82.00 total (DPS fee page; DPS fee PDF agrees). The instructions PDF misprints the total as 'Eighty-Two dollars ($132.00)'; $82.00 controls. [4]
• Statutory renewal fee $50.00; honorably retired law enforcement officers exempt from the renewal fee. [1]
• Retired law enforcement officer renewal: $0.00 renewal fee + $32.00 background check = $32.00. [4]
• Late fee $15.00 if renewal not filed by expiration (expired less than 6 months); 6 months or more = permanently expired, reapply as original. [1]
• Duplicate (lost/destroyed) permit $15.00, with notarized statement. [1]
• DPS Firearm Permit Fees PDF (v3, posted 2022-11) totals agree: Security Guard Permit $132.00; renewal $82.00; retired LEO renewal $32.00. [6]
• DPS fee rule (secondary mirror) lists $32.00 DL-Fingerprint Fee for gun permits. [17]

1. (Individual armed Security Guard Permit only - there is no business application.) Complete SGP-APP-01 in full plus the notarized Affidavit and Release of Information SGP-AFF-01. [9]
2. Check every guard-type box matching the duties to be performed, or the permit is not valid for them. [9]
3. First-time applicants present photo ID; non-residents also bring original birth certificate and Social Security card. [9]
4. First-time applications submitted in person at DPS HQ (Jackson) or an MHP district substation, where applicant is fingerprinted and photographed. [9]
5. Renewals are mailed (newer DPS forms page) to Firearm Permit Division, P.O. Box 1459, Canton, MS 39046 - conflicts with the older instructions PDF's in-person statement; forms page treated as current practice. [11]
6. Fingerprints checked against state then FBI records; permit card mailed if qualified; written notice of grounds if denied. [9]
7. Current application PDF posted 2025-08 (8.11.2025); form footer still 'Revised 08/27/2021'; text substantively identical to 2021 version. [11]

Renewal

No business license to renew. Individual Security Guard Permit: renew every four (4) years; DPS mails notice no less than 90 days before expiration; file renewal form, notarized affidavit and $50 fee on or before expiration ($15 late fee); cannot be renewed 6 months or more after expiration (permanently expired; reapply as original). Renewals are mailed to DPS Firearm Permit Division, Canton. [1]

Disqualifiers & waivers

Individual permit: anyone ever convicted of a felony (any state or U.S.) is barred, with no waiver in the statute; fingerprint-based state + FBI check. The DPS application additionally screens: age 21+, state/federal firearm ineligibility, dishonorable discharge, mental incompetency/commitment (5-year rule), habitual controlled-substance abuse or drug conviction within 3 years, misdemeanor domestic violence (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9)). The age-21 requirement appears only on the application, not in 97-37-7. Only fee waiver: retired LEO renewal fee. [1]

• Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-7(1) — Deadly weapons; persons permitted to carry - security guard permit (text as reproduced by the Legislature in 2026 HB 1471 as introduced; HB 1471 died in committee, so the non-[[NEW]] text is current law) [1]
• Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-7 (DPS website copy) — MS code 97-37-7 Deadly weapons; persons permitted - agency-posted copy; history ends Laws 2011; subsection (2) outdated; subsection (1) substantively matches [3]
• 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 7, R. 1.1 (secondary mirror only) — Driver Services' Schedule of Fees - lists the $32.00 DL-Fingerprint Fee for gun permits; not a guard-company regulation. No DPS rule specific to Security Guard Permits or guard companies was located. [17]

1. Miss. · retrieved 2026-11-09
2. Miss. · retrieved 2026-11-09
3. DPS website copy of MS code 97-37-7 (history ends Laws 2011; subsection (2) outdated) · retrieved 2026-11-09
4. DPS Driver Service Bureau - Security Guard Permit Fees page · retrieved 2026-11-09
5. DPS Driver Service Bureau - Security Guard Permit Fees page · retrieved 2026-11-09
6. DPS Firearm Permit Fees v3 (PDF, posted 2022-11) · retrieved 2026-11-09
7. DPS Application for Security Guard Permit SGP-APP-01 + Affidavit SGP-AFF-01 (PDF posted 2025-08; form rev. 08/27/2021) · retrieved 2026-11-09
8. dps-sgp-application · retrieved 2026-11-09
9. v-dps-sgp-instructions · retrieved 2026-11-09
10. dps-sgp-instructions · retrieved 2026-11-09
11. DPS Firearm Permit Applications & Forms page · retrieved 2026-11-09
12. DPS Firearm Permit Laws and Codes page · retrieved 2026-11-09
13. MS Legislature bill status: keyword scan of all measures 2025 RS, 2025 1st ES, 2026 RS, 2026 1st ES + 97-37-7 code-section index · retrieved 2026-11-09
14. MS Legislature Report of All Measures 2025 and 2026 Regular Sessions (filtered extract) · retrieved 2026-11-09
15. MS Legislature Code Section 097-0037-0007 measure index, 2025 and 2026 Regular Sessions · retrieved 2026-11-09
16. 2006 SB 2531 Private Protective Services Licensing and Regulatory Act (introduced; died in committee 01/31/2006 - NOT law) · retrieved 2026-11-09
17. 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 7 R. 1.1 Driver Services' Schedule of Fees · retrieved 2026-11-09
18. 19 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 7 R. 1.05 Licensing Requirements - State Fire Marshal electronic protection (alarm) licensing - out of scope · 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.