To start a security guard company in Hawaii, you apply for a guard agency license from the Board of Private Detectives and Guards, part of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). You must employ a licensed principal guard with four years of full-time guard or investigative work who has passed the Board’s exam, and you must post a surety bond of at least $5,000 before the license is issued. Every guard you put on a post registers with the Board as a guard employee after eight hours of classroom training. CGuardPro keeps those registrations and training dates on each officer’s record once you are running.
The law is Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 463, and guard training comes from Act 208 of 2010 (HRS § 463-10.5). The Board’s official page is the DCCA Board of Private Detectives and Guards, and most details below come from the Board’s frequently asked questions and its guard training curricula. Everything was checked as of October 2026. The FAQ is dated 2021, so where it and the Board’s current page differ, we follow the current page. This is not legal advice.
Hawaii at a glance
| Item | Hawaii requirement |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Board of Private Detectives and Guards (DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing) |
| Company license | Guard agency (entity) license |
| Qualifier | Principal guard: 18+, high school or equivalent, 4 years full-time guard or investigative work, exam |
| Bond | Surety bond of not less than $5,000, filed before licensure; none for guard employees |
| Officer credential | Guard employee registration (Act 208, HRS § 463-10.5) |
| Training | 8 hours of classroom instruction before the first day of service; 4 hours of continuing education per three-year renewal |
| Agency and principal renewal | June 30 of every even-numbered year (next period July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028) |
| Guard employee renewal | June 30 every three years (2024, 2027, 2030) |
| Overtime | Generally after 40 hours in a workweek |
Who regulates security companies in Hawaii?
The Board of Private Detectives and Guards licenses guard agencies, principal guards and private detectives, and it registers guard employees. It sits inside the DCCA’s Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. Licenses are managed through the MyPVL portal. Complaints go to DCCA’s Regulated Industries Complaints Office.
Hawaii has no reciprocity. The Board’s FAQ says all applicants must meet the same licensing and examination requirements, even if they are licensed in another state. If you are expanding from the mainland, your principal guard still sits the Hawaii exam.
What does the guard agency license require?
The Board’s FAQ lists what an entity needs:
- A principal guard employed by the agency, who is fully responsible for directing and controlling the agency and its employees while guard services are being provided.
- Employment records for each officer, director, partner, manager or member, covering the last 10 years.
- FBI and Hawaii fingerprint checks for each of those people, taken electronically through Fieldprint or another approved agency.
- Business registration with DCCA’s Business Registration Division, with a filed-stamped document or a Certificate of Good Standing, plus a trade name registration if you use one.
- A Hawaii business location where the firm receives service of process.
- A surety bond of not less than $5,000, from a surety authorized in Hawaii. The Board’s bond page says the bond must be in force at all times, and a lapse suspends the license until a successor bond is filed.
- Color photographs of your uniform, emblem, badge and ID card, if you will use them, for the Board and for the police department of each county where you will operate.
- Registered guard employees.
The principal guard must be at least 18, have a high school education or its equivalent, verify four years of full-time investigative or guard work, and pass the Board’s exam. The Board does not accept education in place of the four years. One person generally cannot serve as principal for more than one agency without Board approval, and only under narrow conditions such as common ownership.
The Board’s current page lists renewal fees of $408 for an agency and $344 for a guard license. Initial application, exam and license fees are listed in the FAQ. Check the Board page for current amounts before you pay.
How do guards get registered?
Under Act 208, everyone acting in a guard capacity registers with the Board as a guard employee. That includes guards employed by private businesses and government agencies, not just by agencies. A guard employee must be at least 18, have a high school education or its equivalent, clear a national criminal history check, and complete the required training. The Board publishes a document on which job positions are and are not exempt.
The agency’s ongoing duty is a reporting cycle. The principal guard registers employees with the Board and files an Employee Registration Form (PDG-16) twice a year. Hires from January to June are due by July 31, and hires from July to December by January 31. If you stop having employees, you file form PDG-18 to stop the reporting.
How many training hours does Hawaii require?
According to the Board’s FAQ, a guard employee completes eight hours of classroom instruction from a Board-approved instructor, using the Board-approved curriculum, before the first day of service. The Board’s current page lists four hours of continuing education for each three-year renewal. The Board’s curricula document also describes a written test and four hours of supervised on-the-job training. The curriculum covers arrest, search and seizure, and use of force, among other topics.
One caution: that curricula document (last amended 2017) describes the four-hour refresher as annual, while the FAQ and the current Board page describe it as triennial. Follow the Board’s current page, and confirm with the Board if your contracts depend on it.
What about armed officers?
The Board materials we read do not set out a separate armed guard license. The Board’s curricula list the prohibition on security guards carrying weapons in its rules (HAR § 16-97-17) as a training topic. Before you staff any armed post in Hawaii, ask the Board directly, and check firearm permitting with the county police department. We do not quote armed training hours here because we did not find them in an official source.
When do licenses renew?
Hawaii puts everyone on fixed dates:
- Agency, principal guard and guard licenses renew by June 30 of every even-numbered year. The current period runs July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028.
- Guard employee registrations renew by June 30 every three years: 2024, 2027, 2030. The current period runs to June 30, 2027. The Board lists $105 to renew a guard employee registration as active.
Because every registration expires on the same day, your whole roster comes due together. The four hours of continuing education have to be completed before that date, not after it.
What are the overtime rules?
The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations says that overtime is generally required after 40 hours worked in a workweek. There is no general daily threshold, though public works have stricter rules. Hawaii’s wage law excludes employees guaranteed at least $2,000 a month from the state minimum wage and overtime provisions, but the federal FLSA can still apply. Treat that exclusion as a question for your payroll adviser, not a default.
How does software help keep the records?
Hawaii’s dates are predictable, but they hit everyone at once. The whole guard roster renews on one June 30, the agency renews on another, and each new hire must have eight training hours on file before the first shift.
In CGuardPro, each officer’s record holds their guard employee registration, with its number, issue and expiry dates and a card photo, alongside their training completions. License tracking sends your office alerts on a window you choose, anywhere from 7 to 120 days ahead, and repeats them weekly until the credential is renewed. Set a long window ahead of a June 30 deadline and the four-hour courses get booked in spring rather than in the last week. It warns rather than blocks scheduling, and it does not verify registrations with the Board or file the PDG-16 for you. Your hire and separation dates are on record, though, so preparing the semi-annual list is quicker.
Hours are tracked against a weekly threshold. See how it works with Hawaii’s island-by-island rosters on our Hawaii security guard software page. CGuardPro is used by 600+ security companies.
Frequently asked questions
How much experience does a Hawaii principal guard need?
Four years of full-time guard or investigative work, which the Board verifies. The Board does not accept education in place of that experience. The principal must also pass an exam and clear FBI and state fingerprint checks.
Do guard employees need a bond?
No. The Board’s FAQ says there is no bond requirement for guard employees. The agency’s bond, at least $5,000, covers the entity.
Can a new guard work before training?
No. The eight hours of classroom instruction must be completed before the first day of service.
When do Hawaii guard employee registrations expire?
On June 30 every three years. The current cycle ends June 30, 2027, and the next one ends June 30, 2030.
Does Hawaii accept a license from another state?
No. The Board’s FAQ says Hawaii has no reciprocal agreements, so all applicants meet the same licensing and examination requirements.