Indiana does something that confuses owners coming from states like Florida or Texas: it licenses the company and leaves the individual guard unlicensed. There is no state guard card to apply for, no state training course for unarmed officers, and no roster of licensed guards to check your hires against. All of the regulatory weight lands on the agency, and specifically on one qualifying person inside it. That makes the Indiana process simpler to start, and it makes the company carry more of the risk once it is running.
The regulator is the Private Investigator and Security Guard Licensing Board, administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA). The PLA’s licensing information page is the starting point. The law is IC 25-30-1.3, Security Guard Agency Licensing (the private investigator chapter next to it is a separate license), and the board’s rules are in 874 IAC 1. Everything below was checked against those sources as of September 2026. Fees change, so confirm the current schedule with the PLA before you apply. Nothing here is legal advice.
Who needs the agency license
The statute defines a security guard agency as a person in the business of providing, for hire or reward, a guard or other individual to protect persons or property or to prevent the misappropriation or concealment of goods. Under IC 25-30-1.3-7, you may not engage in that business, solicit or advertise it, or hold yourself out as a security guard agency without the license. Advertising counts, so the website and the yard sign come after the license, not before.
There are exemptions, and they are narrow. Law enforcement officers on official duty are exempt, as are an industrial plant owner hiring its own plant guard and a retail merchant hiring a guard for its own store. The moment you provide guards to someone else for pay, you are an agency.
Out-of-state firms need an Indiana license too, with proof of good standing, and corporations must show they are registered with the Indiana Secretary of State to do business here.
The qualifier carries the license
Indiana’s requirements attach to a person. For a corporation, one officer must qualify; for a partnership, one partner. Under IC 25-30-1.3-9, that person must be at least 21 and demonstrate the knowledge and skills the board requires, and the board can deny an applicant with a felony conviction, a misdemeanor with a direct bearing on competence, an active warrant, or who is on probation or parole.
The experience standard is in 874 IAC 1-3-1: at least two years, verified by at least 4,000 hours of employment, in areas such as:
- working as an investigator for a licensed firm;
- full-time management of a licensed security guard agency or investigations firm, or of a proprietary security force of at least 20 employees;
- paid law enforcement (unpaid reserve or volunteer service does not count);
- military or security police, and several listed federal and investigative roles.
A bachelor’s degree or higher in criminal justice or a related field from an accredited school can substitute for the experience. The PLA page adds a detail that trips up a lot of applicants: experience must be documented with W-2s, and 1099 experience is not accepted. If your qualifying years were as an independent contractor, you will need another path.
The qualifier also submits criminal history records from every city, county and state they lived in during the prior seven years, plus a fingerprint-based check through the Indiana State Police. We did not find a state exam for the agency license in the statute, rules or PLA page.
Insurance, not a bond
Indiana requires general liability coverage of at least $100,000 under IC 25-30-1.3-16, and it has to cover false arrest, detention or imprisonment; malicious prosecution; and wrongful entry, eviction or other invasion of private occupancy. The PLA page says the policy must list the “State of Indiana” as an additional insured. The insurer must give the board at least 10 days’ written notice before cancellation, and if coverage lapses, the statute says the license is suspended.
That last point is the one to plan around. In Indiana, a missed premium is not just an insurance problem; it is a licensing problem, and your clients may find out through the board before you do.
Fees and the October 1 renewal
As of September 2026, the PLA lists a $300 application fee (reduced if you apply less than a year before the renewal date) and a $300 renewal. Agency licenses expire every four years on October 1, on a fixed statewide cycle; the PLA gives 2023 and 2027 as examples, so the next renewal falls on October 1, 2027. Letting the license stay expired for a long time makes reinstatement more expensive. Check the PLA’s current fee schedule before you file.
A fixed four-year cycle is easy to lose. Whoever filed in 2023 may not be at the company in 2027, and a renewal notice sent to their inbox helps nobody.
Guards: unlicensed by the state, but your responsibility
Under IC 25-30-1.3-13, a licensee may employ as many unlicensed persons as necessary, and the licensee is civilly responsible for the good conduct of all employees. That sentence is the trade-off at the heart of Indiana’s model. The state doesn’t vet your guards, so you do.
The statute also requires the agency to keep, for each employee, a picture taken within 30 days of starting and a full set of fingerprints, and to produce a roster of unlicensed employees when the board asks. Treat those records as something you may be asked for at any time.
We did not find state-mandated training hours for unarmed guards in the statute or rules. That doesn’t mean clients won’t ask about training; many will, and some contracts specify it. Your own program becomes the standard. Our guide to building a security guard training program is a reasonable starting point.
Armed guards
The security guard agency chapter does not create an armed guard license, and IC 25-30-1.3-20 says the chapter may not be construed to authorize any licensee to carry a weapon. Carry is governed by Indiana’s general firearms law, which since July 2022 has allowed permitless handgun carry for people who are legally allowed to possess one; the Indiana State Police firearms licensing page explains the current rules. For an armed post, what you actually need to decide is policy: who carries, with what training, under what client agreement, and whether your insurer covers it.
Local layers
Some Indiana cities, including Indianapolis, have special police programs under state law that let certain security personnel hold additional authority. We did not verify the current requirements for those programs, so if you plan to operate in Indianapolis or another city that uses them, ask the city directly. Normal local business registration also applies.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Counting 1099 years toward the qualifier’s experience. The PLA wants W-2 documentation.
- Advertising before the license issues. Soliciting is itself regulated.
- Letting insurance lapse. The statute ties the license to the policy.
- Treating unlicensed guards as unvetted guards. You are civilly responsible for their conduct and must keep their photos and fingerprints.
- Forgetting the qualifier. If that person leaves, find out from the PLA what the company must do before it becomes a problem.
How CGuardPro helps
Because Indiana puts the vetting and record-keeping on the agency, the agency needs its own system for it. In CGuardPro, each officer has a document file with expiry dates for identification, training and any credentials you require, and the system sweeps those dates and raises the ones coming due. When shifts are assigned in the scheduler, a current licence is one of the checks that runs, alongside double shifts and minimum rest. Shifts, patrols and incident reports recorded in the security guard app give you a documented history if a client or the board asks about an officer’s conduct.
CGuardPro is trusted by 600+ security companies worldwide. For vetting new hires, see background checks for security guards; for the insurance side, what insurance your security provider must carry. If you are opening in Indiana and want to see how officer records work in practice, get in touch.