For years, an owner opening a guard company in Oregon could get by thinking almost entirely about individuals. The officers were certified, the managers were licensed, and the business itself was more or less the container they worked inside. That model is gone. Since January 1, 2024, Oregon has required the company to hold its own license, and a lot of the guidance still circulating online was written before that change. If what you are reading only talks about officer certification, it is describing half of the current system.
The regulator is the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), which runs the Private Security/Investigator program. The company license has its own section on the DPSST site, the Private Security Entity application page, and the rules behind it are in Oregon Administrative Rules chapter 259, division 59. Everything below was checked against DPSST and the official statute text as of September 2026. Fees and forms change, so confirm the current version before you file. Nothing here is legal advice.
Three layers: the entity, the managers, the officers
Oregon’s statute, ORS 181A.850, makes it unlawful for a private security entity to provide private security services without a license, unlawful to act as an executive or supervisory manager without a license, and unlawful to work as a private security professional without a certificate. In practice that gives you three layers to manage:
- The company holds a Private Security Entity (PSE) license.
- Managers hold an Executive Manager or Supervisory Manager license.
- Officers hold a certification: unarmed, armed, alarm monitor, or event and entertainment.
The rule that created the entity license, OAR 259-059-0020, applies to companies principally located in other states too, which matters if you are expanding in from Washington or California. It also carves out a narrow exemption for a sole owner-operator who provides security services and does not employ any other private security providers. The moment you hire your first officer, that exemption no longer describes you.
There is a client-side piece that owners tend to miss. The statute requires the entity to give clients the web address for DPSST’s license lookup, and requires clients to verify the license before hiring. Expect procurement teams at larger Oregon clients to ask for it, and expect them to check.
What DPSST asks of the company
The entity license is built around a few things you have to line up before you apply.
An entity representative. Under OAR 259-059-0030, this is the principal owner or partner who exercises operational control, or a qualified designee. DPSST’s application page limits designees to nonprofit or governmental entities, entities based in another state, and entities with more than 100 employees.
A licensed executive manager. ORS 181A.900 requires the entity to designate an executive manager licensed by DPSST. The executive manager license is its own application with its own training (more on that below), so do not treat it as a formality to sort out after the entity paperwork.
An exam. The entity representative takes an online exam on the company’s responsibility to prevent sexual assault, sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. OAR 259-059-0050 sets the passing score at 80% and requires it for both issuance and renewal.
Insurance. DPSST’s application page quotes the rule requiring general liability coverage naming the entity as primary insured, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Coverage has to be maintained continuously, and DPSST must be told within 10 business days of a cancellation or change.
Proof you can pay wages. This is the part owners from other states rarely expect. Oregon requires a surety bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, or a cash deposit, scaled to the number of licensed and certified people you employ. DPSST’s application page lists $5,000 for 10 or fewer, $10,000 for 11 to 20, $20,000 for 21 to 50, and $30,000 for more than 50. Some third-party sites quote different figures; use DPSST’s.
Everything else on the application. Business registration with the Secretary of State, a Department of Revenue tax compliance certification, the people with a financial interest in the company, every work location, and any subcontracted entities at each location (OAR 259-059-0060). Unless you only monitor alarms, you also need written use-of-force and citizen-arrest policies.
Once DPSST has your application and fee, it may issue a Temporary Authorization Form. DPSST’s own wording is blunt: you may not operate as a private security entity without a current license or that form.
Fees and the June 30 cliff
As of September 2026, OAR 259-059-0070 sets the entity license fee at $1,030, with a $55 late renewal fee, and DPSST’s page confirms $1,030 for licenses valid July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The initial fee may be prorated. Individual fees are on DPSST’s fee page and in OAR 259-060-0500; the fingerprint background check fee is scheduled to rise for applications filed on or after October 1, 2026. Check the fee page on the day you file rather than trusting any number you read here.
The renewal structure is where operators get caught. The entity license is annual and runs July 1 through June 30 for everyone. OAR 259-059-0040 says any license not renewed by June 30 expires, and renewals open May 1. The license also ends if the entity is sold, which matters to anyone buying an Oregon book of business.
Individual credentials run on a different clock: under ORS 181A.875 they expire two years after issuance or on the assigned renewal date. So the company renews every June, and each officer and manager renews on their own two-year cycle. That is a lot of dates to hold in one person’s head.
Officer and manager training
DPSST’s training rules set the baseline:
- Unarmed: 14 hours of basic classroom instruction, exam and assessments, then a four-hour renewal course every two years.
- Armed: the unarmed course plus a basic firearms course of at least 24 hours with a written exam, safe gun handling test and marksmanship qualification. Armed officers also complete a marksmanship qualification and armed refresher every year, not just at renewal, and ORS 181A.906 requires them to qualify with a firearm matching the make, model and caliber they will carry.
- Managers: the unarmed basic course plus DPSST’s manager course, with the manager course repeated for biennial renewal (OAR 259-060-0130).
DPSST’s new applicant page lists minimum ages of 18 for unarmed officers and supervisory managers and 21 for armed officers and executive managers, along with a high school diploma or equivalent and a fingerprint-based background check.
On top of officer training, the statute requires the entity to provide workplace training on sexual harassment and assault prevention, discrimination and whistleblower protections, including for new employees within 90 days of hire. That is an HR obligation attached to the security license, and it is easy to lose between the two departments.
Local layers are thinner than you’d think
Oregon’s statute preempts local laws regulating private security providers (ORS 181A.895), so you should not find a city-level guard license stacked on top of DPSST’s. What you will still find is ordinary business registration. Portland, for example, requires businesses operating in the city to register for its business license tax, and runs a separate alarm permit program aimed at alarm users rather than guard companies. If you also sell or monitor alarms, check that program and DPSST’s alarm monitor certification separately.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Assuming officer certifications cover the company. Every officer can be certified and the entity can still be operating illegally.
- Sizing the wage bond once. The required amount steps up with headcount. A company that grows from 18 to 25 officers has crossed a threshold.
- Missing the annual armed refresher. DPSST can suspend an armed certification for it, and the officer will not always tell you.
- Letting the June 30 renewal ride on one inbox. Renewals open May 1. Put it on a calendar owned by more than one person.
Keeping it straight once you’re licensed
Oregon’s system produces a lot of dates: one company renewal, a two-year cycle per person, and an annual armed refresher on top. This is where software earns its keep. In CGuardPro each officer has a document file with expiry dates, and the system sweeps them and raises the ones coming due, so a lapsed certification shows up in a report instead of at a client audit. When a shift is assigned in the scheduler, a current licence is one of the checks that runs, alongside double shifts and minimum rest, and officers work from the same security guard app whether they are in Portland or on a remote site.
CGuardPro is trusted by 600+ security companies worldwide, and Oregon’s entity license is a good example of why operators want credential tracking in the same system as the schedule. For the general discipline of keeping company and officer renewals from lapsing, see our license renewal checklist, and for how requirements differ across states, our overview of security guard license requirements by state. If you are standing up an Oregon operation and want to see how the tracking works, get in touch.