In most states, security licensing sits with a professional licensing board or a consumer affairs office. In South Carolina it sits with the state’s top law enforcement agency. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the same agency that runs the state crime lab and investigates major crimes, licenses security companies and registers every officer they employ through its Regulatory Services unit. That placement shows up everywhere in the process, from fingerprint cards and drug screens to rules about what your company is allowed to call itself.
SLED’s Security Companies page has the application forms. The law is South Carolina Code Title 40, Chapter 18, and the detailed rules are in Chapter 73 of the state regulations, Article 9. Everything below was checked against those sources as of September 2026. Fees and forms change, so confirm the current versions with SLED before you file. This is not legal advice.
Contract or proprietary: two company licenses
South Carolina has two kinds of security business license.
A contract security business license is for companies that furnish security officers to others for a fee. The statute describes the business as providing private patrol, watchman, guard, security or bodyguard service for a fee. If you are starting a guard company, this is your license.
A proprietary security business license is for employers that use their own armed or uniformed staff, or staff with delegated arrest authority, on their own premises. A hospital or manufacturer with an in-house security department falls here. There is a narrow exemption for a non-uniformed, unarmed watchman or gatekeeper with no arrest authority working for an employer that is not a security business.
The rest of this guide focuses on the contract license.
What SLED asks of the licensee
The license is issued to a principal of the business, and that person has to qualify under § 40-18-50. Among the requirements: at least 21, a high school diploma or equivalent, US citizenship, no felony or crime of moral turpitude, and an honorable discharge if the applicant served. The experience requirement is the one that decides who can apply: at least two years as a supervisor or administrator in industrial security with a licensed security business or a SLED-approved security program, or as a sworn member of a federal, state, county or municipal law enforcement agency.
The applicant must also post a $10,000 surety bond with SLED, in favor of the state, on a form approved by the Attorney General. The statute and regulations we reviewed do not set a liability insurance minimum for the company license. Your clients almost certainly will, so price insurance anyway; see our note on the insurance your security provider must carry for what buyers typically ask for.
SLED’s new-license checklist lists what goes in the package, including a notarized application, fingerprint cards and a photo, the bond on SLED’s form, a judgment statement affidavit, an incorporation form, a disclosure of principals form, proof of the two years’ experience, and proof of the required officer training.
A certified training officer is part of the license
This is the requirement newcomers underestimate. The statute requires a competent certified training officer and an adequate training program, and the regulations say each licensed security business must employ or retain a SLED-certified private security training officer. You cannot simply buy an online course for your officers; somebody certified has to deliver and document the training, and SLED’s curriculum materials call for that person to attend annual in-service training.
Every officer is registered, every year
Each security officer needs a SLED registration certificate under § 40-18-80. The licensee must verify, immediately on hiring, that the officer holds a valid registration or has applied for one. Officers must be at least 18, US citizens, free of felony and moral-turpitude convictions, and must have passed a SLED-approved pre-employment drug test. The application includes fingerprints and a photo.
There is a short allowance for new hires: an officer can work for up to 30 days after SLED receives the application, but has no arrest authority and cannot carry a firearm until the certificate is issued. The licensee must notify SLED within 10 days of any hiring or termination.
On training, the regulations set a basic course of four or more hours, delivered by a certified training officer, completed and tested before the officer starts at a client site. SLED’s SafeguardSC curriculum adds at least two more hours for company orientation, policies and assignment-specific issues, so plan on six hours as a practical minimum. Check SLED’s current curriculum documents for the exact requirements.
Registered officers have the arrest authority of a sheriff’s deputy, but only on the property where they are employed. That is significant power, and it is why SLED treats the paperwork seriously.
Armed officers
Armed officers need a Security Weapons Permit, which requires a minimum age of 21 and proof of proficiency, and is valid for one year. Firearms training is delivered by a certified training officer or a certified law enforcement firearms instructor, with a supervised range qualification, and SLED’s curriculum calls for annual recertification and requalification. Rifles and shotguns need SLED’s written approval.
Fees and renewals: everything is annual
As of September 2026, SLED’s regulations and its own checklist list a $350 annual license fee for a contract or proprietary business, with annual registration fees for armed and unarmed officers and a separate fee for a weapons permit. SLED’s checklist says the fee is non-refundable. Confirm the current amounts on SLED’s forms before you pay.
The company license, officer registrations and weapons permits all run for one year. SLED’s regulations say renewals must be received at least 30 days, but not more than 60 days, before expiration. That window is tight, and it applies to every credential you hold. SLED’s renewal checklist also calls for new fingerprint cards every five years.
Rules that trip up new companies
South Carolina’s regulations cover things other states leave alone:
- Your name. Company names cannot use “police,” “enforcement,” “bureau” or “public safety,” and “security” or “protection” can only be used by licensed security entities.
- Your advertising. Paid advertising must include your SLED license number.
- Your vehicles. Patrol vehicles must be marked “security” with the company name, and blue lights need SLED’s written approval.
- Your principal’s record. The licensee must report an arrest to SLED within 72 hours.
Local governments add their own layer through business license taxes. Under the state’s standardization act, § 6-1-400, those licenses run on a May 1 to April 30 year, so check with each city or county where you will have posts.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Missing the 30-to-60-day renewal window. Early is not allowed and late is a problem.
- Hiring without a certified training officer in place. Training has to be delivered and documented by one.
- Letting a new hire carry before registration issues. The 30-day allowance is unarmed and without arrest authority.
- Forgetting the 10-day hire and termination notices.
- Branding with words SLED prohibits. Check your name before you register it.
How CGuardPro helps
South Carolina puts a yearly expiry date on almost everything: the company license, every officer registration and every weapons permit. 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 registration shows up in a report before a client asks. When shifts are assigned in the scheduler, a current licence is one of the checks that runs, alongside double shifts and minimum rest. Shift records, patrols and incident reports from the security guard app back up your training and supervision when SLED or a client asks.
CGuardPro is trusted by 600+ security companies worldwide. For keeping yearly renewals under control, see our license renewal checklist. If you are building a South Carolina operation and want to see how officer records work, get in touch.