Security guard licence in Puerto Rico: requirements, cost and how to get it

It is the law asking, not the employer

In Puerto Rico the security guard profession is regulated by Act No. 108 of 29 June 1965, and the licence is issued by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau. When a job posting asks you for a guard licence, it is not imposing a rule of its own: it is telling you what the law requires to practise.

That has an upside. Because the requirement comes from the law and not from the company, the licence works with any employer. You get it once and you can work wherever suits you.

And there is better news that almost nobody knows: many security companies hire people without a licence and help them get one. In postings you will see it written as “with or without a guard licence.” Not having one does not always close the door.

The requirements, as the law states them

Article 4(B) of Act 108-1965 sets the requirements for the private guard licence. This is what it asks for:

• Be 18 or older.
• Not have been convicted of a felony, nor of a misdemeanour involving moral turpitude.
• Be a person of excellent moral reputation.
• Post a bond or present an insurance policy, per Article 7 of the law.
• Pay the licence fees set in Article 12.
• Not be a habitual drunk, mentally unbalanced, or addicted to drugs and narcotics, nor have been convicted of a drug-related offence.
• Provide your fingerprints to the Bureau.
• Pass a training course of at least four weeks given by the Police Academy.
• Be physically and mentally fit, certified by a physician on the application form itself.

Careful with this one: you do not need detective school

The same law regulates two different licences, and people mix them up constantly. The private detective licence requires passing a thousand-hour course at an authorised school, plus a written exam from the Superintendent. That is months of study and real money.

The security guard licence asks for none of that. It asks for the four-week Police Academy course, and that is it. There is no statutory written exam for guards, no thousand-hour school and no credit transcript.

If somebody is trying to sell you an expensive thousand-hour course so you can work as a guard, they are selling you something you do not need.

What it costs and how often it renews

Article 12 of the law sets the fees, and the figure surprises a lot of people:

• Security guard licence: $20.
• Private detective licence: $50.
• Detective or security agency licence: $50.
• The guard and detective licences expire every two years. The agency licence expires every year.
• Fees are paid with electronic internal revenue vouchers. The law says expressly that non-digital internal revenue stamps are not accepted.

Renewal requires classroom hours

When you renew, the law requires six hours of continuing education every two years. Of those six, four must compulsorily be taken at the Police Academy, in courses they design.

Note it down the day you get the licence. Reaching the renewal date without the hours done is the most common way people end up unable to work for a while.

The paperwork you need to gather

The application is Police Bureau form PPR-136.1, “Solicitud de Licencia Detective Privado o Guardia de Seguridad.” It is sworn before a notary public. Gather this before you start:

• The completed application, sworn before a notary.
• Colour 2x2 photos with a white background.
• Birth certificate.
• Fingerprint card.
• Criminal record certificate.
• The medical certification, which is part of the form itself and is signed by a physician licensed in Puerto Rico.
• Evidence of the bond or policy, and the electronic voucher for the payment.

The provisional licence: you can start sooner

The regulation that administers the law provides for a provisional security guard licence. It exists precisely for the person who already has the job offer and is in the middle of the paperwork.

Ask about it at the agency hiring you and at the Bureau. If it applies to your case, it saves you waiting out the whole process before you can start.

The weapons licence is a different thing, and you probably do not need it

This is the confusion that costs people the most money. The security guard licence and the weapons licence are two separate procedures, under different laws and different offices.

If the post is UNARMED, you do not need a weapons licence. Full stop. Most of the positions advertised in Puerto Rico, in malls, hospitals, universities and offices, are unarmed. The Bureau's own form treats the weapons licence as an optional field it asks about, not as a requirement of the guard licence.

Only if you are going to carry a firearm at work do you also need the weapons licence, which is governed by the Puerto Rico Weapons Act (Act 168-2019) and is also issued by the Police Bureau, in a separate process with its own cost and its own training.

Practical advice: get the guard licence first, start working unarmed, and weigh the weapons licence later, once you know whether it is really worth it for you. Armed posts pay more, but they also put another responsibility on your shoulders.

If you have a criminal record

The law excludes anyone convicted of a felony, of a misdemeanour involving moral turpitude, or of drug-related offences. It is a hard requirement and worth knowing before you spend on the process.

But not every record falls into those categories, and Puerto Rico has both expungement of criminal records and rehabilitation for public service. We have guides on both. If your case is old or minor, it is worth finding out where you stand before ruling yourself out.

What never works is hiding it: the application is sworn before a notary, and lying there is perjury, on top of disqualifying you.