How to Become a Security Officer in Washington State

Washington is one of the states that licenses private security individually, which means becoming a Security Guard or Security Officer here is a defined legal process — not just a job application. The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) issues the license, the requirements are written into state law under RCW 18.170.105 and WAC 308-18-300, and a company cannot legally put you on a post until those boxes are checked. Here is the honest, step-by-step version — including the parts most job postings leave out.

Step 1: Meet the baseline requirements

To hold an unarmed private security guard license in Washington you must be at least 18 years old and be employed by — or hold a job offer from — a licensed private security guard company. That second requirement surprises people: you cannot license yourself independently and then go shopping for work. A licensed company must sponsor you, which is why the practical first move is applying with a reputable employer rather than paying for a course on your own.

You must also complete the pre-assignment training requirement before the license is issued. Armed work is a separate, stricter license with a higher age floor and firearms certification; Diligence Security is an unarmed agency, so nothing on this page requires a firearm.

Step 2: Apply through DOL and pay the fee

Applications go to the DOL Private Security Guard Program, online through a SecureAccess Washington (SAW) account or by mail with the initial license application form and the application fee. Online is faster, and you need the application number the system gives you before you can move to fingerprints.

Step 3: Submit fingerprints for a background check

Every security guard applicant in Washington must complete a fingerprint-based background check. Inside Washington that is scheduled through the state's electronic fingerprinting vendor, IdentoGO, and you pay the fingerprinting and background-check fee yourself. Applicants outside Washington submit prints through a local law enforcement agency. Expect this step to drive your timeline more than any other — plan for the results to take weeks, not days.

Practical advice from hiring: disclose your history honestly on the application. Applicants are far more often disqualified for a discrepancy between what they wrote and what the background check returns than for the underlying record itself.

Step 4: Complete 8 hours of pre-assignment training

State rule requires eight hours of pre-assignment training, of which at least four hours must occur in an organized and formal setting; the remaining four may be formal or individual instruction, and the topics are prescribed by rule. Training must be delivered and attested to by a DOL-certified trainer, and a test is given at the end. Officers who most recently worked full time as a sworn peace officer within the past five years may have the pre-assignment training waived if they pass that same examination.

Eight hours is the legal floor for entry — a single day. That is worth sitting with, because it is also the entire formal preparation many Guards in this industry ever receive before being handed a post. Our Officer Integration Program exists precisely because eight hours is not enough to prepare a person for the situations a real property produces.

Step 5: Complete 8 hours of post-assignment training

After you are licensed and working, state law requires eight hours of initial post-assignment training in director-established topic areas, which can be classroom or individual instruction. The deadline depends on when you were licensed: Officers licensed between January 1 and June 30 have until June 30 of the following year, and Officers licensed between July 1 and December 31 have until December 31 of the following year. A company may waive it for a licensed Officer transferring from another company who presents signed training records from a DOL-certified trainer or a signed affidavit that the training was completed.

Step 6: Keep up 4 hours of annual refresher training

Every year after that, at least four hours of refresher training is required. State law is specific about the content: no more than one hour per year may focus directly on customer-service topics, and the remaining three hours must focus on emergency response concepts and skills — including post orders and life safety. Companies are required to keep training records describing the topics covered, signed by both the certified trainer and the Security Guard, and DOL can inspect them.

What the license does not teach you

Nothing in the statute teaches judgment. The Officers who last in this profession share a set of habits the licensing process never measures:

• Writing clearly. Reports are the product. An Officer who cannot describe what happened in plain, timestamped, factual language cannot protect a Client from liability.
• Staying calm while being provoked. Verbal de-escalation is the primary tool of an unarmed Officer, and it is a learned skill.
• Reliability at unglamorous hours. Most security work happens between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., in weather, alone.
• Knowing the limits of your authority. A Security Officer is not a police Officer. Understanding detainment law and use-of-force limits protects you, the Client, and the company.
• Observation discipline. Learning a property well enough to notice what is different tonight is the entire job.

A realistic timeline and cost

For most candidates, the sequence runs: apply with a licensed company, complete pre-assignment training, submit the DOL application and fee, get fingerprinted, then wait on the background check. Depending on the fingerprint and background-check turnaround, entering the field commonly takes several weeks from first interview. Out-of-pocket cost is the DOL application fee plus the fingerprinting fee; many employers, including us, cover or offset training. Always confirm current fees directly with DOL, since amounts change.

How Diligence Security trains new Officers

We hold the state requirement as a starting line, not a standard. New hires complete OIP 1 — four days of classroom instruction plus onboarding and field training — covering Washington licensing and detainment law, post orders, observation, CPTED, emergency and medical response, Fire Watch Officer fundamentals, the legal limits of force, our five-level Escalation of Force Continuum, and professional report writing, with a written exam requiring 80% or better. After probation, Officers become eligible for OIP 2, six more days of advanced development. That is 13 days of training before role-specific tracks, and 14 for those moving into a Supervisor role.

If you are looking for the fast version of this article: get hired by a company that trains, and let them walk you through licensing. We hire unarmed Officers across the Puget Sound and no guard card is required to apply — see open Officer positions. We also offer open-enrollment certification for other Washington security companies that need their Guards trained and endorsed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to a local security Team

Diligence Security protects commercial, industrial, and residential properties across the Puget Sound. Explore our Security services — from Mobile Patrols to Emergency Fire Watch — or see the Areas we serve. Ready to talk? Contact us for a site evaluation.