PSE - California Employer License

It's been a full two years since the State of California mandated that any business that hired anyone to act as an in house security guard be licensed as a Proprietary Security Employer or PSE. This process for employers, when you completely understand it, is very simple and inexpensive. However, it will take you some time to really understand it. Here is a outline of the process we wrote to help you license your business as a PSE. If you have any issues, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Good Luck!

This outline was created to provide an easy to understand guide for any employer who decides to hire their own in house security guards. If you are a bar, a club or any other type of employer who hires their own security guards, you are now known as a Proprietary Security Employer or PSE. The regulatory agency for this new license is the CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF SECURITY AND INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES or BSIS.

First, so you know we are not just giving you our own interpretation of the law. Not at all, in fact, in 2008, our company President was appointed the chairperson for the state committee that wrote the training program and guidelines surrounding it. He attended meetings and had several bi-weekly conversations with the state about the law, the issues of getting the word out to operators and the law enforcement perspective on it. Finally, the training program that our company has used throughout the country for years was the model the committee used to create the training requirements and in May, 2010, we were the first California company issued a license to offer the training. Our California license number is P-00001.

Here is the outline of the EMPLOYER licensing processes.

Proprietary Security Employer or PSE

1. Go to the BSIS website and download the EMPLOYER REGISTRATION FORM. The employer or manager of each establishment that plans to hire their own Proprietary Private Security Officers or a PSO's can complete the document and mail it to BSIS with the $75.00 dollar fee. This document must be resubmitted every 2 years along with a $35.00 dollar renewal fee that should be sent to BSIS. Every employer should keep a copy and a receipt of payment. Employers waiting for the license certificate to be delivered via mail should periodically check the BSIS website link "Verify a License" to see if their establishment has been licensed. If you find your company name in the Verify a License area, print that page out incase of a law enforcement inspection.

2. For more information, see the PSE FACT SHEET

3. The PSE must keep all their employee PSO paperwork onsite for a minimum of 2 years. This includes the following; 1) A copy of each employee PSO Registration Card. As with your PSE registration, once they have filled their paperwork with the state, you can use the BSIS website to print a copy from the "Verify a License" section. And, 2) A copy of the PSO Training Certificate issued by the approved training facility.

That's it for the employer or a PSE. I hope this all makes sense and can help you understanding the employer licensing process.

Finally, if you are an employer that ONLY hires an outside security company to supply security guards for your bar, club or business, you do not need to register with the state. But, be careful that none of your employees "occasionally" act as security and are found to be unlicensed.

Should you or any of your staff members have ANY questions, don't hesitate to contact us directly.