Training for Security, Hospitality, Health & Safety and First Aid

The Door Supervisor licence is the broader of the two. It covers everything a Security Guard licence covers, plus licensed premises and door work — pubs, clubs, festivals and events. It does not work the other way round.

• Door Supervisor — 6 days: nightlife, events, retail, corporate and static sites. Includes physical intervention training, which is why it runs 2 days longer.
• Security Guard — 4 days: static guarding and patrols at offices, shops, warehouses and sites. No door work, no physical intervention.

Employers often prefer the Door Supervisor qualification because they can deploy you anywhere. If you are undecided, that flexibility is usually worth the 2 extra days. See Door Supervisor Training.

Yes. You must already hold a valid Emergency First Aid at Work certificate on day 1 of Door Supervisor Training. Not by the time you apply to the SIA — before you walk into the room.

• Do not have one? Book EFAW first. It is 1 day, and you can add it to the same booking so the order is sorted for you.
• Already hold one? Check the expiry date. First aid certificates last 3 years, and an expired one will not be accepted on the day.
• Turning up without it: you will not be able to sit the course, so this is worth checking now rather than the night before.
• Other licences: Security Guard and CCTV Operator do not require it. Plenty of officers take it anyway, because employers like having a first aider on the team.

Book both together and you arrive with the prerequisite already ticked off. See EFAW dates.

Your total is made of 2 costs: the training course, and the £204 licence fee you pay directly to the SIA when you apply. The fee is fixed. The course price varies by centre, date and package.

• Security Guard: training from £209.99 — the lowest-cost way in.
• CCTV Operator: training from £239.99 — the control room route.
• Door Supervisor: training from £259.99 — the broadest licence and the most popular route.
• Close Protection: training from £1,994 — the specialist end.
• The £204 fee: the same for every front line licence, and it covers the full 3-year life of the licence.

You can spread the course fee over 3 interest-free instalments or pay 30 days later. Compare courses and dates to see the exact price for your centre.

Most people are licensed and ready to work in 3 to 6 weeks from the day they book. Plan for around 4 weeks end to end as a realistic middle.

It breaks down like this:

• Training — 3 to 6 days: 3 for CCTV Operator, 4 for Security Guard, 6 for Door Supervisor, run on consecutive days so you can train inside a single week.
• SIA application — ~2 to 4 weeks: that is the usual decision time once your application is in and your checks are running.
• Job hunt — start early: you can line up work before the licence lands. See the roles your licence unlocks.

The course date sets your whole timeline, because the SIA application cannot start until the training is passed. Booking early is the single biggest thing you control.

No. Only some of them lead to an SIA licence. The rest are standalone qualifications you can hold on their own.

• Lead to an SIA licence: Door Supervisor, Security Guard, CCTV Operator, Close Protection and Cash and Valuables in Transit (CViT), plus the top-up refreshers that renew them.
• A different licence entirely: Personal Licence (APLH) leads to a personal licence issued by your local council, not the SIA.
• No licence involved: Emergency First Aid at Work, First Aid at Work and the Green CSCS Labourer Card are certificates and cards in their own right.
• Add-ons for working officers: handcuffs, BS7858 screening and Train the Trainer sit on top of a licence you already hold.

If you are not sure which camp your course falls into, the step-by-step licence guide lays out the full route.

Quite possibly, yes — a record is not an automatic bar. The SIA looks at every application individually: what the offence was, how serious it was, and how long ago it happened.

• Recent and relevant offences, such as violence or dishonesty, weigh heaviest. Older and unrelated ones weigh far less.
• Check before you spend: our free criminal record checker gives you an indication in minutes, before you book anything.

If the check looks positive, book with confidence. Thousands of people with old records hold SIA licences and work every week.

You need to be 18 or over to hold a front line SIA licence, and you need the right to work in the UK. You do not need to be a UK citizen: settled status, pre-settled status and work visas all count.

• You can train at 17: sitting the course before your 18th birthday is allowed. The SIA just will not issue the licence until you turn 18, so time the application, not the training.
• No qualifications needed: SIA courses are built for complete beginners. No security experience, no GCSEs, no prior certificates.
• Personal Licence (APLH): 18 or over, same as the SIA licences, because it lets you sell alcohol.
• First aid — 16: EFAW and FAW certificates are issued from 16. You can sit the training from 14, but the certificate is held until your 16th birthday.
• Green CSCS Labourer Card — 16: the minimum age to hold the card and work on a UK site.

The full entry route is set out in our step-by-step licence guide.

It depends on the course, and every course page states how that one is delivered before you book. We run all 3 modes: classroom, virtual and online.

• In person: Door Supervisor, Security Guard and Close Protection. The practical elements have to be done in the room, so there is no online version.
• Classroom or virtual, your choice: CCTV Operator runs both ways. Pick the classroom, or join live from home with the trainer on screen.
• Online: Personal Licence (APLH) and the Green CSCS Labourer Card, done in your own time.

For the in-person courses we run at 100+ centres across the UK, so there is usually one within reach. See locations.

You sit it again at no extra cost. In practice most people never need to: 95% pass first time.

• Gold and Platinum packages: unlimited retakes, so you keep going until you pass.
• Fail more than 4 times: you get a full refund. You are not left out of pocket either way.
• The trainers teach for the exam: they know exactly what the paper asks, so you go in prepared rather than hoping.
• One bad day is not the end: a failed exam delays your SIA application, it does not cancel it.

Book your course knowing the retake is there, then aim never to use it.

The top-up refresher that matches the licence you hold — you never repeat the full course. Your licence type is printed on the front of your SIA licence.

• Door Supervisor licence: the 2-day Door Supervisor Top-Up Refresher.
• Security Guard licence: the 1-day Security Guard Top-Up Refresher.
• Close Protection licence: the Close Protection Top-Up Refresher.
• Start up to 4 months early: the SIA accepts renewals 4 months before expiry, and whatever time is left carries over, so applying early costs you nothing.

The one thing to avoid is letting it expire completely. An expired licence means a brand-new application, not a renewal. See all top-up courses.

Yes, and plenty of officers do. A CCTV licence alongside a Door Supervisor licence opens control room shifts as well as door work, which means more of the week is coverable.

• Check what you already have first: a Door Supervisor licence already covers Security Guard work, so you may not need a second one at all.
• Each licence stands alone: its own qualification, its own £204 application, and its own refresher when it comes up for renewal.
• Apply on the same day and save: if you apply for 2 licences on the same application, the SIA charges 50% off the second fee — £102 instead of £204.

Our licence guide shows what each one covers, so you only pay for what you actually need.

Very likely. We run in-person training at 100+ centres across the UK, covering every major city and a lot of smaller towns, with new dates added every week.

• Availability varies by centre: Door Supervisor runs most weeks almost everywhere, while Close Protection runs at a smaller number of sites.
• Search by location: pick your city to see the courses and dates scheduled near you.

Find your nearest centre and lock in a date — the course date sets your whole timeline.

Yes. You pick the option at checkout, through Klarna or PayPal, and it applies to any course on this page.

• Pay in 3: spread the course fee over 3 monthly interest-free instalments.
• Pay in 30 days: book your place now, settle the course fee a month later.
• The £204 SIA fee is separate: it goes directly to the SIA when you apply, and it cannot be spread.

Pick your course and date to see the instalment amount for that booking.