{"id":47054,"date":"2026-05-05T12:55:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/?p=47054"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:55:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:55:40","slug":"sia-mandatory-refresher-training-door-supervisor-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/sia-mandatory-refresher-training-door-supervisor-renewal\/","title":{"rendered":"SIA Refresher Training Is Now Mandatory \u2014 What Door Supervisors Must Do Before Renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If your SIA licence is up for renewal any time soon, there&#8217;s a new hoop to jump through \u2014 and missing it means no licence. From April 2026, the Security Industry Authority requires all door supervisors and security guards to complete <a href=\"https:\/\/southeastonline.co.uk\/2026\/04\/29\/new-rules-mean-door-staff-must-do-more-to-safeguard-vulnerable-people-says-guildford-safeguarding-trainer\/\">mandatory refresher training<\/a> before they can renew. No refresher, no renewal. Simple as that.<\/p>\n<p>The change has been on the cards for a while, but the deadline is now real. According to industry trainers speaking to South East Online, a Guildford-based safeguarding trainer has warned that too many officers still don&#8217;t know the rules have shifted under their feet.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what&#8217;s actually changing, who it affects, and what you need to do \u2014 in plain English.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/inbody_1_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>What the new SIA refresher training rules actually say<\/h2>\n<p>The SIA has introduced a refresher training requirement that applies to anyone renewing a door supervisor or security guard licence. It&#8217;s not a brand-new full course \u2014 it&#8217;s a top-up. The point is to make sure every working officer is current on the things that have changed since their original training, sometimes a decade ago.<\/p>\n<p>The refresher covers updated content on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Safeguarding vulnerable people \u2014 including spotting predatory behaviour, child sexual exploitation, and signs of spiking<\/li>\n<li>Counter-terrorism awareness, in line with Martyn&#8217;s Law expectations<\/li>\n<li>Mental health awareness and de-escalation<\/li>\n<li>First aid basics, including emergency response to incidents like cardiac arrest<\/li>\n<li>Updated physical intervention techniques (for door supervisors specifically)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The SIA says the goal is to raise the baseline. The industry has changed. The threats have changed. The training has to keep up.<\/p>\n<h2>Who needs to do it \u2014 and when<\/h2>\n<p>If you hold a front-line door supervisor or security guard licence and your renewal date falls on or after April 2026, you need to complete the refresher before you can submit your renewal application.<\/p>\n<p>That means in practice:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Renewing in early 2026?<\/strong> You may slip in under the wire \u2014 but check your exact renewal date.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renewing later in 2026 or beyond?<\/strong> Refresher training is non-negotiable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Already let your licence lapse?<\/strong> You&#8217;ll likely need to redo the full top-up qualification, not just a refresher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don&#8217;t leave it to the last week. Training providers are already reporting that course slots are filling up, and a backlog is forming as the deadline gets closer.<\/p>\n<h2>Why the SIA brought this in<\/h2>\n<p>The honest answer: a lot has changed since most working officers got their badge. The original Level 2 door supervisor qualification many people took years ago didn&#8217;t include serious safeguarding content, didn&#8217;t reflect Martyn&#8217;s Law, and barely touched mental health.<\/p>\n<p>High-profile incidents \u2014 spiking cases, terror attacks at venues, deaths in custody-style restraints \u2014 have pushed the regulator to demand a higher baseline. The Guildford trainer quoted by South East Online put it bluntly: door staff are often the first people a vulnerable person encounters in a venue, and they need the tools to act.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Door staff must do more to safeguard vulnerable people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That&#8217;s the message in a sentence. The refresher is how the SIA enforces it.<\/p>\n<h2>How to find an approved training provider<\/h2>\n<p>Only training delivered by an SIA-endorsed awarding organisation counts. That means courses certified through bodies like Highfield, Pearson, Qualsafe, or Industry Qualifications. If a provider can&#8217;t tell you which awarding body endorses their refresher, walk away.<\/p>\n<p>Before you book, check:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The course title matches the SIA&#8217;s published refresher specification for your licence type<\/li>\n<li>The provider is listed on the awarding body&#8217;s approved centre register<\/li>\n<li>You&#8217;ll receive a recognised certificate the SIA will accept at renewal<\/li>\n<li>The course covers in-person physical intervention assessment if you&#8217;re a door supervisor \u2014 online-only won&#8217;t cut it<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Cost is typically in the \u00a3100\u2013\u00a3200 range depending on provider and location. Some employers cover it. Many don&#8217;t. Ask.<\/p>\n<h2>What happens if you don&#8217;t do the refresher<\/h2>\n<p>Your renewal application will be refused. Full stop. You can&#8217;t work on the door without a valid licence, and your employer can&#8217;t legally roster you. If you turn up to a shift with an expired badge, the venue risks SIA enforcement action \u2014 which can mean fines for the operator and a black mark against your name.<\/p>\n<p>Worse, if you let your licence fully lapse, you may have to retake the entire top-up qualification rather than just the refresher. That&#8217;s more time, more money, and more time off the rota.<\/p>\n<h2>What to do this week<\/h2>\n<p>Three quick actions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Check your licence expiry date<\/strong> on your SIA online account. Renewals open up to four months before expiry.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Book your refresher early.<\/strong> A <a href=\"courses\/door-supervisor\">door supervisor training course<\/a> provider near you will have refresher options listed alongside the full qualification.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep your certificate safe.<\/strong> You&#8217;ll need to upload it as part of your <a href=\"sia-licence-help\">SIA licence application<\/a> at renewal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The rules aren&#8217;t going away, and the SIA isn&#8217;t shy about refusing applications that don&#8217;t meet the new standard. A morning&#8217;s training now beats a month off the door later.<\/p>\n<p>For close protection officers, the refresher rules differ \u2014 check the <a href=\"courses\/close-protection\">close protection course<\/a> guidance for your licence stream specifically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SIA mandatory refresher training is now required before door supervisor licence renewal. Here&#8217;s what&#8217;s covered, who needs it, and how to book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":47052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4779],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47055,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47054\/revisions\/47055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}