Required Qualifications for Close Protection

When you apply for a front line Close Protection licence you must show that you have had the training required of a licensed operative. This means that you must hold the qualification below, or one of the older licence-linked qualifications.

Current Qualification

Qualification Awarding Organisations
Level 3 Certificate for Working as a Close Protection Operative within the Private Security Industry AoFAQualifications- this link opens in a new window
City & Guilds- this link opens in a new window
HABC- this link opens in a new window
IQ- this link opens in a new window
Pearson BTEC- this link opens in a new window

Older Qualifications

We will accept some older qualifications in support of a licence application so long as the following conditions are met:

  • If you are applying for a licence for the first time - the qualification must have been achieved less than three years prior to your application.
  • If you have previously held a Close Protection licence - it has been less than three years since your previous licence was active.

Which qualifications do we accept?

Licence Renewals and Training

There are no requirements to take refresher training if you currently have a licence and you are looking to renew it.