Check a NSW security licence in 10 seconds

Why this is the first check, not the last

Providing security services in NSW without a Master Licence is an offence under the Security Industry Act 1997. That is not paperwork trivia. If you hire an unlicensed operator and something goes wrong, you are dealing with a business that was never entitled to be on your site, with all the insurance and liability mess that implies. The check takes ten seconds and it is free, so it belongs at the start of every hiring conversation, before price.

The two licences that must both exist

A legitimate security company involves two layers of licensing. The company itself holds a Master Licence, which authorises it to provide security operatives. Each guard on your site holds their own operative licence. Both are checkable on the same public register, and a company that is right to deal with will volunteer its Master Licence number without being asked. Every company listed on this site shows its Master Licence number on its profile with a link to the register.

Check it in ten seconds

1. Get the Master Licence number. Legitimate companies print it on their website, quotes and invoices.
2. Open the NSW public register at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au and choose the security licence check.
3. Search by the licence number, or by the business name if you do not have the number.
4. Confirm the licence status is current and the name on the licence matches the entity actually quoting you. A licence in a different name to the one on the invoice is a question that needs answering.
5. If a company cannot or will not give you a number to check, stop there.

What the Master Licence classes tell you

Master Licences come in subclasses that cap how many licensed operatives the holder can field on any one day: class MA covers a self-employed individual working alone, MB allows up to 3 operatives, MC up to 14, MD up to 49, and ME is unlimited. This matters practically. A company on an MB licence promising you a twelve guard event cannot lawfully staff it from its own licence alone. Subcontracting between licensed companies is legal and common, but you are entitled to ask whose guards will actually stand on your site, and to check that company too.

The guards themselves

Individual operative licences also come in classes. Under class 1, the NSW register lists security officers, bodyguards, cash-in-transit guards, guard dog handlers, monitoring centre operators and armed guards. Class 2 covers consultants, equipment specialists and trainers. Retail loss prevention work now sits within the security officer class. Guards must carry their licence while working, and you can ask to sight it. For roles involving guard dogs or firearms, the providing company must also hold at least 10 million dollars in public liability insurance, so ask for the certificate of currency.

Red flags that end the conversation

• No licence number on the website, the quote or the invoice
• We operate under a partner's licence, with no paper trail showing whose licence and whose guards
• A price that could not cover award wages plus insurance, someone is paying for that discount and it might end up being you
• Reluctance to email a certificate of currency for public liability insurance
• A licence check that returns expired, suspended or a different trading name

What we check before a company is listed

Every company on this site holds a current NSW Master Licence. We record the number, verify it on the public register, show the verification date on the profile, and link straight to the register so you can repeat the check yourself in ten seconds.

Once the licence checks out, the next question is price. Security guards in Sydney covers what guard hire costs and how licensed providers quote, so you walk into the conversation with a number.