How to Become a Sheriff in British Columbia
How to become a deputy sheriff in British Columbia through the BC Sheriff Service, from the mandatory criteria to recruit training.
How to Get a Security Guard Licence in British Columbia
How to get a security worker licence as a security guard in British Columbia: the 40-hour Basic Security Training course and assessment through the Justice Institute of BC, fingerprints and the criminal record check, the $120 one-year / $180 two-year / $240 three-year licence fees, and the 90-day under-supervision option.
Applies in: British Columbia
You cannot work as a security guard in British Columbia without a licence. The licence is a security worker licence with a security guard category, issued by the Security Programs Division of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General under the Security Services Act. The path is shorter than most people expect: check eligibility, finish a 40-hour training course and its assessment, get fingerprinted, and apply online. There is no degree requirement and no experience requirement for a first licence. What trips people up is sequencing — the fingerprints, the assessment window, and the fact that a licence from another province does not let you skip the British Columbia application.
Step 1: Check you meet the eligibility rules
The Division's requirements for a security worker licence are:
- 19 years of age or older
- Ordinarily resident in Canada
- Fluent in English (for most licence categories)
- Trained for the type of licence you are applying for
- Not a member of a police force as defined by the British Columbia Police Act (peace officers and retired police officers may still be eligible)
You also need to prove Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, or the ability to work in Canada. Note the age floor: it is 19 in British Columbia, not 18 as in Ontario. That one-year difference catches applicants who read an Ontario guide first.
Step 2: Complete Basic Security Training — or use another accepted route
The standard route to a full security guard licence is Basic Security Training (BST), the 40-hour training requirement under the Security Services Act. BST has two parts, both run through the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC):
- BST Theory (SCRT-1651). The 40-hour theory course. JIBC delivers it online in scheduled windows that run about two months part-time, and approved training partners deliver it in a classroom, typically in a one-week block. Current JIBC tuition is $347.32, plus a $3.32 learner services fee and $3.06 in other fees. You can also take BST at an Approved Security Training School on the JIBC's list; those schools set their own prices.
- BST Assessment (SCRT-1656). A separate registration you take after passing theory. You have a two-hour timeline to complete it, and you must complete it within six months of finishing the theory course. Passing the assessment is what completes the training requirement — finishing the theory course alone is not enough to apply.
One paperwork change worth knowing: the JIBC stopped issuing BST certificates after December 15, 2025. If you completed training after that date, the Division verifies your completion directly with the JIBC instead of asking you to attach a certificate. Older training may be called Basic Standard Training (Level 1 and 2); it is still accepted.
Three other routes meet the training requirement without BST:
- Peace-officer experience. Experience as a Canadian police officer, correctional officer, sheriff, or auxiliary, reserve or border services officer, proven with letters from your supervisor or human resources office.
- An out-of-province licence. A security worker licence from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Ontario. You still need the British Columbia licence (see Step 4), but you do not repeat the training.
- Working under supervision first. If you have no training yet, you can apply for a security guard under supervision licence. It requires no training, runs 90 days, and costs $60. Many people start on this licence with an employer and finish BST alongside the job.
Step 3: Get fingerprinted and consent to the criminal record check
Fingerprints are required for all security worker applicants on their initial application — there is no first-application exemption. Under the Security Services Regulation, the application includes prescribed checks, including identity verification and fingerprinting, and you provide consent to a criminal record check as part of the package. Get your fingerprints taken and keep the fingerprint confirmation slip; it goes in with your application. The fee for fingerprinting is set by the service that takes your prints, so it varies by city and provider.
Step 4: Apply on the Security Services Platform
Applications run online through the Security Services Platform. Signing in with a BC Services Card account verifies your identity and speeds the file up; you can apply without one, but the Division warns it may take longer. If you live in another province and do not hold a physical BC Services Card, you can still set up a BC Services Card account and apply online.
Your application package:
- Consent to a criminal record check
- Proof of required training or experience (for post-December 2025 BST, the Division verifies with the JIBC directly)
- Proof of Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, or ability to work in Canada
- A passport-quality photo
- Valid government-issued photo identification
- The fingerprint confirmation slip
- A mental health condition form, if it applies to you
Fees are charged by term: $60 for 90 days, $120 for one year, $180 for two years, $240 for three years. Pay by credit card (the Division's recommended option) or by certified cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance. Application fees are non-refundable, so file a complete package the first time. After you apply, the Division reviews your documents, completes the criminal record check, and emails you if anything else is needed.
Step 5: Stay licensed — renewals, updates, and add-ons
Renewals, replacements, and updates all run through the same Security Services Platform: pick renewal if your licence has not expired, new if it has, replacement if the licence is lost or stolen, and update for a name change, address change, a change in the type of security work you do, or to report new charges, convictions, or becoming a peace officer. One renewal detail from Step 3: renew through your BC Services Card account and your earlier fingerprints carry over; renew any other way and you submit new fingerprints.
Renewal fees are a separate table from new-application fees. The Division's application page (last updated September 28, 2026) states that renewal and change-to-licence fees differ from the new-application fees above and are shown inside the Security Services Platform when you log in — so do not budget a renewal at the new-application price. Check the platform for the renewal fee for your term before you file.
Two add-on authorizations sit on top of the basic licence, each with its own training and its own clock:
- Restraints (handcuffs). Advanced Security Training through the JIBC is the standard route, and AST must be renewed every three years.
- Dogs. Canine Security Validation through the JIBC, renewed every year.
Is it worth it?
The cost case is simple. On the JIBC route with a one-year licence you are at roughly $475 before fingerprinting, and the three-year term ($240 upfront) locks in three years at the new-application price if you plan to stay in the work — but renewal fees differ from new-application fees, so compare the platform's renewal fee before assuming the three-year term is cheapest over time. The demand case is the usual security mix: retail and mall security, condo and site patrol, event staffing, and loss prevention, concentrated in Metro Vancouver and the larger cities. The honest downsides are the same as anywhere in this trade: shift work, evenings and weekends, and a lot of part-time and contract postings at the entry level. What British Columbia adds is a licensing system that lets you start legally on the 90-day under-supervision licence while you finish training — use that bridge instead of waiting on the sidelines, and take the three-year term once you know the work fits.
Related: how to get a security guard licence in Ontario (the Ontario version of this process — 40-hour course, Serco exam, $80 licence — and how the two provinces differ), and how to start job hunting in Canada (where licensed guard jobs actually get posted and what employers ask for), and Licensed Occupations in British Columbia (every verified licence and credential in British Columbia, with the regulator that issues it).
The five steps to a British Columbia security guard licence
- Check eligibility19 or older, ordinarily resident in Canada, fluent in English, and not a member of a police force
- Complete Basic Security TrainingThe 40-hour BST theory course (JIBC or an approved school), then the BST Assessment within six months
- Get fingerprintedFingerprints are required for every first-time security worker applicant, plus consent to a criminal record check
- Apply on the Security Services PlatformOnline application with your training proof, photo, government photo ID and fingerprint confirmation slip
- Pick your term and pay90 days for $60, one year for $120, two years for $180, or three years for $240 — fees are non-refundable
What it costs (Security Programs Division and JIBC figures)
| JIBC BST Theory tuition (SCRT-1651) | $347.32, plus a $3.32 learner services fee and $3.06 in other fees on the current JIBC listing |
|---|---|
| Security worker licence, 90-day term | $60 |
| Security worker licence, one-year term | $120 |
| Security worker licence, two-year term | $180 |
| Security worker licence, three-year term | $240 |
Licence fees from the Security Programs Division application page; tuition from the JIBC course listing checked October 2026. Approved training schools set their own tuition, and fingerprinting is charged by the agency that takes your prints.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to get a security guard licence in British Columbia?
It depends mostly on the training calendar. JIBC runs the 40-hour BST theory course in one-week in-class blocks and in online windows that run about two months part-time. You then have six months to sit the BST Assessment. After that you get fingerprinted and file the licence application, and the Security Programs Division reviews your documents and completes a criminal record check before issuing the licence. If a course starts soon and you file a complete application, a few weeks is realistic; if you just missed an online intake, budget longer.
How much does it cost to become a security guard in British Columbia?
On the JIBC route, BST theory tuition is $347.32 plus a $3.32 learner services fee and $3.06 in other fees, and the licence itself is $120 for one year, $180 for two years, or $240 for three years. That puts a one-year licence at roughly $475 before fingerprinting, which is charged separately by the police service or agency that takes your prints. Approved security training schools set their own tuition, so classroom prices elsewhere will differ. Licence application fees are non-refundable.
Do I need Basic Security Training if I was a police officer or corrections officer?
No. The Security Programs Division accepts experience as a Canadian police officer, correctional officer, sheriff, or auxiliary, reserve or border services officer in place of BST. You apply directly to the Registrar and prove the experience with letters from your supervisor or human resources office. Serving members of a police force are a different case: you cannot hold a security worker licence while you are a member of a police force under the British Columbia Police Act.
I already have a security licence from another province. Can I work in British Columbia?
Not on the other province's licence alone. British Columbia requires anyone doing security work in the province to hold a British Columbia security worker licence, even if you are licensed elsewhere. The good news is that a security worker licence from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Ontario is one of the accepted ways to meet the training requirement, so you apply for the British Columbia licence without repeating BST.
Can I work as a security guard while I finish my training?
Yes. British Columbia has a security guard under supervision licence for people who have not completed training yet. No training is required to get it, and it runs on a 90-day term for a $60 application fee. It is the route employers use for new hires, event staff and people mid-course, but it is a bridge, not a substitute: the full licence still requires BST or one of the other accepted routes.
Do I really need to be fingerprinted for a British Columbia security licence?
Yes. Fingerprints are required for all security worker applicants on their first application, and you submit a fingerprint confirmation slip with your application along with your consent to a criminal record check. On renewal there is one exception: if you renew using your BC Services Card account and you have already submitted fingerprints, you do not need to provide new ones. Renew without the BC Services Card account and you must be fingerprinted again.
How long is a British Columbia security guard licence valid?
You choose the term when you apply: 90 days, one year, two years or three years, priced at $60, $120, $180 and $240. The fees above are the new-application fees; renewal and change fees differ and are shown inside the Security Services Platform when you log in. Renewals, replacements for a lost licence, and updates such as a name or address change all run through the same platform.
Do I have to retake Basic Security Training when I renew?
No. BST is a one-time training requirement for the full licence. Renewal is an application through the Security Services Platform, not a course repeat. The two add-on authorizations are the exception to the set-and-forget pattern: the restraints (handcuffs) authorization rests on Advanced Security Training, which must be renewed every three years, and the dog authorization rests on JIBC Canine Security Validation, which must be renewed every year.
What can stop a British Columbia security licence application?
The checks in the application itself. Every applicant consents to a criminal record check under the Security Services Regulation, and the Division reviews your record before issuing the licence. You also have to be 19 or older, ordinarily resident in Canada, fluent in English for most licence categories, and able to prove Canadian citizenship, permanent residency or the ability to work in Canada. If the Division needs more information after you apply, it contacts you by email; an incomplete file sits until you respond.
Is my British Columbia security worker licence valid in Alberta?
No. Alberta requires its own security service worker licence to do security work there, just as British Columbia requires its own — a BC licence does not transfer. What your BC licence does buy you is the training shortcut: [Alberta's licensing page](https://www.alberta.ca/security-service-worker-licence) lists a valid security licence from another Canadian province or territory as one of the ways to meet the training and exam requirement, so you apply for the Alberta licence with a copy of your active BC licence instead of taking Alberta Basic Security Training. You still complete Alberta's records checks and application, and the Alberta licence costs $100 for two years.
Sources
- Security Programs Division, Application and Licence Management Process (eligibility — 19 or older, ordinarily resident in Canada, fluent in English; fingerprints required for all initial applicants; application documents; fees $60 / $120 / $180 / $240 by term; fees non-refundable; BC Services Card account route; renewal, replacement and update rules) —
- Security Programs Division, Security worker training requirements (under-supervision licence needs no training; full licence routes — JIBC BST certificate, Canadian police / correctional / sheriff / auxiliary / reserve / border services experience, or a security worker licence from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Ontario; restraints and dog authorization training) —
- Security Programs Division, Security licensing process and licence conditions policies (s. 2.6.6 — JIBC Basic Security Training Certificates accepted, including the former Basic Standard Training Level 1 and 2; direct application route for applicants with Canadian police, correctional, sheriff, auxiliary, reserve or border services experience) —
- Justice Institute of British Columbia, Basic Security Training Theory (SCRT-1651) (40-hour training requirement under the Security Services Act; online and approved-partner classroom delivery; assessment registration follows theory; tuition $347.32 plus $3.32 learner services fee and $3.06 other fees on the current listing)
- Justice Institute of British Columbia, Basic Security Training Assessment (SCRT-1656) (theory plus assessment together make up the training requirement; two-hour assessment timeline; assessment within six months of completing theory; applicants must be 19 to apply for a security worker licence)
- Government of Alberta, Security service worker licence — an Alberta licence is required to work in Alberta; a valid licence from another Canadian province or territory meets the training and exam requirement; $100 fee, two-year validity —