How to get a security guard licence in Prince Edward Island — the Firearms Office route, good character and a possible security check, and the fee, age, training and licence-term details the opened official pages do not state.
Applies in: Prince Edward Island
Security guard licensing in Prince Edward Island is administered by the PEI Firearms Office under the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. P-20, and the Private Investigators and Security Guards Regulations. Under the Act, anyone who provides, or works as, a private investigator or security guard must hold a valid licence. This guide is about the individual licence to act as a security guard only. It states only what the opened official pages state, and it names the gaps plainly where those pages are silent, so confirm each gap with the Firearms Office before you rely on it.
You must hold a valid licence before working as a security guard in Prince Edward Island. An applicant for a licence must be of good character and may be required to undergo a security check. The Minister may refuse to issue a licence if, in the Minister's opinion, it would be in the public interest to do so.
The licence is tied to employment by a business or agency. Where a licence is suspended, cancelled or terminated, or where the licensee ceases to be employed by a business or agency, the licence must be returned forthwith to the Minister together with the identification card issued to the licensee. If you plan to carry on the business yourself as a sole proprietor and act as a security guard in carrying on that business, you must obtain both a licence to carry on the business and a licence to act as a security guard.
No opened official page states a minimum age, a citizenship or work-eligibility requirement, or a general training or exam requirement for an individual security guard. Do not carry figures or requirements from other provinces or from non-official sites into this application. Confirm eligibility with the Firearms Office first.
The Firearms Office page lists four application forms, including an Application for a Security Guard, alongside forms for a private investigator licence and for the two business licences. Use the individual form for a security guard, not a business form. The business licence form carries a $200 fee for a private investigation business licence, and that figure is not the individual guard fee.
Get the current form from the Firearms Office and confirm it is the current individual form before completing it. Contact the PEI Firearms Office, 161 Maypoint Road, Charlottetown, PE C1E 1X6, by telephone at (902) 368-5536, or by email at CFOPEI@cfp-pcaf.ca.
An application for a licence must be accompanied by a full set of fingerprints if requested by the Minister. No opened official page states a photograph or identification document requirement for an individual guard application, so confirm what to include with the form when you request it.
Every application for a licence to act as a security guard, or renewal of one, must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. No opened official page states the amount of the prescribed fee for an individual security guard licence, and no opened official page states the accepted payment methods for an individual application. Confirm the current fee amount and how to pay with the Firearms Office before submitting, and do not use the $30 figure or any other figure from a non-official site.
Fees submitted with an application for an individual licence are not returnable even though the application is rejected for good reason, so check the application is complete and the eligibility position is confirmed before paying.
The business licence form gives the return address as Department of Justice and Public Safety, c/o the Firearms Office, P.O. Box 2000, 161 Maypoint Road, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8, with telephone 902-368-5536. The Firearms Office page gives the office address as 161 Maypoint Road, Charlottetown, PE C1E 1X6. Both wordings are preserved here because the two opened pages differ. Confirm the correct mailing address with the Firearms Office before posting an application. No opened official page states a processing time, so confirm the expected wait when you submit.
No security guard may wear a uniform which has not been approved by the Minister. While on duty, a security guard must at all times display over the left breast pocket on the outermost garment worn a fabric patch bearing the words Security Guard in clearly legible dark or light letters not less than three-eighths of an inch in height upon a contrasting dark or light background. A security guard must not wear on a uniform any insignia or badge which uses or displays the word Police.
A security guard must not wear, as part of the uniform, a combination of belt and shoulder strap commonly known as Sam Browne equipment, or any similar belt and shoulder strap, except a guard authorized and granted a permit to carry a restricted weapon for a specific duty, who may wear it only when actually carrying the restricted weapon and performing that specific duty. In general, a person licensed as a security guard must not carry a restricted weapon as described in the Criminal Code, with a narrow exception where the local registrar of firearms authorizes carrying for the execution of a specific duty supported by a recommendation from a senior member of the police force in the area, and where the licensee is fully trained, fully qualified and fully aware of the law on the use of force.
A person to whom a licence is granted under the Act is not an authorized peace officer. Do not hold yourself out as a police officer or as performing a police function.
An individual licence is issued in the form of an identification card. If your licence is suspended, cancelled or terminated, or if you cease to be employed by the business or agency, return the licence forthwith to the Minister together with the identification card. When a licence has been cancelled due to termination of employment with the business or agency for which it was issued, it cannot be reactivated except through a new application and the payment of the prescribed fee.
No opened official page states the licence term, an expiry or anniversary date, renewal steps, or a processing time. The Regulations mention renewal only in the fee rule in Step 3. Confirm the term and the renewal steps with the Firearms Office well before any expiry date shown on your identification card, and keep your contact details current with the office. For questions, contact the PEI Firearms Office, 161 Maypoint Road, Charlottetown, PE C1E 1X6, by telephone at (902) 368-5536, or by email at CFOPEI@cfp-pcaf.ca.
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No individual fee amount is stated on any opened official page. The Regulations state only that every application must be accompanied by the prescribed fee, and that fees submitted with an individual licence application are not returnable even though the application is rejected for good reason. The $200 fee on the business licence form is the fee for a private investigation business licence, not an individual guard licence. Confirm the current individual fee and the accepted payment method with the Firearms Office before paying.
No general training course, test or exam requirement for individual security guards is stated on any opened official page. Training is mentioned in the Regulations only for a licensed person authorized to carry a restricted weapon for a specific duty. Confirm with the Firearms Office whether any training applies to your application rather than assuming a course is required or that none is.
Neither a minimum age nor a citizenship or work-eligibility requirement for a security guard licence is stated on any opened official page. The age of 18 stated on the Firearms Office page concerns bringing firearms into Canada, not a security guard licence. Confirm the eligibility requirements with the Firearms Office before applying.
The Regulations tie the licence to employment by a business or agency: where the licensee ceases to be employed by the business or agency, the licence and identification card must be returned forthwith, and a cancelled licence cannot be reactivated except through a new application and the prescribed fee. A sole proprietor who carries on the business of providing security guards and intends to act as a security guard must obtain both a business licence and an individual licence. No opened official page states whether employment must come before the application, so confirm the order with the Firearms Office.
An applicant must be of good character and may be required to undergo a security check, and the Minister may refuse a licence if, in the Minister's opinion, it would be in the public interest to do so. The Regulations state that a person appointed as a constable or special constable under the Police Act may not hold a licence as a private investigator or a private investigation business, and no equivalent exclusion for security guards is stated. No out-of-province recognition or waiver is stated on any opened official page. Confirm your position with the Firearms Office in each case before assuming anything is waived.
No licence term, anniversary or expiry date is stated on any opened official page, and no renewal steps or processing time is stated. The Regulations mention renewal only in stating that an application for a licence or renewal must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. Confirm the term, the renewal steps and the expected processing time with the Firearms Office.