Licence check · Reviewed 13 August 2026

SIA Licence Check

Every SIA licence — door supervisor, security guard, CCTV, close protection and the rest — can be checked in the Register of Licence Holders, the Security Industry Authority (SIA)'s own free public search. You need either the 16-digit licence number, or a surname plus a detail or two to narrow it down.

Search the official SIA register GOV.UK start page

Opens rolh.services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk — the SIA's own service. Free, no account, no login. DoorSupervisorTests is an independent study resource: we do not host, mirror or search the register, and we are not the SIA.

Free

Cost to search

16 digits

Licence number, no spaces

Licence sectors listed

Status values you may see

What the Register of Licence Holders Is

The SIA's own free, public search of the licences it has issued. GOV.UK's start page for it says you must check that someone has the correct security licence before you hire them for private security work, and that you could be fined or sent to prison if you pay someone to work in security without the right SIA licence.

The Register of Licence Holders is the SIA's official service and the only authoritative public source for SIA licence status. This site does not host, mirror or search the register — the link above goes to the SIA's own tool.

One address, two old ones. Both older addresses still work but return an HTTP 301 redirect to https://rolh.services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/, which is the current address of the service. Older third-party pages often still quote the services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk address.

DoorSupervisorTests is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) or any awarding body. Everything below explains how to use the SIA's register and how to read what it gives back — the search itself always happens on the SIA's own site.

What You Need Before You Search

The register offers two searches, and they behave very differently. Take the number if you can get it: a name search on its own is the single most common reason people conclude, wrongly, that someone has no licence.

Search by licence number

Required

16-digit SIA licence number

The register's own hint text reads: 'This is a 16 digit number. Please enter the number with no spaces'. The field accepts digits only. The SIA's on-screen advice is that the licence number is the most efficient way to search.

Search by name

Required

Surname / family name

Optional, to narrow it down

First name
Middle name
Date of birth (day, month, year)
Role — Front Line or Non Front Line
Licence sector

Surname is the only mandatory field, but a surname on its own will often return too many matches to display. Where a search returns nothing, the register itself suggests one of these combinations: surname, first name and date of birth; surname, initial letter of first name and date of birth; or surname, first name, licence sector and role.

The sector and role filters: the sectors a name search offers are Key Holding, Security Guarding, Door Supervision, Public Space Surveillance (CCTV), Cash and Valuables in Transit, Vehicle Immobilisation, Close Protection. The role is either Front Line or Non Front Line. Both filters are optional, and a wrong guess on either one hides the record you are looking for — so leave them blank unless you are certain.

What an SIA Licence Record Shows — and What It Does Not

A register result confirms a licence. It is not a background check, a reference, or proof of employment, and reading more into it than it says is how employers get caught out.

The record shows

First name
Surname
Licence number
Status
Role — Front Line or Non Front Line
Licence sector
Expiry date
Status explanation
Additional conditions attached to the licence (or 'None')

A list of matches shows fewer columns than the record itself: Name, Licence number, Status, Actions. Open the individual record for the full detail.

The record does not show

The licence holder's date of birth — it can be used to narrow a name search, but it is not displayed in the result
The licence holder's address or contact details
The licence holder's photograph
Who the licence holder works for, or where they are working
Which qualification the licence holder took, which training provider delivered it, or when
Any criminal record information, or the reasons behind a refusal
Whether a pending application exists — only licences the SIA has already granted are on the register
Whether the person is covered by a Licence Dispensation Notice issued by an SIA approved contractor

How to Read the Result

Expired and revoked licences are not removed from the register — they appear with that status. So a result that says Expired or Revoked is a real answer, not a failed search. The register's front end also has a fallback 'Unknown' status label for records whose status it cannot classify.

Active

The licence is live. Check the expiry date on the same record and that the licence sector matches the work — active today is not the same as active next month.

Expired

The licence has run out and the record stays on the register to say so. The holder cannot work in that sector, and once a licence has expired it cannot be renewed — they have to apply for a new one.

Revoked

The SIA has taken the licence away. The record remains on the register with that status. Deploying someone on a revoked licence is exactly the situation the register exists to prevent.

Suspended

The SIA has suspended the licence. It is a definite answer, not a failed search, and it is not a licence to work on. Ask the SIA rather than the licence holder if you need to know more.

A valid record is not proof the card is genuine

A register search confirms the licence; it does not confirm that the card in front of you is genuine. The SIA publishes separate guidance on the physical security features of a licence card: the holder's name is embossed and can be felt, a hologram appears when the card is tilted, UV light reveals SIA logos in the top-right and bottom-left corners of the front, the address on the back shows the post code E14 1UG, and the bar code in the top-left of the back should return the same licence number as the front. Checking the number on the card against the register is the way to link the two.

Why a Licence Might Not Be Found

Most empty results are search problems, not missing licences. Work down this list before you conclude that someone is unlicensed — and note the last two, where a blank result is the correct answer.

1. The licence number was mistyped, or entered with spaces

The register expects all 16 digits with no spaces, and rejects anything shorter with the message 'Enter a valid 16-digit licence number'. Re-read the number from the front of the card and check it against the bar code on the back, which should return the same number.

2. You are searching an old licence number that has been replaced

When the SIA replaces a lost, stolen or damaged licence card, the replacement carries a different licence number. A number copied from an old card or an old record will not find the current licence.

3. The name on the register is not the name you searched

The register matches on the name recorded on the licence. A married or maiden name, a middle name used as a first name, a hyphenated or transliterated surname, or a name changed since the licence was granted will all miss. The register's own advice when a search returns nothing is to try surname plus first name plus date of birth, or surname plus the initial letter of the first name plus date of birth, or surname plus first name plus licence sector plus role.

4. Too many people share the surname

A broad name search does not return a long list — the register shows a 'Too many search results' page saying it cannot show results until the specific licence or person is identified, and asks you to refine the search. Add the date of birth, sector and role, or get the licence number.

5. The licence has not been granted yet

The SIA adds a licence to the public register once it grants it. Someone part-way through an application will not be there. If they have just been granted a licence they may be working lawfully on their 'licence granted' letter and photo ID while waiting for the card, which arrives within 14 days.

6. The person is working under a Licence Dispensation Notice

SIA approved contractors are allowed to deploy security operatives while those operatives are still going through the licence application process. A worker covered by a licence dispensation notice is not yet a licence holder and so is not on the register. Ask the employer for the dispensation paperwork.

7. You picked the wrong sector or role filter

Sector and role are optional filters on a name search, and a wrong guess excludes the right record. Non-front line licences have no sector of their own on the register — they show under the Role value 'Non Front Line' — so filtering by a sector will hide them.

8. The person genuinely does not need an SIA licence

Not everyone doing security-adjacent work is licensable. Volunteers working under an agreement of no payment or reward, people who only check that entry has been paid for or that guests are invited, stewards directing people to seats, toilets or first aid, and staff reacting to a sudden or unexpected event do not need a licence. Nor, in most cases, do in-house staff — the exceptions being door supervision at licensed premises and, in Northern Ireland, vehicle immobilising. Airport staff covered by the 2010 aviation security exemption and in-house staff at a certified sports ground in England or Wales are also exempt.

9. Still nothing — report it

If someone is doing licensable work and no licence exists on the register, that may be a criminal offence by both the worker and whoever deployed them. The SIA takes reports about security staff and companies through GOV.UK.

Not the same as "not found": An expired, suspended or revoked licence is not a 'not found' case. Those records stay on the register and are returned with a Status of Expired, Suspended or Revoked — which is a definite answer, and one an employer needs to act on.

What Employers Have to Check

GOV.UK's start page is aimed squarely at employers: you must check someone has the correct licence before hiring them for private security work, and if they do not have one you must make sure they get training and a licence. Paying someone to work in security without the right licence can lead to a fine or a prison sentence. Businesses that check licences regularly can also use the SIA's Licence Status Checker, a free business service that needs a business account on the SIA's licensing system and lets you build watchlists of staff — for example everyone working at one site or event. The SIA states that the licence information shown in Licence Status Checker is taken from the same public register.

Two practical habits follow from that. Check the sector as well as the status — a licence that is Active in one sector says nothing about work in another. And save a dated record of the search: a check is only ever true on the day it was run, and the register is updated as the SIA grants, suspends and revokes licences.

Check a Licence by Type

The register records a licence sector, and the sector decides what the holder may lawfully do. Each guide below covers what that licence allows, who needs it, what it costs, how long it lasts, and how to find it on the register.

Door supervisor licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Security guard licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Public space surveillance (CCTV) licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Close protection licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Cash and valuables in transit licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Key holding licence

Front line · £204 · 3 years

How to check this licence

Vehicle immobiliser licence

Front line · £204 · 1 year

How to check this licence

Non-front line licence

Non-front line · £204 · 3 years

No register sector — shown by the role "Non Front Line"

How to check this licence

Fees, Renewal and When a Licence Reaches the Register

Licence fee: £204 — first-time applications and renewals, in every sector. The statutory fee has been £204 since April 2023, when the SIA reduced it from £210. Between April 2020 and 31 March 2026 the SIA applied a £20 rebate funded from historic reserves, so applicants actually paid £184. Those reserves are exhausted, and from 1 April 2026 the rebate ended and applicants pay the full £204.
More than one licence: If you apply for more than one licence as part of the same application, the additional licences are discounted by 50% — so the first costs £204 and each further licence costs £102. The discount does not apply to a vehicle immobiliser licence, which always costs £204. Until 1 June 2026 the SIA applied this discount to additional licence applications made at any time. From 1 June 2026 it applies only to additional licences on the same application.
Refunds: The fee is not refundable in any situation, including where the SIA cancels an application because the applicant gave wrong information. The SIA will not accept payment in instalments, and must receive full payment before it processes an application.
Replacement card: £7 — A replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged licence card costs £7 and is requested through the SIA online account. The replacement card carries a different licence number from the original.
Renewal window: You can apply to renew from 4 months (120 days) before your current licence expires. You lose nothing by renewing early: any time left on the current licence is added to the new one, and the new licence runs from the day the SIA grants it.
Reaching the register: You get a 'licence granted' letter by post and in your online account. For a front line licence other than key holding, a licence card follows within 14 days — but you can start work in that sector immediately, carrying the letter and photo ID until the card arrives. For a non-front line or key holding licence, the letter itself is the proof. The SIA then adds your name and licence details to the public Register of Licence Holders.

This table shows only figures published by the SIA on GOV.UK. Where the SIA publishes nothing — how long an application takes, and how quickly a newly granted licence appears on the register — this page says so rather than estimating.

What the SIA Does Not Publish

Three questions people reasonably ask about licence checking have no published answer. Rather than repeat the guesses that circulate on forums and course-provider blogs, here is exactly where the official record stops:

How long a newly granted licence takes to appear on the public Register of Licence Holders. The SIA publishes no figure, so a licence can be valid and in use before it is searchable.
How long an application or renewal takes to decide. The SIA publishes no fixed processing time — it provides a decision timescale indicator instead, which reflects current workload.
How many matches trigger the register's 'Too many search results' page. The SIA does not publish the threshold, so narrow a broad surname search by adding a first name or date of birth.

The SIA does not publish a processing time. Its guidance says it cannot tell you exactly how long an application will take, and points applicants to its decision timescale indicator for a non-binding estimate. It names the factors that affect speed: how complete and correct your form is, whether you follow the next steps and further information requests, your address history, your criminal record, any charges awaiting trial, whether a right to work check is needed, the SIA's current application volumes, response times from the organisations that run the criminal record checks, and how quickly an employer pays a fee on your behalf. Application status in the online account moves through 'next steps', 'checks in progress' and 'decision made'.

SIA Licence Check FAQs

How do I check if someone has a valid SIA licence?

Search the SIA's Register of Licence Holders at rolh.services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk. It is free and needs no account. You can search either by the 16-digit licence number, entered with no spaces, or by surname — optionally narrowed with a first name, middle name, date of birth, role and licence sector. The result shows the holder's name, licence number, status, role, licence sector, expiry date and any additional conditions.

Can I check an SIA licence by name instead of by licence number?

Yes. Surname is the only field the register insists on, but a surname alone will often produce too many matches, in which case the register asks you to refine the search rather than showing a list. The SIA's own advice is that the licence number is the most efficient way to search; failing that, try surname plus first name plus date of birth, surname plus the initial of the first name plus date of birth, or surname plus first name plus licence sector plus role.

What does the SIA register not tell you?

It confirms the licence, not the person's history or their job. It does not display a date of birth, an address, a photograph, an employer, which qualification the holder took or where they trained, or any criminal record information. It also does not cover pending applications — a licence appears only once the SIA has granted it — or workers deployed under a licence dispensation notice.

How much does an SIA licence cost, and how long does it last?

£204 for one licence, for a first application or a renewal, in every sector. That figure took effect on 1 April 2026, when the SIA stopped applying a £20 rebate from historic reserves that had held the price at £184 since April 2020; the statutory fee itself has been £204 since April 2023. Licences last 3 years, except the vehicle immobiliser licence, which lasts 1 year and only applies in Northern Ireland. The fee is not refundable.

Which SIA licence do I need?

It depends on the work, not the job title. Door supervision covers guarding licensed premises — venues licensed to sell alcohol for drinking on the premises or to provide regulated entertainment. Security guarding covers guarding premises or property generally. Public space surveillance (CCTV) covers using CCTV to identify or monitor people to prevent disorder, damage or assault. Close protection covers guarding people. Cash and valuables in transit covers guarding property carried in a secure vehicle. Key holding covers keeping or controlling access to keys. A door supervisor licence also lets you do security guard work, and a close protection licence covers both.

What is the difference between a front line and a non-front line SIA licence?

You need a front line licence if you personally carry out a licensable front line activity, whatever your job title — employee, manager or director. You need a front line or non-front line licence if you manage, supervise or employ people who do licensable work, or you are a director or partner in a firm whose other people do. Most front line licences are a card you must wear where it can be seen while working; the key holding licence and the non-front line licence come as letters instead. A front line licence covers everything a non-front line licence covers.

Do I need a qualification before I apply for an SIA licence?

For security guarding, door supervision, close protection, public space surveillance (CCTV), cash and valuables in transit and vehicle immobilisation, yes — you must hold the licence-linked qualification, and the awarding organisation must have told the SIA about it before you can even submit the application. A key holding licence and a non-front line licence do not need one. For a first application the qualification must be less than 3 years old.

When can I renew my SIA licence, and what if it has already expired?

You can apply to renew from 4 months before the expiry date, and nothing is lost by going early — any time left on the current licence is added to the new one. If the licence has already expired you cannot renew at all; you have to apply for a completely new licence. Door supervisors, security guards and close protection operatives must also complete the refresher qualification for their sector before renewing, with a valid first aid qualification in place beforehand.

Why can't I find someone on the SIA register?

The most common causes are a mistyped or superseded licence number — a replacement card always carries a new number — a name recorded differently on the licence, a search too broad to resolve, or a licence that has not been granted yet. It can also be legitimate: in-house security staff usually do not need a licence, and neither do stewards or people who only check tickets. If someone is doing licensable work with no licence on the register, that can be a criminal offence for both them and whoever deployed them, and the SIA takes reports through GOV.UK.

Does a valid record on the register mean the licence card is genuine?

Not by itself — it means a licence with that number exists and has that status. To tie the card to the record, check the physical features the SIA publishes: the holder's name is embossed and can be felt, a hologram shows when the card is tilted, UV light reveals SIA logos in the top-right and bottom-left of the front, the address on the back carries the post code E14 1UG, and the bar code on the back should return the same number printed on the front.

Sources

Last reviewed 13 August 2026; next review due 13 February 2027. Every figure, field name and rule on this page was read from the primary sources below on the dates shown — GOV.UK guidance published by the SIA, GOV.UK's start page for the register, or the register service itself.

Check security staff have a licence to work — GOV.UK (start page for the SIA register; employer duty, what you need to search with, penalties for deploying unlicensed staff) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Search the Register of Licence Holders — Security Industry Authority (live service; search modes, field labels and hints, sector and role options, result fields, status values, no-results and too-many-results messages) rolh.services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Find out if you need an SIA licence — GOV.UK (last updated 29 January 2026; front line vs non-front line, all licensable activities, sector definitions, exemptions, in-house rules) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Apply for an SIA licence — GOV.UK (last updated 19 June 2026; £204 fee, 3-year duration, age 18, application steps, group A and B identity documents, right to work, criminal record checks, timescale factors) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Renew your SIA licence — GOV.UK (last updated 19 June 2026; 4-month renewal window, £204 renewal fee, expired-licence rule, sector refresher qualifications and first aid prerequisites, switching licences) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Check what training you need to get an SIA licence — GOV.UK (last updated 12 August 2026; licence-linked qualification requirement, 3-year qualification rule, refresher requirements, current and older accepted qualifications) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
If your application for an SIA licence is successful — GOV.UK (last updated 11 June 2026; licence granted letter, 14-day card delivery, £7 replacement card with a different licence number, addition to the public register) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
How to check SIA licence cards — GOV.UK (embossed name, hologram, UV logos, E14 1UG post code, bar code on the back) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Use our business services — GOV.UK (Licence Status Checker: free with a business account, watchlists, information taken from the public register) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Learn why we would revoke or suspend your licence — GOV.UK (grounds for revocation and suspension, 21-day appeal windows, effect on the right to work) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Learn about the SIA licence conditions you must follow — GOV.UK (last updated 1 December 2025; requirement to wear a front line licence visibly, covert activity exception, notification duties) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
SIA licence fee rebate ends in April 2026 — Security Industry Authority news story, 4 March 2026 (£184 to £204 from 1 April 2026, statutory fee history) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026
Licence Dispensation Notices (LDNs): guidance and forms — GOV.UK (approved contractors may deploy operatives who are still going through the application process) gov.uk · Accessed 13 August 2026

Getting Your Own Licence Instead?

If you are working towards the door supervisor licence you would look up here, start with the licence guide — the Level 2 qualification, the £204 application and the checks — then sit a free mock test built on the same four units as the real assessments.

Free SIA Mock Test SIA Door Supervisor Licence Guide

DoorSupervisorTests is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) or any awarding body.