Table of contents

Overview

In Alberta, businesses that offer security, investigation, locksmith and automotive lock bypass services, or training for these jobs, must be licensed.

Licences are issued under the Security Services and Investigators Act by Alberta Justice.

Businesses are responsible for ensuring they comply with Security Programs policies by:

  • creating internal policies
  • ensuring uniform and vehicle appearances
  • keeping records
  • reporting
    • incidents
    • new hires
    • terminations

Policy manual

The Security Programs Policy Manual details all business policies and requirements.

For questions about business policies and requirements, contact Security Programs.

Check a business licence

Use the Business Query and Licence Status search to:

  • generate a list of licensed businesses
  • check if an individual is licensed

Licensing

Licences are available for 1, 2 or 3 years.

The renewal process is the same as the initial application process.

Businesses can apply for multiple licence types.

Businesses applying for more than one licence type only need to pay the higher licence fee.

3-year licence fees

Licence type 3-year licence fee
Automotive lock bypass $1,200
Investigators $1,500
Locksmiths $1,500
Locksmith equipment sales and promotion $1,200
Security services $1,500
Businesses with in-house services $1,200

Businesses with in-house services can’t offer security, locksmith or investigation services to the public.

Licensing requirements

All businesses must:

  • be a registered Canadian business
  • have an address in Alberta
  • be licensed or permitted by their city or municipality (if applicable)
  • have at least $1 million in liability insurance

Businesses that offer services to the public must also provide criminal record checks for their:

  • owners
  • partners
  • board of directors

Businesses with multiple locations only need one licence, but copies of that licence need to be displayed in every location.

Training

Training courses

To train employees, businesses can:

  • licence training courses from Security Programs, or
  • have their training courses certified – this is often called "accreditation"

These courses:

  • include Security Program’s mandatory content
  • require students to pass the provincial exam
  • can include additional or customized content

For Security Programs to review and then certify a course, you must supply course:

  • materials
  • curriculum
  • objectives

After your course is certified, it’ll be added to this list:

Security Programs Approved Training Courses

Instructors and exam administrators

All training instructors and exam administrators must be approved by Security Programs.

Contact the training coordinator

For questions about training, contact:

Training Coordinator
Security Programs
Phone: 1-877-462-0791
Email: [email protected]

Forms and guidelines

PDF form issues

Fillable PDF forms do not open properly on some mobile devices and web browsers. To fill in and save the form:

  1. Save the PDF form to your computer – click or right-click the link and download the form.
  2. Open the PDF form with Adobe Reader. Fill it in and save it.

If you are still having problems opening the form, contact PDF form technical support.

Related

Make a complaint about a security, locksmith or investigation service

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