In-person training locations: Culver City, LA & Sacramento
In-person training locations: Culver City, LA & Sacramento
Free state tool, no account needed
You can check any California security guard registration, private patrol operator or BSIS training provider for free in about thirty seconds using the state's own tool, the DCA License Search at search.dca.ca.gov. It is run by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, it is the same database BSIS points you to, and it is the only public record that counts. Not sure what BSIS is? We explain the bureau on our what is BSIS page.
Our own record is public: World Academia, license ATG3001
Quick answer
Go to search.dca.ca.gov. Under Boards and Bureaus pick Security and Investigative Services, Bureau of, then pick a license type such as Security Guard. Enter a last name, business name or license number and search. The record shows license type, number, primary status, issue date, county and any disciplinary action.
Go to search.dca.ca.gov. Nothing to install, no account, no fee.
Pick Security and Investigative Services, Bureau of. That is BSIS, and it filters the list to BSIS credentials only. For a guard card pick Security Guard. For a security company pick Private Patrol Operator. For a training provider pick Approved Trainer- Security Guard Curriculum.
If you have the license number, use it. Type the digits only, without the letters. For World Academia you would type 3001, not ATG3001. Searching by surname works too, but you will scroll.
Advanced Search adds city, county, license status and a has-discipline filter. One warning from the DCA FAQ: those location filters run on the address of record, and the address of record does not always match where someone actually works.
Click More Details. Icons on that button flag records that carry public record or disciplinary actions, or that have public documents to read. Where a status has a question mark next to it, hover it: the state gives its own definition of that exact status.
A registration runs two years from the date it was issued. Someone working on an expired registration is conducting unlicensed activity, which can result in disciplinary action against the registration.
Ours reads Culver City, Los Angeles county, which is one of our two classrooms. Our Sacramento classroom does not appear on that line at all. Do not conclude a licensee is inactive in your area because the county column says something else.
On our record that is Paul Fields, who teaches Part 2 at both classrooms. That is the kind of detail a marketing page cannot fake, because the state publishes it.
BSIS puts a short letter code in front of the number. These are the codes BSIS publishes on its own application processing times page.
| Prefix | License type | Who holds it |
|---|---|---|
| G | Security Guard | An individual registered security guard. This is the guard card. |
| FQ | Exposed Firearm Permit | A registered guard cleared to carry an exposed firearm on duty. |
| BAT | Baton Permit | A registered guard who completed baton training at an approved facility. |
| PPO | Private Patrol Operator | A licensed security guard company that contracts guards out to clients. |
| PSO | Proprietary Private Security Officer | An in house security officer employed directly by the business they protect. |
| PSE | Proprietary Private Security Employer | The business that employs proprietary private security officers. |
| PI | Private Investigator | A licensed private investigator. |
| ACO | Alarm Company Operator | An alarm company. |
| ACE | Alarm Company Employee | An individual alarm agent. |
| LCO | Locksmith Company | A locksmith business. |
| LOC | Locksmith Employee | An individual locksmith employee. |
| RA | Repossession Agency | A repossession business. |
| RAE | Repossession Agency Employee | An individual repossessor. |
| TFB | Training Facility, Baton | A facility certified to teach baton training. |
| TFF | Training Facility, Firearms | A facility certified to teach firearms training. |
| TIB | Training Instructor, Baton | An individual certified baton instructor. |
| TIF | Training Instructor, Firearms | An individual certified firearms instructor. |
| ATG | Approved Trainer Guard | An approved provider of the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force training. World Academia holds ATG3001. |
The license is issued and live. Still read the expiration date next to it: a registration runs two years from the date of issuance.
Past the expiration date but still inside the 60 day window where BSIS will accept a late renewal. The fee is $69 rather than $44, being $44 renewal plus a $25 delinquency fee. Working during this window is not legal.
The 60 day window closed. BSIS states that guard registrations not renewed within 60 days of expiration are cancelled and cannot be renewed. Paying a late fee will not bring it back: the holder has to apply for a brand new registration and go through the whole process again.
These are enforcement outcomes, and the DCA search names suspension and revocation as examples of disciplinary action reflected on a record. On the results list an icon over the More Details button flags a record carrying public record or disciplinary actions.
Pending applications
This is where most people get stuck. BSIS states that once the Bureau has processed the application and issued the registration, it becomes available to view on the Verify a License page. If yours is still in the queue you will not find yourself there. That is normal and does not mean you were denied.
BreEZe is the online licensing system for the whole Department of Consumer Affairs, at breeze.ca.gov. You use it to apply, renew, update your license information, change your address and subscribe to license status changes. When people say BSIS BreEZe or BSIS login, this is what they mean.
BSIS publishes an Application Processing Times page, updated weekly, showing the target timeframe per license type and the received date it is currently working through. For an initial Security Guard application the target is 60 days, listed separately for online and paper. That is how you tell whether you are simply waiting your turn.
BSIS mails your renewal form to your address of record around 90 days before expiration. A stale address is how people end up cancelled. You change it in BreEZe.
Go to the California Department of Consumer Affairs license search at search.dca.ca.gov. Select Security and Investigative Services, Bureau of as the board, choose the license type you are checking, then search by last name, business name or license number. The record shows the license type, number, primary status, issue date, county and any disciplinary action. It is free and needs no account.
A guard card is a Security Guard registration, prefix G. Open the state license search, pick the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, pick Security Guard as the license type, then enter the guard's last name or their registration number with the digits only, no letter prefix. If several people share the surname, use the Advanced Search to filter by city or county.
Yes. The DCA License Search is free to use, needs no account and no login, and is open to anyone. It is the official public record maintained by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, and it is the same tool BSIS links to from its own Verify a License page. Any site charging you to look up a California guard card is charging you for something the state gives away.
It means the registration expired and was not renewed within 60 days, so it can no longer be renewed at all. BSIS states that guard registrations not renewed within 60 days of expiration are canceled and cannot be renewed. Paying a late fee will not bring it back. The holder has to apply for a brand new security guard registration and go through the full process again.
Delinquent or expired means the registration passed its expiration date but is still inside the 60 day window where BSIS will accept a late renewal, with a $25 delinquency fee on top of the $44 renewal fee. Cancelled means that window closed. The practical difference is large: delinquent is fixable with a form and a fee, cancelled means starting over with a new initial application.
No. BSIS is direct about it on the renewal application: any person providing security guard services on an expired registration is conducting unlicensed activity, which can result in disciplinary action. That exposure runs to the guard and can create problems for the employer too. Renew before the expiration date, and note that BSIS asks for the renewal at least 60 days ahead so it has time to process it.
Pending applications do not appear on the public license search. BSIS says your registration becomes visible on the Verify a License page only once the Bureau has processed and issued it. Instead, sign in to BreEZe at breeze.ca.gov, and check the BSIS Application Processing Times page, updated weekly, which shows the received date the Bureau is currently working through.
BreEZe is the online licensing and enforcement system for the whole California Department of Consumer Affairs, and BSIS uses it. You log in at breeze.ca.gov. There is no separate BSIS login. In BreEZe you can apply for a license, renew one, update your license information, subscribe to license status changes and file a complaint. BSIS says applying or renewing there can cut up to two weeks off processing.
A contract security company holds a Private Patrol Operator license, prefix PPO. Search the state tool with the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services selected and Private Patrol Operator as the license type, then search the business name. Check that the primary status is current, check the expiration date, and look for the icon on the More Details button that flags public record or disciplinary actions.
Ask for their BSIS license number, then look it up. Guard training providers appear under Approved Trainer- Security Guard Curriculum. World Academia is ATG3001, Approved Trainer Guard, primary status Current, issued January 23 2026, address of record in Culver City, Los Angeles county. If a school will not give you a number you can type into the state tool, walk away. If you are just starting out, see how to become a security guard in California.
Three common reasons. The registration may still be pending, and pending applications are not published. The name may be filed differently, for example a legal surname rather than the one they use day to day. Or you filtered by city or county: the DCA FAQ warns that those filters run on the address of record, and the address of record does not always match their area of operations. Try the license number instead.
If you need training
If the lookup told you what you expected, that is that. If it told you that you need a guard card, or that yours has lapsed and you are starting over, we run the BSIS required training at two classrooms. Initial training is 8 hours: Part 1 online, then Part 2 in person. Our license is ATG3001, which you now know how to check.
