The security worker handbook: Québec

Chapter 01

Your Québec guarding permit

Work through the BSP’s local permit process.

The Bureau de la sécurité privée administers the agent permit. The regular guarding route normally starts at 18 and requires successful recognised training, identity documentation and the regulator’s eligibility assessment. A permit from another province requires a Québec application.

A regular permit is valid for five years with annual fees. The BSP normally sends renewal documents 90 days before expiry and requires their return at least 45 days before expiry. Keep your contact details current and use the published process for any change in circumstances.

• Verify the exact permit category.
• Keep the workplace first-aid certificate current.
• Track annual payments separately from five-year renewal.

Official sources: Bureau de la sécurité privéeBureau de la sécurité privéeLégis Québec

Chapter 02

Prepare for Québec training assessments

Use a local knowledge check alongside recognised instruction.

The BSP’s standard guarding route includes at least 70 hours: 30 on the role, law and conduct; 24 on emergency procedures; 16 on CNESST-recognised workplace first aid. Accepted alternative training and equivalence routes have their own conditions.

The checked BSP sources do not publish a universal final-exam question count, duration or pass score. Providers set assessments within the recognised training route. Our questions support revision; practical first aid and provider assessments still need to be completed.

• Ask the provider for its assessment plan.
• Use the French legal terms used in Québec.
• Practise explaining a decision in a realistic scenario.

Official sources: Bureau de la sécurité privéeBureau de la sécurité privéeCentre de services scolaire de Montréal

Chapter 03

Your role and its boundaries

Protect people, prevent incidents and arrange the right help.

Your assignment is shaped by the site, your licence and authorised instructions. Observe risks, assist the public and communicate useful information. An employer instruction must fit the law that applies to the task.

Before accepting a post, identify the responsible supervisor, permitted areas and tasks requiring extra training. Ask for clarification when an instruction exceeds your training or authority.

• Check the assignment and licence validity.
• Know the supervisor and escalation contacts.
• Describe your role clearly to the public.

Official sources: Bureau de la sécurité privéeLégis Québec

Chapter 04

Access, consent and fair treatment

Apply entry rules calmly and consistently.

Check access against the site’s authorised criteria. Explain a screening request in a way the person can understand. Avoid assumptions based on appearance, ethnicity or background.

A person may decline voluntary screening. Follow the admission procedure and seek assistance. An entry rule does not itself authorise a forced bodily search or automatic detention.

• Explain the reason for a check.
• Respect privacy and accessibility needs.
• Separate refused entry, suspicion and an observed offence.

Official sources: Légis QuébecLégis QuébecDepartment of Justice Canada

Chapter 05

Citizen’s arrest and safety

Recognise legal thresholds and involve the police.

Section 494 of the Criminal Code sets limited circumstances for arrest by a private person. A guard licence does not give general police powers. Property-owner authority and what was actually observed can matter.

An intervention can cause injury and personal liability. Contact police as soon as possible, follow your training and hand a person lawfully arrested to a peace officer without delay. This chapter contains no restraint techniques.

• Suspicion alone does not establish every legal condition.
• Record observations and reasons for decisions.
• Leave investigative questioning and searches to police.

Official sources: Department of Justice CanadaDepartment of Justice Canada

Chapter 06

Communication and de-escalation

Reduce tension and deliver a useful message.

Effective communication begins with listening. Introduce yourself, explain the issue and offer a realistic next step. Keep a safe distance and preserve a route to leave.

On the radio, use agreed call signs and state the location, situation and assistance needed. Confirm important messages. Keep sensitive details on authorised channels and describe observable behaviour.

• Speak clearly, with one person leading.
• Adapt your pace to the person’s needs.
• Request support before the situation becomes unmanageable.

Official sources: Légis QuébecLégis Québec

Chapter 07

Notes, reports and evidence care

Build a useful and accurate record.

Record the time, place, people involved, observations and actions promptly. Separate what you saw from what a witness told you. State uncertainty when a detail cannot be verified.

Keep notes and files in authorised systems. Make corrections transparently without hiding the original record. Minimise unnecessary handling of objects and record relevant transfers so their history can be traced.

• Describe observable facts.
• Attribute witness statements clearly.
• Protect records containing personal information.

Official sources: Légis QuébecCommission d’accès à l’information du Québec

Chapter 08

Privacy, cameras and personal information

Use information for an authorised purpose.

Images and records that identify a person require protection. Access only information needed for the assignment. Viewing, copying and disclosure must follow the responsible organisation’s procedure.

Visible surveillance of the public, employee monitoring and covert investigation have different rules. Direct requests for footage to the designated decision-maker and report accidental disclosure promptly.

• Keep workplace footage off personal social accounts.
• Verify the recipient before sending a file.
• Follow approved retention and deletion arrangements.

Official sources: Commission d’accès à l’information du QuébecCommission d’accès à l’information du QuébecLégis Québec

Chapter 09

Emergencies, alarms and first aid

Prepare the first few minutes before an incident happens.

At handover, locate exits, assembly points, alarm controls and first-aid resources. Clarify your place in the site plan, including receiving responders and helping people who need assistance.

When danger arises, protect yourself, call 911 where emergency help is needed and provide the exact location. Use your first-aid training and follow the dispatcher’s instructions. Reading alone does not establish practical competence.

• Know the access route for emergency services.
• Keep evacuation routes clear.
• Report missing people without entering an unsafe area.

Official sources: CNESSTBureau de la sécurité privée

Chapter 10

Safe work and professional development

Look after your health and maintain your skills.

Security work can involve isolation, prolonged standing and distressing incidents. Check communication arrangements, rest opportunities and post-incident support. Report damaged equipment and hazards.

Keep your hours and pay records. Use the relevant authority for employment standards and unsafe-work procedures. Track licence renewal, first-aid currency and specialist permissions separately.

• Agree welfare checks for isolated work.
• Record training and expiry dates.
• Request a debrief after a difficult incident.

Official sources: CNESSTLégis Québec

Your assessment route

Québec guarding knowledge check

16 original questions with explanations. Assessment arrangements depend on the recognised provider and route; one universal provincial format has not been confirmed.

This activity gives a study score, with no official pass threshold or licence award.

Other training and assessment requirements

Recognised training assessments and practical first aid still need to be completed.

Before your shift

• Check the licence, its conditions and the assignment.
• Read post orders and outstanding handover matters.
• Test the radio and know support contacts.
• Locate exits, emergency access and first-aid resources.
• Confirm lone-work and accessibility arrangements.
• Use authorised systems for reports and information.
• Report hazards, incidents and damaged equipment.
• Give a factual and complete handover.

Words you will use

Security guard

A person carrying out protective duties within their licence and assignment.

Post orders

Site instructions that must fit the applicable law.

Consent

An informed and voluntary agreement in the relevant context, subject to applicable law.

Personal information

Information about an identifiable individual.

Peace officer

A legal category with powers and duties defined by law; a private licence does not itself confer that status.

Continuity of evidence

A documented history of possession and transfer of an item or record.

De-escalation

Actions intended to reduce tension and support a safe outcome.

Accommodation

An adjustment for a protected need, assessed in its legal context.

Official sources

Sources checked: 2026-09-20 · Next source review: 2026-12-20

1. Criminal Code, section 494: arrest by a private person

   Department of Justice Canada · 2026-09-20 · Federal criminal law. Consolidation displayed current to 2026-07-21; section 494 checked on 2026-09-20.

2. What you need to know about making a citizen’s arrest

   Department of Justice Canada · 2026-09-20 · Public guidance on citizen’s arrest, police handover and avoiding questioning/searching a suspect. Use alongside legislation and local legal advice.

3. Loi sur la sécurité privée, chapitre S-3.5

   Légis Québec · 2026-09-20 · Worker permits and obligations. Check the current consolidation and provisions applicable to the activity.

4. CSSDM: conditions de la formation agent de sécurité

   Centre de services scolaire de Montréal · 2026-09-20 · Public-provider example: CSSDM sets a 75% final-assessment threshold for its own programme. This does not establish a single provincial examination.

5. Vidéosurveillance: enjeux et obligations

   Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec · 2026-09-20 · Public guidance on video surveillance, to be read with current personal-information protection requirements.

6. Normes de comportement des titulaires de permis d’agent

   Légis Québec · 2026-09-20 · S-3.5, r. 3; official text displayed current to 2026-01-01. Respect, integrity, diligence, confidentiality and intervention boundaries.

7. Permis régulier d’agent

   Bureau de la sécurité privée · 2026-09-20 · Minimum age 18. The described route includes 30 hours on the role and law, 24 hours on emergencies and 16 hours of CNESST-recognised workplace first aid.

8. Collecte de renseignements personnels: entreprises privées

   Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec · 2026-09-20 · Private-sector personal-information law: necessity, information given to individuals and consent in the applicable context.

9. Renouvellement du permis d’agent

   Bureau de la sécurité privée · 2026-09-20 · Regular permit term of five years with annual fees. Renewal documents are required at least 45 days before expiry.

10. Charte des droits et libertés de la personne

    Légis Québec · 2026-09-20 · Sections 1, 5, 10 and 12 address integrity, privacy, equality and access to services. The dated 2025-05-28 version was consulted; check subsequent changes when obtaining legal advice.

11. Formations requises en sécurité privée

    Bureau de la sécurité privée · 2026-09-20 · The standard guarding training route is at least 70 hours. The BSP also publishes accepted training and equivalence routes.

12. Lois et règlements sur les droits au travail

    CNESST · 2026-09-20 · Employment standards, occupational safety and workplace injury rules. Applicable regimes and decrees depend on the employment.

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