California security worker handbook

Chapter 01

Start with the right registration

Build your training and registration timeline before accepting a post.

California BSIS regulates the guard registration route. Applicants ordinarily need to be at least 18, complete the required initial instruction and undergo the prescribed background checks. Check the current application instructions and employer requirements before paying for a course.

From 1 January 2026, the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force course must be taught and certified in its entirety by one eligible instructor. It must be completed within six months before the application is submitted. The broader route also includes security officer skills training and annual continuing training. Keep each certificate with your registration records.

• Check the provider and the course against BSIS requirements.
• Schedule the additional skills training and annual eight-hour continuing training.
• Carry the required valid registration evidence while working.

Official sources: California BSISCalifornia BSIS

Chapter 02

Know your authority

Make decisions from the law, your assignment and the immediate risk.

A security registration establishes a private-security role. Your work begins with prevention, observation, assistance and reporting. Uniforms and a client request do not create the general powers of a police officer. When a manager requests an action outside the assignment, clarify the legal basis with supervision before proceeding.

Penal Code section 837 defines limited private-person arrest circumstances, including an offence committed or attempted in your presence and specified felony circumstances. An arrest can expose the worker and employer to serious liability. The practical response for uncertainty is to maintain safety, record what you actually observe and seek police assistance. Study any intervention role with your authorised instructor.

• Check facts and authority before restricting a person.
• Use the approved reporting and escalation route.
• Keep your own safety and public safety in view.

Official sources: California LegislatureCalifornia BSIS

Chapter 03

Access, consent and privacy

Explain the condition of entry and respect the limits of permission.

Access control starts with the occupier’s lawful entry policy and your assignment instructions. Explain what is required, whom the visitor is meeting and the approved alternative if permission is refused. A voluntary bag check has a defined purpose and scope. Withdrawal of consent calls for a pause and escalation through the site procedure.

An entry condition does not automatically create authority to detain, physically search or seize property. Emergency, arrest and specialist search powers require a separate legal basis. Keep visitor records and camera footage within approved systems and use them only for assigned work. A casual request from a friend or social-media audience provides no workplace purpose for sharing footage.

• Explain the requested check before starting.
• Ask your supervisor about refusal and accessibility arrangements.
• Protect visitor logs and camera access.

Official sources: California BSISCalifornia BSIS

Chapter 04

Calm communication and equal treatment

Give people a clear next step and enough time to understand it.

Use plain language, an even pace and a practical explanation of what needs to happen. Listen for a concern that you can resolve within your role. One colleague leading a conversation usually makes instructions easier to follow. Ask for assistance early when risk, crowd size or distress exceeds your ability to manage safely.

California’s syllabus includes bias, cultural awareness, disability and behavioural-health considerations. Avoid interpreting a communication difficulty as deliberate defiance. At covered public-facing premises, service-animal rules may permit only limited questions when the trained task is unclear. A certificate, vest or demonstration of the task is not generally required under the ADA.

• Describe conduct without labels or stereotypes.
• Ask what communication assistance would help.
• Follow lawful access rules consistently.

Official sources: California BSISUS Department of JusticeUS Department of Justice

Chapter 05

Force, safety and handover

Study the boundary of intervention through the required practical instruction.

Appropriate use of force, de-escalation and scenario work form part of the BSIS initial syllabus. Several elements require in-person instruction. A score on this website supplies revision feedback; it cannot assess physical skills or a live decision to use force.

Any intervention must have a lawful basis and remain within the applicable limits. Prefer actions that reduce danger and create access to help. When a private-person arrest is made, Penal Code section 847 requires delivery to a peace officer or a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Follow your training, request medical help where needed and report the facts promptly.

• Use only techniques for which you have current lawful authorisation and training.
• Call for police or medical assistance as the incident requires.
• Provide an accurate handover and preserve the incident record.

Official sources: California BSISCalifornia Legislature

Chapter 06

Record facts and preserve evidence

A useful report lets another person reconstruct what you observed.

Write a timely account with the date, time, place, people involved, your observations and the action taken. Mark estimates and information supplied by someone else. Use quotation marks only for words you can accurately recall. Record a later correction transparently, preserving the original entry under the employer’s process.

California imposes specific reporting duties on private patrol operators for qualifying incidents. Section 7583.2 includes written reports to the Bureau within seven business days for specified on-duty physical altercations and firearm discharges. Your immediate duty at work is to notify the designated supervisor, secure records and provide the information needed for the employer to meet its obligations.

• Preserve relevant footage through an authorised process.
• Record who receives evidence and when.
• Never invent a time, quote or observation to make an account appear complete.

Official sources: California BSISCalifornia Legislature

Chapter 07

Respond to emergencies

Learn the site plan while you have time to practise it.

Know the alarm points, emergency address, responder entrance, escape routes and assembly arrangements before the shift becomes busy. During a fire or other immediate danger, raise the alarm and call 911 as needed. Follow the site plan and emergency-service instructions. Tell responders about people who may need help and hazards they may encounter.

For illness or injury, check that the scene is safe and summon appropriate help. Give care within your training and follow dispatcher instructions. A handbook supports recognition and preparation; hands-on first-aid learning and workplace drills build the skills needed in an emergency. Do not enter a hazardous area to recover belongings or investigate an unknown substance.

• Report the precise location and safe access route.
• Assist evacuation within your assigned role.
• Keep emergency routes available and account for people using the site plan.

Official sources: US OSHAAmerican Red Cross

Chapter 08

Prepare for the assessment and the next shift

Use errors to decide what to study next.

The public BSIS March 2024 written paper has 52 questions. The manual specifies an open-book assessment with 100% required and allows the learner as much time as needed. The practice set here uses 52 original questions and an authored topic allocation. It mirrors the published length and target, while the authorised instructor administers the actual course assessment.

After submitting a practice attempt, read every explanation and revisit the linked chapters. Keep the distinction between recognising a rule and applying a skill under supervision. Before starting work, confirm your registration, ongoing training, post orders, communication checks and emergency contacts. Ask the employer how changes in law or site procedures will be briefed.

• Use the handbook during open-book practice.
• Revise any uncertainty even after a high score.
• Complete required instructor-led and practical elements separately.

Official sources: California BSISCalifornia BSISCalifornia BSIS

Your assessment route

California open-book practice

52 original questions, matching the length of the public March 2024 BSIS written paper. Open-book practice with no time limit. The topic allocation is authored by Get Licenced LLC; it is not a published BSIS weighting.

The BSIS manual requires 100% on its course written examination, with open-book use, time as needed and correction of missed items. This independent practice uses a 52/52 target for one attempt, followed by explanations and revision.

Other training and assessment requirements

Complete the official eligible-instructor course and its required in-person force, de-escalation and scenario elements. Since 2026-01-01 the initial course must be taught and certified by one eligible instructor and completed within six months before application. A practice result does not satisfy those requirements.

Before your shift

• Confirm valid registration evidence and current required training.
• Read the post orders and outstanding incidents before taking responsibility.
• Check radio contact, escalation numbers and the exact emergency address.
• Identify alarms, escape routes, assistance arrangements and assembly points.
• Clarify access-check permissions, refusal procedures and lawful limits.
• Know the immediate employer incident-reporting route.
• Protect visitor information, notes and any footage through authorised systems.
• Hand over unresolved risks with a named follow-up contact.

Words you will use

BSIS

California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the regulator for the guard registration route.

Guard registration

The personal registration required for the covered security role, subject to statutory conditions and exemptions.

Private patrol operator

The licensed security business with employer and Bureau-reporting responsibilities under the applicable rules.

Private-person arrest

A limited arrest route defined in Penal Code section 837, with handover and other legal conditions.

Consent

Permission for the stated action and scope. Routine voluntary screening must be reassessed when permission is withdrawn.

De-escalation

Communication and other trained decisions aimed at reducing danger and avoiding unnecessary confrontation.

Reasonable cause

A legal standard that must be considered with every other condition of the particular statutory power.

Post orders

The employer’s instructions for the specific assignment, operating within the law.

Continuing training

Required learning after the initial course, including annual instruction in the ordinary guard route.

Evidence continuity

A record of how relevant material is preserved and transferred through authorised people.

Official sources

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

1. Service animals and the ADA

   US Department of Justice · 2026-09-20

2. Service animal questions and limits

   US Department of Justice · 2026-09-20

3. SB 652 training changes

   California BSIS · 2026-09-20 · Effective 2026-01-01: single instructor and training within six months before application.

4. Penal Code section 837

   California Legislature · 2026-09-20

5. Security Guard Registration fact sheet

   California BSIS · 2026-09-20 · Older fact sheet; 2026 training changes are separately identified.

6. Public written examination

   California BSIS · 2026-09-20 · March 2024 public version: 52 questions. Original practice questions in this handbook.

7. Penal Code section 847

   California Legislature · 2026-09-20

8. Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force manual

   California BSIS · 2026-09-20 · July 2023 manual; read alongside the 2026 SB 652 notice.

9. BSIS training regulation and syllabus

   California BSIS · 2026-09-20

10. Business and Professions Code section 7583.2

    California Legislature · 2026-09-20

11. Emergency action plans

    US OSHA · 2026-09-20

12. First aid response steps

    American Red Cross · 2026-09-20

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