Your Washington requirements
What you will learn
- Identify the authority for your location
- Explain your next training and application steps
- Know which details to confirm before starting work
Connect the shared foundations to your state entry route and official next steps.
Your shift starts here
What would you do next?
You have finished the online foundations lessons and found an employer in Washington. The employer asks when you can start.
Choose a response to see what happens.
Put it into practice
Verify your training next step
You are considering paying for a course. Build this verification plan in dependency order: define your target, establish the relevant requirements, check the exact course against them, then use the confirmed answers to decide.
Select the steps in the order you would take them.
- Choose step 1 below
Lesson notes & sources
Your state entry route
Unarmed guards working for licensed private security companies need a Washington DOL license. Applicants must be at least 18 and employed by, or have an offer from, a licensed company.
Complete eight hours of pre-assignment training through a certified trainer. Later, complete eight hours of initial postassignment training by your statutory deadline, followed by four hours of annual refresher training.
Secure an employer
Confirm the company's license and obtain its application instructions.
Complete pre-assignment training
Have the certified trainer document completion.
Apply to DOL
Submit online or by mail and obtain your application number.
Submit fingerprints
Use the application number for the background-check process; confirm issued or valid temporary authority before starting.
Plan postassignment training
Ask your employer to calculate your deadline. Initial licenses issued January through June have a June 30 deadline the following year; July through December licenses have a December 31 deadline the following year.
Confirm your situation
DOL instructs applicants to apply before submitting fingerprints.
Direct in-house employment needs separate scope confirmation.
Keep your sources current
These sources were checked on 2026-09-16. Check the linked regulator for changes before applying.
The Get Licensed foundations course is supplementary preparation. Follow the required approved training and authorisation process for your location.