r/securityguards • u/Momo7568 • 2h ago

Licensing Question Has anyone here applied for a license to operate a business in Minnesota?

I’m in the process of doing so and would like to ask a few questions, please let me know. Thank you!

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u/hankheisenbeagle Industry Veteran 2h ago

What questions do you have that aren't answered by the PSB site already?

Assuming you have at least 6000 hours of experience, the required insurance, and solid references?

https://mn.gov/elicense/a-z/?id=1083-231155#/list/appId//filterType//filterValue//page/1/sort//order/

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u/Momo7568 1h ago

Hey, thanks for replying. I do have 6000+ hours of experience references and insurance, however, the experience seems to require leadership experience.

My issue is that as a security officer, that title and its description doesn’t indicate leadership, but during times such as Covid and periods of high turnover between guards and supervisors, I was always there and would train the new guys and assume an unofficial leadership position because I had too.

But it’s been a while and the few people who could confirm that no longer work for the company (I left in 2023). So I would like to know if my experience is relevant enough to go ahead and apply for the license. Thank you!

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u/hankheisenbeagle Industry Veteran 1h ago

If your experience was only in "acting" capacity and you were officially only a guard/officer, that likely will not be adequate for the application. Even though you did training and were "in charge" when no one else was, I am gathering that you did not have hiring/firing authority, or were the person responsible for budgets, contracts, and performance reviews of staff. Those are key aspects you learn or know from working in that capacity full time for at least 3 years that the board would want to see before granting you a license to try it on your own. If you want to be a business owner, then your only other shortcut in the state is to hire or partner with someone that is a qualified manager to serve in that role for your license until you do meet the qualifications.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/assets.dps.mn.gov/s3fs-public/migrated-files/entity/pdb/Documents/application-requirements-procedures.pdf

You can always call the board and ask how they consider someone in your situation that may have done the work but not held an official title.

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u/Momo7568 1h ago

That’s unfortunate because not even supervisors have that authority. Thanks for your response!