The SIA Licence Renewal Challenge
Every SIA licence is valid for three years. For a security company with 50 or more licensed officers, this means managing a continuous cycle of renewals — with licences expiring at different times throughout the year, across multiple licence categories. Managing this manually is not just time-consuming; it is genuinely risky.
An officer who continues to work in a licensable role after their SIA licence has expired is committing a criminal offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The company that deploys them is also at risk of prosecution. The SIA actively enforces this, and the consequences — fines, prosecution, and potential loss of ACS status — can be severe.
Why Licences Lapse
Licence lapses almost always happen for the same reasons: the officer did not realise their licence was approaching expiry, the company did not have a reliable system for tracking expiry dates, or the renewal application was submitted too late to be processed before the current licence expired. The SIA recommends applying for renewal at least three months before the expiry date, as processing times can vary.
In a busy security operation, it is easy for licence tracking to fall through the cracks. An officer who joined two and a half years ago, whose licence expires in six months, may not appear on anyone's radar until it is too late.
The Renewal Process
SIA licence renewal requires the officer to submit a new application through the SIA's online portal, pay the renewal fee (currently £190 for most licence categories), and provide updated evidence of their first aid qualification if applicable. The SIA will also conduct a new criminal record check as part of the renewal process.
Officers who hold multiple licence categories — for example, a Door Supervisor licence and a CCTV licence — must renew each licence separately. This adds to the administrative burden for both the officer and the company.
What Security Companies Should Do Now
The first step is to conduct a full audit of your current licence status. For every licensed officer in your workforce, record their licence number, licence category, and expiry date. Identify anyone whose licence expires within the next six months and contact them immediately to begin the renewal process.
Once you have a clear picture of your current position, the next step is to put a system in place that prevents this situation from arising again. A manual spreadsheet can work for a small team, but it requires discipline and regular maintenance. For companies with more than 20 licensed officers, a dedicated tracking system is a much more reliable solution.
Automating Licence Tracking with WFC Verify
WFC Verify includes automated SIA licence tracking as a core feature. When an officer's licence is added to the system, the platform automatically calculates the expiry date and schedules a series of automated alerts — at six months, three months, one month, and one week before expiry. These alerts are sent to both the officer and the relevant manager, ensuring that renewals are never missed.
The platform also tracks other time-sensitive documents alongside SIA licences — including DBS checks, first aid certificates, and right to work documentation — giving you a single, comprehensive view of your workforce's compliance status at any point in time.
If you are currently managing licence renewals through a spreadsheet or a manual process, we would encourage you to consider whether that approach is sustainable as your business grows. A single missed renewal can have serious consequences. Automation eliminates the risk entirely.