GovWire

Your SIA licence will not renew automatically. You must apply for a renewal if you want to keep working in the same role when your current licence expires.

You are not guaranteed a licence just because you already have one. This is because:

• something you have done might mean that you may no longer meet our licensing requirements (for example, if you have been convicted of a relevant offence)
• we may have changed our licensing criteria since we granted your current licence

You cannot renew a licence unless you have a current licence in that sector. If your licence has already expired, you must apply for a new licence.

Renew your licence as soon as you can

You can apply to renew your licence 4 months before your current licence expires. You should submit your renewal application as soon as you can. Applying early gives us more time to process your application, which reduces the risk of you being unlicensed and unable to work.

You will not lose time on your new licence by renewing early. We will add any time left on your current licence onto your new one. Your new licence will be valid from the day we grant it.

Check with your employer first

You should check with your employer before you renew your licence. They may pay your application fee on your behalf, or even submit your renewal application for you.

You will need to link your SIA online account with theirs before they can do this. They will send you an email with a request to link with their account. You do not have to agree, but they will not be able to pay for or submit your application unless you do.

The application fee is the same

The application fee for a renewal is the same as for a new licence: 190.

We will discount the application fee by 50% if all of the following are true:

• you already hold another licence for a different licensable activity
• you paid the full application fee for that licence (so, it was not discounted)
• that licence has more than 4 months left to run

Your training

You do not need to re-take the training that you have already had.

We may require you to take additional training in certain circumstances. This will typically be where we have added new topics to the training that we think are important for you to know.

Door supervisors and security guards

You must have a first aid qualification (EFAW or equivalent) and one of the following:

• one of the older qualifications and the relevant top-up qualification, or
• one of the new qualifications introduced on 1 April 2021

Learn more about these requirements.

Close protection operatives

You must have a level 3 first aid qualification (FAW or equivalent) and one of the following:

• one of the older qualifications and the relevant top-up qualification, or
• the new qualification introduced on 1 April 2022

Learn more about these requirements.

We carry out the same checks

We carry out the same checks on new applications and renewals. This means that we will still need you to prove your identity, even though you already hold a licence and have already been through the application process. We need to confirm your identity every time you apply so that we can conduct our criminal record checks.

You may be asked to go to a UK Post Office as part of your renewal application. You can use the Post Office branch finder to find a Post Office near to you. Check that it handles SIA licence applications before you go.

Check how long your renewal application will take

We cannot tell you exactly how long your renewal application will take. This is because there are many different things that can affect the speed of your application.

But if you would like to get an estimate of how long your application will take, you can use our decision timescale indicator.

The result you get depends on the information you enter it does not guarantee how long your application will take.

Use the decision timescale indicator.

Switch licences

If you hold a door supervisor licence

If you hold a door supervisor licence you can choose one of the following options:

• take the door supervisor top-up training and renew your door supervisor licence
• take the security guard top-up training and switch to a security guard licence

In either case, you must have an Emergency First Aid at Work qualification, or equivalent, before you can take the top-up training.

The security guard top-up training is shorter than the door supervisor top-up training, so is likely to be cheaper. However, you should consider the day-to-day duties of the job that you do. If your job involves guarding licensed premises (such as a pub or a club) you will need to renew your door supervisor licence.

If you hold a close protection licence

If you hold a close protection licence you can choose one of the following options:

• take the close protection top-up training and renew your close protection licence
• take the door supervisor top-up training and switch to a door supervisor licence

In either case, you must have the appropriate first aid qualification before you can take the top-up training.