3.1 The Licensing Authority (PSBD/PSFRD) and Its Jurisdiction
Key Takeaways
Federal Law No. 37 of 2006 defines the Competent Authority as the department at the Ministry of Interior or a Police General Department that supervises security companies.
The Ministry of Interior's English edition of Ministerial Decision No. 557 was published under the name Private Security Business Department (PSBD); NSI now calls the federal authority the Private Security Firms Regulatory Department (PSFRD).
NSI trains guards for Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates; Dubai runs a separate system under the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) and Dubai Law No. 12 of 2016.
Under Article 9 of the Law, a company may operate only in the emirate that licensed it, except when moving money or valuables between emirates or protecting people travelling between emirates.
Ministerial Decision No. 557 doubles a repeated infringement fine (Article 118) and requires companies to pay their staff's penalties within seven days (Article 11).
Quick Answer: Guards in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates are licensed by the Competent Authority named in Federal Law No. 37 of 2006. This is a department of the Ministry of Interior that works closely with the police. Candidates will see it called PSBD (Private Security Business Department), PSCOD, ASSD and PSFRD (Private Security Firms Regulatory Department). They all refer to the same regulator at different times. Dubai is separate: it licenses its own security industry through SIRA.
Who the regulator is
Article 1 of Federal Law No. 37 of 2006 defines the Competent Authority as "the department or section at the Ministry or Police General Department in charge of dealing with, supervising and following up the works of private security companies". Ministerial Decision No. 557 of 2008 uses the same idea. Its job is to supervise all security services, issue security approvals and licences, and enforce the Law and the executive order (Article 3 of the order).
The many names
| Name you may see | Where it appears |
|---|---|
| Private Security Business Department (PSBD) | The Ministry of Interior's English edition of Ministerial Decision No. 557, and most older exam material, which is why the exam is still commonly called the "PSBD exam" |
| PSCOD and ASSD | Later names used in licence documents and training requirements; NSI course pages still ask for an "ASSD licence" as a prerequisite |
| Private Security Firms Regulatory Department (PSFRD) | NSI's current description of the federal authority that "administers and organizes training, examination, licensing, and supervision of the private security industry" |
| Private Security Companies Department, Ministry of Interior | Abu Dhabi Police news reports about company inspections and the department's e-portal |
The names have changed, but the legal role has not. When a question mentions any of them, read it as "the licensing authority".
The National Security Institute (NSI)
NSI says it was established in 2008 to train private security personnel on curricula approved by the competent authorities. This followed Federal Law No. 37 of 2006 and its executive regulations. Article 72 of the executive order requires every training institute to belong, directly or indirectly, to the Ministry of Interior or to a police headquarters, unless the Minister grants an exception. NSI offers:
- the Basic Security Guard (BSG) course, which NSI describes as for candidates who want to be licensed in Abu Dhabi and the Western Region;
- the Security Operations Level 3 (SOL3) course, eight days long and covering the same twenty topics, for candidates who want to be licensed in the Northern Emirates;
- renewal and specialist courses (bank, hospital, cash-in-transit, events, museums, X-ray screening).
NSI publishes separate application addresses for Abu Dhabi and for the Northern Emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah).
Dubai is different
Dubai regulates its security industry under Dubai Law No. 12 of 2016 (amended by Law No. 3 of 2018) through the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA). SIRA runs its own training approvals and individual "security cadre" cards. A guard licensed by the federal department therefore needs Dubai's own approvals to work at a Dubai post, and the reverse is also true. Experience under either system can still count. For example, NSI's cash-in-transit course accepts candidates licensed "either by ASSD, PSFRD or SIRA for two years".
The one-emirate rule for companies
Article 9 of Federal Law No. 37 of 2006 limits a company's activity to the emirate where it is licensed. It may not operate in another emirate without a licence from that emirate. There are two exceptions:
- transporting money or precious items across emirates, and
- protecting individuals while they move between emirates,
both subject to the conditions in the executive regulations. Ministerial Decision No. 557 adds that the company must meet the local requirements of each emirate where it operates (Article 15) and must have permanent staff and headquarters in each emirate where it provides service (Article 28).
Example: a company licensed for general guarding in Abu Dhabi wins a contract for a warehouse in Sharjah. It must obtain the required licence and approvals for Sharjah before posting guards there. Its Abu Dhabi licence alone is not enough.
Inspection and enforcement
The executive order defines an inspector as a person assigned by the Competent Authority "to follow up, inspect and monitor". Inspectors may check posts, records and staff at any time:
- Records. Companies must keep organised records that the authority may inspect at any time (Article 19 of the Law). They must also send a weekly report on the approved form (Article 41 of the order).
- Deployment. The company must notify the authority where a guard works within 24 hours of employment or transfer (Article 107).
- Licence custody. When a guard leaves the State or stops work, the company must collect the individual licence and return it within 72 hours. A lost or stolen licence must be reported within 72 hours, with a police report (Article 108).
- Cooperation. Not obeying the follow-up team or police, or not cooperating with them, costs the guard AED 500. Giving inspectors false information costs AED 1,000 (Article 120).
How fines work
- Article 21 of the Law caps each ministerial administrative fine at AED 5,000. The detailed amounts are set out in Articles 119 (companies) and 120 (security employees) of the order. The full guard table is in Section 3.3.
- Repeat offences: the fine doubles if the infringement is repeated, and returns to normal when the licence is renewed (Article 118).
- Company responsibility: the company must pay the penalties incurred by its staff within 7 days. The authority may draw on the company's bank guarantee to pay penalties or unpaid staff dues (Article 11).
- Unlicensed persons or companies must pay within 48 hours, with 10% added for each day of delay (Article 12).
- Serious cases are referred for the criminal penalties in Article 20 of the Law (Article 117 of the order).
Case study: the cross-emirate request
A client asks the security company to send two Abu Dhabi-licensed guards to cover a weekend shift at its warehouse in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The supervisor refuses. Dubai posts fall under SIRA's system, and Article 9 of the federal Law limits the company to the emirate where it is licensed. The correct answer is to arrange a Dubai-licensed provider. The supervisor logs the request and the decision.
Section summary checklist
- PSBD, PSCOD, ASSD and PSFRD all refer to the Ministry of Interior department acting as the Competent Authority.
- NSI was established in 2008. BSG is for Abu Dhabi and the Western Region; SOL3 (8 days) is for the Northern Emirates.
- Dubai is separate: SIRA, under Dubai Law No. 12 of 2016.
- Article 9: one emirate per licence, except cross-emirate cash and valuables transport and personal protection.
- Inspectors may check posts and records at any time. Fines double for repeats, and companies pay staff penalties within 7 days.
In study material for the Abu Dhabi licensing exam, a question refers to "PSBD", another to "ASSD" and a third to "PSFRD". How should a candidate read these names?
As three competing private training companies that each run their own licensing exam
As departments of Dubai Police that license guards working in Dubai only
As separate regulators for banks, hospitals and hotels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
As past and present names for the Ministry of Interior's licensing department
A security company licensed for general guarding in Abu Dhabi wants to post guards at a client's warehouse in Sharjah. What does Article 9 of Federal Law No. 37 of 2006 require?
The guards must first obtain SIRA cards from Dubai, which are valid throughout the Northern Emirates
Only a letter from the client confirming the contract and the number of guards to be posted
It needs a licence from Sharjah, because the only exceptions are cash transport and personal protection
Nothing extra, because a licence from Abu Dhabi automatically covers all seven emirates of the State
A guard is fined for an infringement and commits the same infringement again a month later, before the licence is renewed. What happens to the second fine under Article 118 of Ministerial Decision No. 557?
It is cancelled, because a fine for that infringement was already paid this year
It doubles, and fines return to their normal amount when the licence is next renewed
It becomes a criminal case automatically and is referred to the Public Prosecution
It is transferred to the client, who must pay it within seven days of the inspection
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.