1.3 SSIA Key Provisions & Licensing Requirements

The Security Services and Investigators Act (SSIA)

The Security Services and Investigators Act (SSIA) is the Alberta provincial statute that regulates the security industry. It is administered by Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services through the Security Programs unit, headed by the Registrar. (Material written before the ministry was renamed calls it Justice and Solicitor General.)

The Act's purpose is to:

• Raise professional standards in the security industry
• Make training mandatory before a person can work as a security guard
• Require licensing of both individual security workers and the security agencies that employ them
• Give the Registrar authority to discipline licensed workers who violate standards
• Create a public complaints process for concerns about licensed security workers

Quick Answer: The SSIA is the Alberta law that governs security guards. It makes training and licensing mandatory, sets eligibility and conduct standards, and gives the Registrar power to discipline workers who break the rules. It is administered by Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services — Security Programs.

Who Needs a Licence?

You must hold a security service worker licence to work as a security guard in Alberta. This includes anyone who, for hire or reward, protects persons or property, performs patrol duties, controls access, or provides similar protective services.

Both individuals (security guards and investigators) and businesses (security agencies) must be licensed. A guard cannot legally work without a current personal licence, and an agency cannot legally deploy guards without an agency licence.

What Counts as a "Security Service" — SSIA s. 3

Section 3 defines the activity the licence actually attaches to. No person may, without a licence, for remuneration:

• (a) patrol, guard or provide security for another person, or for the property or premises of another person, or
• (b) detect loss of or damage to the property or premises of another person.

Section 3(2) goes further: you may not even advertise, hold out, or offer to provide those services without a licence. Two elements matter on the exam — for remuneration (paid work; protecting your own property is not a security service) and for another person (the service is provided to someone else).

Loss Prevention Workers — SSIA s. 6

Section 6 creates a separate licensing rule for loss prevention workers. Without a licence, no person may, for remuneration, in plain clothes:

• (a) prevent loss of or damage to the commercial, industrial, or retail property or premises of another person, or
• (b) detect loss of or damage to that property or premises.

The distinguishing feature is plain clothes on commercial, industrial, or retail premises. A store detective working the sales floor out of uniform is licensed under s. 6; a uniformed guard patrolling the same mall is captured by s. 3. Both need a licence, and neither may advertise the service without one.

Executive Security

Executive security covers individuals who guard or protect a specific person requiring personal protection. This class is exempt from the requirement to wear a uniform — which makes sense, since a uniformed escort defeats the purpose. If an executive security worker chooses to wear a uniform, that uniform must still comply with the legislation.

Refusal of a Licence — SSIA s. 16

The Registrar may refuse to issue or renew a licence where the applicant:

• has contravened, or is contravening, the Act or the regulations;
• has not met the requirements of the Act or the regulations;
• provided false or misleading information in an application, renewal, or required report;
• on renewal, has not complied with the terms or conditions of the licence, or has not provided a required report or information;
• is, in the Registrar's opinion, not a fit and proper person to hold a licence; or
• has been charged with a criminal offence.

The Registrar may also refuse on reasonable grounds that issuing or renewing would not be in the public interest. Note the word charged — a conviction is not required for the Registrar to act.

The Licence Is Personal and Non-Transferable

Section 17 states that a licence is not transferable. It belongs to the individual, not the employer, and cannot be lent, shared, or passed to a colleague. Section 18 sets the licensee's obligations, including reporting to the Registrar in writing any change of address or change to any information given in the application.

Hard rule: you are not permitted to work as a security professional until you have received your licence. Passing the exam is not authorization to start a shift.

Applying — What the Package Contains

1. The completed individual licence application form
2. Copies of approved identification
3. Proof of approved training (the ABST certificate or an accepted equivalent)
4. A Police Information and Criminal Record Check, including CPIC, vulnerable sector, and local database searches
5. One photograph signed by the local police service
6. The package and the applicable fee, sent to the Security Programs office

Your employer will require a copy of both the front and back of your licence when you begin employment.

Licence Classes and Fees

Renewal follows the same process as the initial application and must be completed before the current licence expires. Working with an expired licence is the same as working without a licence — a violation of the SSIA.

Eligibility Requirements

To be licensed as a security guard in Alberta, an applicant must:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be eligible to work in Canada
• Be fluent in English — demonstrated at Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Level 5
• Have no criminal record, no outstanding criminal charges, and not be the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation
• Provide a clean police information check, including a vulnerable sector search

Training Requirement — Two Paths

Before applying for a licence, the applicant must complete one of two approved training paths:

1. Alberta Basic Security Training (ABST) — a 40-hour course delivered through an approved training provider.
2. Accredited Basic Security Training — a 40-hour course from an approved provider that has been accredited as equivalent to ABST.

A valid security licence from another Canadian province or territory can also satisfy the Alberta training requirement, recognizing equivalent training completed elsewhere.

Carrying the Licence

A licensed security guard must carry the original licence on duty and produce it when requested by an authorized person (including a peace officer, the Registrar, or a client representative). A photocopy or digital image is not the original — keep the physical licence on your person while working.

Exemptions

Certain roles are exempt from the SSIA licensing requirement — for example, police officers performing their duties, in-house employees performing limited security functions in some contexts, and other specific categories set out in the Act and regulations. For the ABST exam, the key point is: if you are hired to perform security guard duties for reward, you need a licence unless a specific exemption clearly applies. When in doubt, the answer on the exam is that a licence is required.

Renewal, Expiry, and Changes You Must Report

A common cause of licence discipline is not misconduct on shift — it is paperwork failure. The SSIA treats the licence as a live obligation, not a one-time credential.

Renewal before expiry. The security service worker licence is valid for 2 years. Renewal uses the same process and fee as the initial application, and must be completed before the current licence expires. There is no grace period. The day after expiry, working is working without a licence. Because a new police information check is required, start the renewal several weeks early — a delayed vulnerable-sector check is not an excuse the Registrar accepts.

Changes you must report. A licensee must report certain changes to the Registrar, typically within a short fixed window (commonly 30 days for address or employer changes, and promptly for criminal charges or convictions). The events that most often trigger discipline are:

• A new criminal charge or conviction arising after licensing
• Being named in an ongoing criminal investigation
• A change of employer or home address within the reporting window
• A change of name

Failing to report a criminal charge is treated as seriously as the charge itself — it is both a reporting violation and a sign that the worker may no longer be a "fit and proper person."

Temporary and training licences. Alberta also issues a temporary licence (valid 60 days) once an application is approved, while the permanent card is mailed, and a 30-day training licence valid only while completing mandatory training. Training licences are not portable — they do not allow general security work.

Exam Traps on Licensing

• Trap: "My licence expired yesterday but I renewed today, so I'm fine." False. Working with an expired licence is a violation, even if a renewal is in progress. Stop working until the new licence is in hand.
• Trap: "A valid Ontario or B.C. licence lets me work in Alberta without anything else." Another province's licence can satisfy the training requirement, but you still need an Alberta security service worker licence to work in Alberta.
• Trap: "I told my employer about my charge, so I don't need to tell the Registrar." Notifying the employer does not satisfy the duty to the Registrar. Both obligations exist independently.
• Trap: "A photocopy of my licence is fine while the original is at home." The SSIA requires the original on duty. Keep it on your person while working.