1.1 Exam Identity, Regulator & Statutory Framework

Start with the correct credential

This guide prepares candidates for Delaware's mandatory training and test for an unarmed private security guard, commonly called the Yellow Card. Delaware statutes use the term noncommissioned security guard for the unarmed registration. A commissioned security guard is an armed guard and must satisfy additional requirements. The colors are useful shorthand on Delaware State Police (DSP) pages, but the legal distinction is unarmed versus armed.

The identity matters because Title 24, Chapter 13 also regulates private investigators, armored-car guards, and the businesses that employ them. Rules for those occupations are not automatically Yellow Card requirements. The written test supports an individual identification card; it is not the Class B or Class C business license used to operate a private security agency.

Two controlling sources

The official links are the Delaware Code, the Administrative Code, and the DSP Unarmed Security Guard FAQs. DSP currently links its 2019 Security Guard Certification Test Study Guide as the primary study resource. That PDF still contains superseded legal and regulatory details, so current statutes, final regulations, and DSP instructions control when a detail conflicts.

What counts as private-security work

Section 1302 defines a private security agency as a person or business that provides watchperson, guard, or street-patrol service for another person on a contractual basis. The covered functions include preventing intrusion, theft, vandalism, fire, or trespass; observing or detecting unauthorized activity on private property; temporarily controlling public movement when directly necessary to protect property; and supervising event-security staff. A private security guard is an individual employed by such an agency to perform one or more of those duties.

DSP explains an important boundary: a person hired directly by a business as its own in-house security or loss-prevention employee is not required to be licensed under this contract-agency scheme. By contrast, a guard supplied by a licensed security agency to a client site falls within Chapter 13. If the employment arrangement is unclear, the guard should ask DSP Professional Licensing rather than guess.

Board and Section roles

The Delaware Board of Examiners of Private Investigative, Private Security and Armored Car Agencies administers and enforces Chapter 13. Its statutory powers include determining qualifications, making necessary regulations, investigating alleged violations, and denying, suspending, or revoking registrations or licenses. The Board includes the DSP Superintendent, the Attorney General, public members, and members from the regulated industries.

The Professional Licensing Section is the DSP office that receives and maintains registration information, processes individual cards, coordinates background review, supports enforcement, and carries out Board-approved procedures. The statute calls it the Section and calls its officer in charge the Director. On an exam question, do not substitute the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation or a county police department for the DSP Professional Licensing Section.

Card, agency, and assignment are different

A candidate may complete training, take the test, and apply for a Yellow Card without already having an employer. DSP instructs an unemployed applicant to identify that status on the application. But DSP also states that a licensed individual may not actually work or act as a security guard unless employed by a licensed private security agency and working at a location under that agency's control or contract.

Use this three-part check before beginning a shift:

1. Individual status: Is the guard's Yellow Card current and physically available?
2. Employer status: Is the employing security agency licensed for the work?
3. Assignment status: Is the guard working the agency's authorized client location and following lawful post orders?

A Yellow Card confirms eligibility for regulated unarmed work. It does not confer police status, allow the holder to freelance as a security agency, or expand authority beyond the client's property rights and Delaware law. That distinction is the foundation for the legal-limitations chapters that follow.