Licensing and Certification: What You Need to Know Before Hiring a Security Company in Oregon

When hiring security guards in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington areas, making sure their licensing and certification are in order is critical—not just legally, but for safety, liability, and reliability. Here are things to look for:

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Key License & Certification Features to Check

1. Type of Certification or License
   • Is the guard certified as armed or unarmed? These have different minimum requirements.  
2. Background Checks / Moral Fitness
   • They should have passed a fingerprint-based background check (FBI & state level) and satisfy “good moral fitness” criteria.
   • For armed guards, also check that they are legally eligible to possess/handle firearms (i.e. not prohibited under mental health, restraining-orders, etc.). 
3. Proof of Valid License / Certification
   • The guard should be able to show valid DPSST (in Oregon) or DOL (in Washington) credentials, including a card or certification document with clear expiry/renewal information.
4. Renewal / Ongoing Training Requirements
   • Licenses don’t last indefinitely. For instance, unarmed and armed certifications require refresher training.  In addition, armed certified guards are required to re-qualify with their firearm annually.

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Why These Checks Matter

Reputation & trust: Licensed guards with up-to-date credentials reflect better on your business or institution and assure clients.

Legal compliance: Employing someone without proper state licensing or letting a company operate unlicensed can lead to fines, penalties or invalidation of contracts.

Liability protection: If something goes wrong, having licensed, properly trained guards helps protect your company from legal claims.

Risk management: Proper background checks and continuous training reduce the risk of misconduct, accidents, or negligence.