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SIA licensing

SIA licence first aid requirement: what door supervisors and security guards need

To train for an SIA door supervisor or security guard licence you need a first aid certificate first, and you need it again before the refresher when you renew. Here is what the SIA says the certificate must be, how long it must stay valid, which ones count and who is exempt.

Independent guide, not governmentReviewed by Liam Humphreys on Last updated Last checked 11 sources7 min readHow this guide was made, including our use of AI

Contents

Status at 2 November 2026: first aid is a gate to the training, and the SIA has consulted on changing that

Today the certificate is checked once, before the licence-linked training starts. We found no rule that makes you keep it valid while you hold the licence. The SIA consulted from 28 August to 23 October 2026 on adding one. Its consultation page says it is analysing the feedback, and we found no published outcome.

Not legal advice, and your training provider decides

This guide follows the SIA’s own pages on GOV.UK and the Get Licensed booklet (May 2026). Your training provider checks your certificate, so ask them before you book anything. We say below where the SIA’s pages are silent.

The short version

  • Door supervisor and security guard licences need a first aid qualification before the training. The minimum is Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) or equivalent, for new applicants and renewals.
  • It must be valid for at least another 12 months from the day your SIA training starts.
  • Close protection needs a level 3 qualification. EFAW is not enough.
  • CCTV (public space surveillance) has no first aid requirement. Nor do cash and valuables in transit or vehicle immobilising.
  • You do not send the certificate to the SIA. Your training provider checks it.
A young man practises chest compressions on a training manikin while an older woman guides his arm.
Illustration. AI-generated image. About our images

Who needs it, and before what

First aid needed before SIA licence-linked training, from GOV.UK and the SIA’s Get Licensed booklet (May 2026)
LicenceFirst aid qualificationNeeded before
Door supervisorEFAW or equivalentThe full qualification and the refresher
Security guardEFAW or equivalentThe full qualification and the refresher
Close protectionLevel 3, such as First Aid at Work (FAW)The full qualification and the refresher
CCTV (public space surveillance)None listedNot applicable

GOV.UK says you must have it “before you can take the training required for a full qualification or the refresher qualification”. The SIA says this applies to security guards who are not public facing too.

The SIA’s Get Training document says the rule for first-time learners began on 1 April 2021. The refresher became mandatory on 1 April 2025 for door supervisors and security guards, and on 1 April 2026 for close protection, with first aid before it.

New applicants

You need the certificate before the licence-linked course. The SIA lets training centres deliver first aid as part of a package. If they do, learners must pass the first aid before the centre finishes delivering the SIA qualification.

GOV.UK says a first-time applicant must have got the licence-linked qualification within the last 3 years. That clock runs on the SIA qualification, not the first aid certificate. Our guide to getting an SIA licence covers the route.

Renewing or switching licence

To renew a door supervisor or security guard licence you must hold the matching Level 2 refresher qualification, and first aid comes before the refresher. The SIA says you must finish both before you can apply to renew. Switching from door supervisor to security guard at renewal needs first aid too.

Our reading, not the SIA’s wording: HSE says first aid at work certificates last for three years, and an SIA licence lasts 3 years. So a certificate you used before your first course will usually have run out by the time you renew, and in most cases you need a new one before the refresher. Your certificate’s printed expiry date is what counts. Our renewal guide has the rest of the renewal rules.

How long the certificate must stay valid

The SIA’s rule for training centres says the qualification must be “valid for at least another 12 months from the start of the SIA licence-linked training”. GOV.UK says “at least another 12 months”, and the Get Licensed booklet says the award must be shown to the provider before you start.

An example: if you start your SIA course on 2 November 2026, the certificate must run to at least 2 November 2027. If your certificate lasts three years, as HSE describes, one issued in March 2024 would run out in March 2027 and would not do.

After that, we found no rule. The SIA’s 2026 consultation document says a certificate with 12 months left “might expire during the period of the SIA licence”. It asked whether an in-date first aid certificate should be a condition of the licence for its whole 3 years, and named a certificate less than 3 years old as one option. That is a proposal only.

Which qualifications count

A centre can accept a first aid qualification for door supervisors and security guards if all of these are true:

  • It meets the EFAW course content in HSE’s guide “Selecting a first-aid training provider”.
  • It is valid for at least another 12 months from the start of the SIA training.
  • The centre has made reasonable efforts to confirm it meets HSE’s other requirements.
  • The centre has made reasonable efforts to confirm the practical parts, such as CPR, tourniquets and keeping airways open, were delivered and assessed face to face.

The SIA’s examples of what centres can accept:

  • EFAW or First Aid at Work from an awarding organisation regulated by Ofqual, SQA, Qualifications Wales or CCEA, from a voluntary aid society (St John Ambulance, British Red Cross, St Andrew’s First Aid), from a provider delivering a programme that meets HSE requirements, or from a provider under a voluntary accreditation scheme.
  • First Responder Emergency Care, First Person on Scene or Casualty Care, if awarded by one of those regulated awarding organisations.
  • A medical degree or a nursing or paramedic qualification.

From October 2024, EFAW courses for security staff must explicitly cover life-threatening bleeding and opening airways, on top of the standard syllabus. If a disability stops you completing the practical parts, a centre can make “reasonable adjustments”, which may include accepting a “knowledge only” qualification.

The CCTV exemption

The current GOV.UK training page gives a first aid requirement only for close protection, door supervisors and security guards. Its CCTV section lists none. The SIA’s Get Training document (April 2022) says learners for cash and valuables in transit, vehicle immobilisation or CCTV qualifications “do not need to hold any First Aid qualifications”. We did not check the draft CCTV specification the SIA consulted on in 2026.

Where our question banks fit

First aid is a separate qualification, and our question banks do not cover it. For the SIA course exams, the door supervisor bank has 295 original questions (£9) and the security officer bank has 312 (£19). They are not from the SIA or any awarding organisation, and cover the full knowledge papers, not the refresher. Try the free door supervisor and security officer practice tests first.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need first aid before an SIA door supervisor course?

Yes. You must show a valid EFAW or equivalent before the licence-linked training.

Can I take first aid online?

Centres must make reasonable efforts to confirm the practical parts were delivered and assessed face to face. The SIA lets centres deliver first aid by blended learning, so some theory can be online, but a course with no face-to-face practical is unlikely to meet the rule.

What we could not confirm

  • Whether older certificates are accepted. The SIA’s rule says courses from October 2024 must cover bleeding and airways. It does not say whether a certificate from before then, with 12 months left, is accepted. Ask your centre.
  • How a centre counts the 12 months. The rule says “from the start of” the training, not whether that means registration or the first day.
  • The consultation outcome. The consultation is closed and the SIA says it is analysing feedback. We found no published response on first aid.
  • Cost and length of a course. Providers set them, and we did not survey them.
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland. We did not check beyond the SIA pages above.

Sources

Last checked 2 November 2026. Dates are when each page says it was last updated.

Changes to this guide

  • 2 November 2026: The consultation closed on 23 October, so the status heading now says the SIA has consulted rather than is consulting. Re-checked the sources.
  • 27 October 2026: Draft written and checked against the SIA pages, the SIA’s first aid requirement document and HSE. Independent fact-check against the primary sources the same day: corrected the name of one accepted qualification, the consultation wording and the Get Licensed page references.

This guide is general information written from the official sources listed above and checked on 2 November 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and Plainfiles is not endorsed by any government body. Rules change, so check the linked official pages for your own situation. Written and designed by Plainfiles with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, then checked against the official legislation and guidance listed in the sources. How we write and check our guides.