The SIA is updating its licensing criteria
Source: gov.uk (2025-12-02)

On 1 December 2025 we will update the rules we use when making our licensing decisions. This page explains what we are changing and why.

We are updating our licensing criteria to improve standards in the private security industry and so better protect the public.

We conducted a public consultation about this from 11 March 2025 to 20 May 2025. We received 3,392 responses. Read more about the consultation (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-sias-licensing-criteria-get-licensed).

From 1 December we will use the updated rules when:
- you apply for a licence – this includes applying to renew your licence
- you hold a licence, and we receive new information about you that makes us review your suitability for a licence (for example, we learn that you have recently committed a crime)
If you already hold a licence, we will not apply the new rules to you unless we receive new information about you, or you apply for a new licence.

We publish our licensing criteria in our Get Licensed booklet (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sia-get-licensed). We have summarised the changes we are making below.

We are updating our list of relevant offences

We assess your criminal record against a list of ‘relevant offences’ – that is, the offences we consider when deciding whether you should hold an SIA licence.

On 1 December we will add more offences to the list. This will bring it up to date and expand the range of offences we consider when making licensing decisions.

Some examples of the offences we will add are those relating to:
- human trafficking and modern slavery
- revenge porn
- female genital mutilation (FGM)
- domestic abuse
We will also introduce new categories of offences, such as:
- immigration offences
- public order offences
- tax evasion offences
- company law offences
We are introducing 2 new refusal categories

We currently have 2 categories for when we refuse your application: ‘automatic refusal’ and ‘consider additional factors’. The category you are in determines what you can do to appeal against our decision.

On 1 December we will introduce 2 new refusal categories: ‘absolute refusal’ and ‘intention to refuse’.

Absolute refusal

We will only accept an appeal that shows our decision is based on incorrect information. An example of this would be if the criminal record we have assessed is not yours.

You will fall into the absolute refusal category if you are on a sex offenders register because of your offending, or you are subject to a sexual harm prevention order or sexual risk order.

Unless you already hold an SIA licence, you will fall into the ‘absolute refusal’ category if either of the following apply:
- you have a conviction or other criminal disposal for more than one sexual offence or child abuse/neglect offence (this could mean 1 or more offences from both categories)
- you have a conviction or other criminal disposal for any sexual offence committed in the course of your employment as an SIA licence holder, or in a position of trust or responsibility
If you already hold an SIA licence and either of these points apply, you will fall into the ‘intention to refuse’ category.

Intention to refuse

You will fall into the ‘intention to refuse’ category if any of the following apply:
- you have a conviction or other criminal disposal for a sexual offence or child abuse/neglect offence, and you do not fall into the ‘absolute refusal’ category
- you have a custodial sentence of more than 48 months on your criminal record, unless you fall into the ‘automatic refusal’ category
If you hold an SIA licence, we will consider your record as a licence holder when making our decision.

We will accept an appeal if either of the following applies:
- it shows our decision is based on incorrect information (for example, the criminal record we have assessed is not yours)
- it convinces us that you are not a risk to the public
We are changing how we consider custodial sentences of more than 12 months

If you have a custodial sentence of more than 12 months on your criminal record, you will fall into the ‘consider additional factors’ category.

We will accept an appeal if either of the following applies:
- it shows our decision is based on incorrect information (for example, the criminal record we have assessed is not yours)
- it convinces us that you are fit and proper to hold a licence
We are extending our overseas criminal record checks

If you have lived outside the UK for a continuous period of 6 months or more in the last 5 years, we currently ask you to provide evidence of a criminal record check for each country you spent time in during that period.

On 1 December we will strengthen this requirement. It will apply if you have lived outside the UK for a continuous period of 6 months or more in the last 10 years.

We are expanding our ‘other information’ criteria

Before we can grant you a licence we must be satisfied that you are fit and proper to hold one. In making this decision we can consider any information we hold about you, from any source. This could include information such as:
- fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder
- video footage that shows you acting in a manner contrary to what we expect of an SIA licence holder
On 1 December we will explicitly include additional examples of information that we can consider, such as:
- whether you are, or have been, subject to misconduct or other disciplinary proceedings, or restrictions imposed by a competent body
- whether you have been involved in predatory or otherwise abusive sexual behaviour, or domestic violence or abuse