Beginning April 15, 2010 all new applicants will be required to have successfully completed basic training and passed the ministry test prior to applying for a security guard and/or private investigator licence under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005 (PSISA).

Existing licensees whose licenses expire between April 15, 2010 and July 15, 2010 can apply for a renewal without having to successfully complete the ministry test. However those individuals will be required to pass the test by their next renewal date. An existing licensee whose renewal date falls on or after July 16, 2010 must pass the ministry test before submitting a renewal application. Existing licensees are not required to take the basic training course.

Candidates who are not licensed as of April 15, 2010 can only register for the test after they have completed basic training.

If you are not licensed on April 15, 2010, you must take basic training and pass the test before applying for a licence.

If you are licensed and your licence expiry date is July 16, 2010 or later, you must pass the test prior to renewing your licence.

If your licence expires between April 15, 2010 and July 15, 2010, you may renew your licence once without having passed the test. You will need to pass the test before your licence expires the following year.

There is a test fee of $66.50 plus HST. If an applicant fails the test and chooses to write it again there is an additional $66.50 plus HST fee for every test written.

The test is comprised of 60 multiple-choice questions based on topics covered in the ministry’s training curricula and on a survey/job analysis conducted by the ministry in consultation with industry experts. Candidates will be given 75 minutes to complete the test.

The ministry’s basic training can only be offered by:

• a public university;
• a community college;
• a private career college, as part of a program approved under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005;
• an agency licensed under PSISA to sell security guards and/or privateinvestigator services;
• a business entity registered under PSISA that employs its own in-house security personnel (Note: registered business entities can only train their own employees).

The ministry does not endorse any training institutions or individual programs but encourages individuals to seek training from a company or institution that is compliant with the ministry curricula, meets the requirements as stipulated in the regulation, and/or is listed on the ministry website.

There may be a fee associated with training. However, the ministry is not responsible for setting one. Agencies may choose to set a fee; it will be the applicant’s responsibility to understand/agree to it.

The security guard course must consist of at least 40 in-class hours, and must include certification in Emergency Level First Aid. The private investigator course must consist of at least 50 in-class hours.

Students will only be considered to have completed training if they attended the course in its entirety.

2015 Update to Ministry Training Requirements

Effective October 1, 2015, Students must hold a valid, original and complete St. John Ambulance Emergency First Aid Certificate or an equivalent certificate as issued by a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario approved first aid trainer to complete their security guard training.

J.M.C. Security & Investigations Inc. Offers Ministry Compliant Training

J.M.C. Security & Investigations Inc. offers training that is compliant with ministry curricula to prepare for Ministry testing. Cost for the basic training starts at $175.00 plus HST.

A full menu of non mandated training can be found under the titled page called Additional Training. In these courses you will have the benefit of exploring real life law enforcement administered by active and retired members from Provincial police services. If you think you have what it takes to step into the next leg of your career as a police officer then these courses are a great introduction into what “the job” is all about.