How to transfer your Security guard licence to Washington (2026)

Security guard work in Washington is licensed at state level, by the Washington private security licensing agency (often inside the state police or Department of Public Safety). This page says what a security guard licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Washington, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Most states license security guards (a guard card or registration) and the licence does not transfer: Washington requires its own application, background check and training hours, with an armed endorsement needing firearms qualification in Washington. A few states have no state licence and leave it to employers.

How long: two to six weeks. Fee: $25 to $150, more for armed; the current figure is on the licensing body's own site.

What to have ready before you move

• Current guard card
• Training certificates
• Firearms qualification if armed

Start the paperwork before you give notice. Every week the licence is not done is a week you are not paid, and nothing in the process needs you to be in Washington already.

What people get wrong

• Assuming the armed endorsement transfers; it is always re-qualified

Who hires security guards in Washington

Security guards in Washington are hired by security contractors, hospitals, event venues, data centres and corporate security. The metros with the most of that work are Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver and Bellevue. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Washington openings page.

For the money side: the median security guard in Washington earned $48,010 a year ($23 an hour) in May 2024 across 24,820 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Washington has no state income tax on wages. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Washington, on one page

The Washington page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Washington employers hiring from out of state.