FIREARM
PERMIT
You
may not carry a gun on duty without
having been issued a firearm permit by the Bureau. Also,
a firearm permit issued by the Bureau does not
authorize you to carry a concealed weapon. You may not
carry a concealed weapon on duty without a Concealed
Weapons Permit (CCW) issued by local authorities, nor
carry a caliber handgun not listed on your firearm permit.
To
apply for a firearm permit, you must:
• |
Be
a U.S. citizen or have permanent legal alien status. |
• |
Pass
a course in the carrying and use of firearms.
The 14-hour (8 hours classroom, 6 hours range)
training course covers moral and legal aspects,
firearms nomenclature, weapon handling and shooting
fundamentals, emergency procedures and range training.
The course must be given by a Bureau-certified
firearms training instructor at a Bureau-certified
training facility. Written and range exams are
administered at the end of the course. Costs of
training are determined by the training facility. |
• |
Submit
a firearm permit and Guard Card application with a $130 State application
fee, and submit a Security Guard Registration
w/Firearm Permit Live Scan form signed by the
Live Scan site operator. A $38 Firearm Eligibility
application, $32 DOJ fingerprint processing fee, $17 FBI fingerprint processing fee and a $10.00 rolling fee must be
paid at the Live Scan site. Send your application
package to the Bureau of Security and Investigative
Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA
95798-9002. |
You
may apply for both a guard registration and a firearm
permit at the same time for a total fee of $227, this doesnt include the guard card or firearms class. The total is $427.00 including class fees.
Note:
A firearms qualification card expires two years from
the date it was issued. An applicant must requalify
four times during the life of the permit: twice during
the first year after the date of issuance, and twice
during the second year. Requalifications must be at
least four months apart.
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FIREARM
REQUIREMENTS
Firearms Requirements for Security Guards,
Alarm Agents, Private Investigators and Private Patrol
Operators
Even if you are licensed or registered in the security,
alarm, or private investigation fields, you may not
carry a gun on duty - whether loaded or unloaded -
unless you have been issued an exposed firearm permit
by the Department of Consumer Affairs. You must keep
the permit with you at all times while on duty.
Note:
It is illegal for a licensee or registrant to carry
a CONCEALED weapon on duty without a permit issued
by local authorities.
Filing
an Application
To
apply for a firearm permit, you must:
• |
Take
a 14-hour course (8 hours classroom, 6 hours range)
in the carrying and use of firearms given by a
Bureau- certified firearms training instructor
at a Bureau certified training facility |
• |
Pass
the written and range exams given at the end of
the course |
• |
Be
a United States citizen or have permanent legal
alien status; and |
• |
Submit
a firearm permit application, pay an $80 application
fee and submit a Live Scan form (which is appropriate
to your license or registration) signed by the
Live Scan site operator. A $38 Firearm Eligibility
application, $32 Department of Justice (DOJ) fingerprint
processing fee and $17 Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) fingerprint processing fee must be paid
at the Live Scan site. Send your application package
to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services,
P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002 |
Classroom
Training - During
your eight hours of classroom training, you will learn
moral and legal aspects of firearms use, firearms
nomenclature, weapons handling and shooting fundamentals,
and emergency procedures.
Range
Training - The
six hours of range training will give you practice
in safely handling and firing your weapon. You must
requalify on the range twice a year before renewing
your permit no sooner than four months apart.
Training
Schools - Schools
and training instructors must be certified by the
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.
Renewals
- Firearm
permits expire two years from the date of issuance.
An applicant must requalify four times during the
life of the permit: twice during the first year after
the date of issuance, and twice during the second
year. Requalifications must be at least four months
apart. The application for renewal should be submitted
to the Bureau within 60 days before the expiration
date. The current fee for renewing a firearm permit
is $98. You may not renew your permit once you have
allowed it to expire. You must instead apply for a
new permit.
Weapons
Incidents - A
security guard who discharges a weapon while on duty
(except on the range) must: (1) report the incident
to his or her employer within 24 hours and (2) file
a written report with the Director of the Department
of Consumer Affairs, within 7 days. Failure to do
so may result in a fine.
Violations
- The
following acts are prohibited by law while a licensee/registrant
is on duty:
• |
•
Illegally using, carrying, or possessing a dangerous
weapon |
• |
•
Carrying an inoperable, replica, or simulated
firearm |
• |
•
Brandishing or misusing a weapon |
• |
•
Drawing a weapon without proper cause |
• |
•
Provoking a shooting incident without cause |
• |
•
Carrying or using a firearm while under the influence
of alcohol or dangerous drugs; and |
• |
•
Carrying or using a firearm of a different caliber
than that for which a firearm permit has been
issued. |
Protection
of the public shall be the highest priority for the
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services in exercising
licensing, regulatory and disciplinary functions.
Whenever the protection of the public is consistent
with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection
of the public shall be paramount.
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FIREARMS
Several
training and background check requirements relate to
registration as an armed security guard. The following
sections contain details on required training, distinctions
between exposed and concealed firearms, and firearm-related
crimes.
CALIFORNIA
CODE OF REGULATIONS
TITLE 16, DIVISION 7
ARTICLE 7
631.
Requirements for Carrying or Use of Firearms or Simulated
Firearms.
(a) A registered employee shall not
carry, use or possess a loaded or unloaded firearm
in the performance of his duty, whether or not it
is serviceable or operative, unless he has in his
possession a firearms qualification card issued to
him by the chief. Such card must be shown to any peace
officer or bureau representative upon demand.
(b) A registered employee may not
carry any replica or other simulated firearm.
631.1. Allowing the Carrying or Use of a Firearm.
(a)
A private patrol or alarm company operator
shall not allow an employee to carry or use a loaded
or unloaded firearm, whether or not it is serviceable
or operative, unless such employee possesses a firearms
qualification card.
(b) A private patrol or alarm company
operator may not allow an employee to carry any replica
or other simulated firearm.
632.
Firearms Qualification Card.
(a)
The bureau shall issue a firearms qualification card
to an applicant where all of the following conditions
exist:
(1)
The applicant is a licensed private investigator,
alarm company operator, private patrol operator or
registered employee of such a licensee or is employed
or compensated by a lawful business or public agency
as a security guard or patrol person;
(2) The applicant has filed with
the bureau a completed application for a firearms
qualification card on a form prescribed by the bureau,
dated and signed by the applicant under penalty of
perjury that the information in the application is
true and correct;
(3) The application is accompanied
by:
(A)
Payment of the firearms qualification fee prescribed
by Section 640(g).
(B)
Proof, satisfactory to the bureau, of successful completion
of a course approved by the bureau in the carrying
and use of a firearm. Including:
1. Proof of successful passage of
a written examination prescribed by the bureau. Such
examination shall be based on information required
to be taught pursuant to Section 635; and
2. Proof of qualifying on an approved
firearm range with the caliber of weapon to be used
by the applicant pursuant to Section 633.
(4) The bureau has determined, after
investigation, that the carrying and use of a firearm
by the applicant in the course of his or her duties
presents no apparent threat to the public safety.
(b)
The firearms qualification card, when issued, shall
be mailed to the applicant at the address which appears
on the application. In the event of the loss or destruction
of the card the cardholder may apply to the chief
for a certified replacement for the card, stating
the circumstances surrounding the loss, and pay a
$10 certification fee whereupon the chief shall issue
a certified replacement for such card.
(c)
Firearms qualification card does not authorize
the holder thereof to carry a concealed weapon as
that term is defined in Penal Code Section 12050.
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AUTHORITY
TO CARRY AN EXPOSED FIREARM
The
Business and Professions Code and the Penal Code contain
several sections that security guards must obey when
they carry an exposed firearm on duty.
BUSINESS
AND PROFESSIONS CODE
DIVISION 3, CHAPTER 11.5, PRIVATE SECURITY SERVICES
ARTICLE 4
Business
& Professions Code Section 7583.5
(a)
Every licensee and any person employed and
compensated by a licensee, other lawful business or
public agency as a security guard or patrolperson,
and who in the course of that employment or business
carries a firearm, shall complete a course of training
in the exercise of the powers to arrest and a course
of training in the carrying and use of firearms. This
subdivision shall not apply to armored vehicle guards
hired prior to January 1, 1977. Armored vehicle guards
hired on or after January 1, 1977, shall complete
a course in the carrying and use of firearms, but
shall not be required to complete a course of training
in the exercise of the powers to arrest. The course
of training in the carrying and use of firearms shall
not be required of any employee who is not required
or permitted by a licensee to carry or use firearms.
The course in the carrying and use of firearms and
the course of training in the exercise of the powers
to arrest shall meet the standards which shall be
prescribed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The Department shall encourage restraint and caution
in the use of firearms.
(b)
No uniformed employee of a licensee shall
carry or use any firearm unless the employee has in
his or her possession a valid firearm qualification
card.
Note:
It is illegal for a licensee or registrant to carry
a concealed weapon on duty without a permit issued by
local authorities. The firearm permit issued by BSIS
only allows the security guard to carry an exposed firearm
while on duty. |
PEACE
OFFICER EXEMPTIONS
An active duty peace officer or a level 1 or 2 reserve
peace officer who wishes to be an armed security guard
must apply for the security guard registration but
does not have to apply for the firearm permit. However,
to carry a weapon as a security guard, such peace
officers must have on their person, while performing
the duties of a security guard, a written authorization
from their primary employer (law enforcement entity)
giving them permission to carry a weapon while performing
the duties of a security guard. If they are unable
to obtain the written permission from their primary
employer (law enforcement entity) they must apply
for the firearm permit.
Such
peace officers are also exempt from having to submit
fingerprints for the security guard registration or
firearm permit. However, you must notify the Bureau
within 72 hours of any change in your employment status
(retired, quit, fired) with your primary employer
(law enforcement entity). You would then have to reapply
for a new guard registration and exposed firearm permit
and would also have to submit fingerprints.
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APPLICABLE
PENAL CODE SECTIONS
(FROM
THE 2005 COMPACT EDITION)
I.
Penal Code Section 12031 [Carrying of loaded firearms;
misdemeanor] (Excerpt)
(a) (1) A person is guilty of carrying
a loaded firearm when he or she carries a loaded firearm
on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any
public place or on any public street in an incorporated
city or in any public place or on any public street
in a prohibited area of unincorporated territory.
Subdivision (a) shall not apply to
any of the following:
Peace officers listed in Section 830.1 or 830.2, .
. .
Persons who are using target ranges for the purpose
of practice shooting with a firearm or who are members
of shooting clubs while hunting on the premises of
those clubs.
The carrying of pistols, revolvers, or other firearms
capable of being concealed upon the person by persons
who are authorized to carry those weapons pursuant
to Article 3 (commencing with Section 12050) of Chapter
1 of Title 2 of Part 4.
Uniformed
security guards or night watch persons employed by
any public agency, while acting within the scope and
course of their employment. (Emphasis added)
Uniformed
security guards, regularly employed and compensated
in that capacity by persons engaged in any lawful
business, and uniformed alarm agents employed by an
alarm company operator, while actually engaged in
protecting and preserving the property of their employers
or on duty or en route to or from their residences
or their places of employment, and security guards
and alarm agents en route to or from their residences
or employer-required range training. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit cities and
counties from enacting ordinances requiring alarm
agents to register their names. (Emphasis added)
(I)
Nothing in this section shall prevent any
person from carrying a loaded firearm in an area within
an incorporated city while engaged in hunting, provided
that the hunting at that place and time is not prohibited
by the city council.
(j)
(1) Nothing in this section is intended to
preclude the carrying of any loaded firearm, under
circumstances where it would otherwise be lawful,
by a person who reasonably believes that the person
or property of himself or herself or of another is
in immediate, grave danger and that the carrying of
the weapon is necessary for the preservation of that
person or property. As used in this subdivision, "immediate"
means the brief interval
before and after the local law enforcement agency,
when reasonably possible, has been notified of the
danger and before the arrival of its assistance. .
. .
(l)
Nothing in this section shall prevent any
person from having a loaded weapon, if it is otherwise
lawful, at his or her place of residence, including
any temporary residence or campsite. . .
Note:
Merely completing a course in firearms training does
not authorize any security guard to carry a firearm
on duty unless he/she has been issued a permit to do
so. Security guards who carry a firearm while on duty
without a valid permit could be arrested and convicted
for violation of Section 12031 of the Penal Code.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATON FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW:
http://www.bsis.ca.gov/forms_pubs/guardgd.pdf |
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©
1993-2011 Sintex Security Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. B.S.I.S. PPO 15687 - PI 27055 - TFF 1244 - TFB 1162 |
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