FOI release

SIA licence holders with more than one licence

Published 10 July 2026

Request

Please provide answers to the following:

1. The total number of active front line SIA licences currently issued.
2. The total number of individuals who hold more than one SIA licence in different sectors.
3. The total number of individuals who hold more than two SIA licences in different sectors.
4. Of those individuals who hold multiple licences, how many have licences with synchronised expiry dates, and how many have licences where the expiry dates are not synchronised sufficiently to retain the second licence discount? If you could run this query in two stages please: firstly, with all licences treated as different entities, and secondly where door supervisor, security guard and close protection licences are treated as a primary licence and the CCTV licence is treated as the second licence.
5. Why the SIA has removed the licence discount.

Response

Question 1

There are 506,063 active front line SIA licences currently issued, held by 446,828 licence holders.

Question 2

There are 58,049 licence holders with more than one active licence across different sectors.

Question 3

There are 1,145 licence holders who hold more than two active licences across different sectors.

Question 4

There are 28,736 licence holders with multiple licences that expire within four months of each other, making them potentially eligible to retain the licence discount.

There are 28,695 licence holders with multiple licences that expire more than four months apart.

Please note that these groups are not mutually exclusive. Some individuals hold more than two licences with different expiry dates, meaning they may have some licences expiring within four months of each other and others expiring more than four months apart. As a result, 618 licence holders are included in both categories.

There is no distinction between a ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ licence in the discount rules which came into effect on 1 June 2026. The total licence fee is instead calculated on the basis of the number of different sectors applied for within the same application, with one sector being charged at full price and any additional sectors within the same application being subject to a 50% discount.

Question 5

In the past we have borne the cost of the additional licence discount, despite these applications generating the same processing costs as the first licence. The checks and other processes we carry out (including criminality checks) have to be repeated in full. We are required by HM Treasury’s requirements under managing public money to operate on the basis of full cost recovery, and to apply costs fully to those that use the service accordingly. We are self-financing and are required to manage our costs effectively against the licence fee income we receive and ensure value for money to those paying the licence fee. We direct all funds we receive towards regulating the security industry and are not allowed to make a profit from the fee.

However, if you make multiple applications using the same application form, we can use the same checks and combine the application processes and therefore reduce the cost; for example, we can use one Disclosure and Barring Service check for multiple licence applications where the applications are made at the same time as part of the same application. A recent fee review identified that there were no cost savings where licence applications were made separately and therefore offering the multiple licence discount for these applications is not appropriate. Where additional applications are made at the same time as part of the same applications, these savings do exist and therefore it is appropriate to offer the discount for these applications.

[Ref: FOI 0617]