SIA Licensing at Events: What Organisers Must Know

By UK Event Managers • Safety & Risk • 10 min read

Using unlicensed security at your event is not a minor administrative oversight — it is a criminal offence under UK law, and the consequences fall on the event organiser as much as the individual working without a licence. Every year, UK events are shut down mid-operation because security staff cannot produce valid SIA licences. Organisers face prosecution, civil liability, and the reputational damage of a public enforcement action. Getting SIA licensing at events right is non-negotiable, and yet the rules are consistently misunderstood by even experienced organisers.

This guide explains exactly what SIA licensing requires at UK events, which roles need a licence, how to check that your security contractor is compliant, and what happens if something goes wrong.

What Is the SIA?

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the statutory body responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom. Established under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, the SIA operates a licensing regime that requires individuals working in defined security roles to hold a valid SIA licence before they can legally carry out that work.

The SIA issues licences in several categories, the most relevant to event organisers being:

• Door Supervisor licence — the primary licence for security staff working at licensed premises and events
• Security Guard licence — for static guarding, typically used for asset protection rather than crowd management
• Close Protection licence — for bodyguard and personal protection roles (performer security, VIP escort)
• CCTV (Public Space Surveillance) licence — for operators monitoring public-facing CCTV installations

For most UK events, the relevant licence is the Door Supervisor licence. This is the licence required for staff who control entry, carry out physical searches of persons, manage ejections, or otherwise exercise physical control over public access to the event.

Who Needs an SIA Licence at Your Event?

Understanding which roles require an SIA licence is where many event organisers go wrong. The test is not what you call the role — it is what the role actually involves. The Private Security Industry Act 2001 is clear that anyone who carries out licensable conduct must hold the appropriate licence, regardless of job title.

The following activities at events require an SIA Door Supervisor licence:

• Controlling entry to licensed premises or a licensed event — including checking tickets, verifying age, and deciding who is admitted
• Searching persons — bag checks, pat-downs, or the use of hand-held metal detectors applied to individuals
• Physically removing or ejecting persons from the event
• Guarding against unauthorised access to designated areas (backstage, production, artist areas) where a challenge may involve physical intervention

The following activities do not require an SIA licence:

• Directing pedestrian or vehicle traffic (stewarding)
• Providing customer information and wayfinding
• Checking tickets or wristbands where no physical search or entry refusal is involved
• Monitoring crowd density and reporting to control (provided there is no access control function)

SIA Licensing Requirements: A Practical Guide for Organisers

Step 1: Identify All Roles That Require a Licence

Before you brief any security contractor, map out every security and stewarding role at your event. For each role, ask: does this person control access, search people, or handle ejections? If yes to any of these, that role requires an SIA Door Supervisor licence. Create a written role breakdown and share it with your security contractor so there is no ambiguity about which positions must be filled by licensed personnel.

Step 2: Use an SIA-Approved Contractor

Where you are contracting a security company to supply door supervisors, you should use a company approved under the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS). ACS approval means the company has been inspected and meets the SIA’s standards for quality management, operational practice, and licence compliance. Using an ACS contractor reduces — but does not eliminate — your risk. Check the SIA’s public register of approved contractors at sia.homeoffice.gov.uk before engaging any security company.

Step 3: Verify Licences Before the Event

Do not take the security company’s word that all staff are licensed. Check every licence before the event. The SIA provides a free public licence checker on its website — enter the licence number and the holder’s name, and the register confirms whether the licence is valid and in date. For larger events, request a full staff list with licence numbers at least 48 hours in advance and run spot checks on the day.

Licences must be physically present — the door supervisor must carry their licence while working and produce it on request from a police officer or the SIA. If a staff member cannot produce a valid licence on the day, they must be stood down immediately.

Step 4: Understand Your Liability

Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, it is an offence to knowingly use unlicensed security. However, the courts have interpreted “knowingly” broadly — if you failed to check, you may be deemed to have known. The offence applies to the event organiser, not just the security contractor. Penalties include unlimited fines and up to 5 years’ imprisonment for the most serious cases. In practice, enforcement action against organisers is most likely after an incident has drawn regulatory attention to the event.

Step 5: Cover Licence Conditions in Your Event Management Plan

Your Event Management Plan (EMP) should include a security plan that explicitly addresses SIA licensing — how many licensed door supervisors are deployed, their locations, the name of the contractor, and confirmation that licences have been verified. Local authority SAGs and police increasingly ask to see evidence of licence compliance as part of the EMP review process.

Step 6: Brief Your Security Team

SIA licences confirm the holder is qualified and vetted — they do not replace operational briefing. Before every event, brief your security team on:

• The event’s specific entry conditions (age restrictions, ticket types, prohibited items)
• Radio channels and the command structure
• Location of first aid posts and welfare areas
• Escalation procedures — who to contact for suspicious behaviour, medical emergencies, or disturbances
• Counter-terrorism awareness — “Run, Hide, Tell” and site-specific suspicious activity reporting

Common Mistakes Event Organisers Make with SIA Licensing

• Treating event stewards and door supervisors as interchangeable — they are not. If a steward needs to refuse entry or search someone, they need an SIA licence.
• Not verifying licences in advance — relying on the contractor’s assurance that all staff are compliant, then discovering on the day that one or more are not.
• Using volunteers in access control roles — volunteers are not exempt from SIA licensing requirements if they are carrying out licensable conduct. Training a volunteer to refuse entry is not an acceptable workaround.
• Forgetting backstage security — artist security, stage-side management, and accreditation checking backstage often involves access control and may require licensed staff.
• Assuming licence conditions in the venue hire agreement cover everything — if you, as event organiser, are directing security staff, you share the compliance obligation with the security contractor.

SIA Licensing Comparison: Roles at Events

SIA Licensing and Martyn’s Law

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (Martyn’s Law) adds a further dimension to security planning at events. For events in the Enhanced Tier (800+ people), access control is a named requirement — and access control, as we have seen, requires SIA-licensed door supervisors. Martyn’s Law does not change the SIA licensing rules, but it does create an additional regulatory obligation that makes having adequate licensed security even more important to document and demonstrate. Your event risk assessment and EMP should address both the SIA licensing compliance and the Martyn’s Law security obligations in an integrated way.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SIA Door Supervisor licence?

An SIA Door Supervisor licence is issued by the Security Industry Authority to individuals who have completed the required training (typically a Level 2 Award for Door Supervisors or equivalent), passed a criminal record check, and met the SIA’s identity verification requirements. The licence must be renewed every three years. It authorises the holder to work in access control, crowd management, and search roles at licensed premises and events across the UK. A licence is specific to the individual — it cannot be shared, borrowed, or used by another person.

Can I use unlicensed volunteers for security at a community event?

No. The SIA licensing requirement applies to anyone carrying out licensable conduct — the fact that someone is a volunteer rather than a paid employee does not exempt them. If your volunteers are controlling entry, searching bags, or refusing entry to anyone, they are carrying out licensable conduct and require an SIA licence. For community events where this is impractical, the solution is to ensure that access control roles are handled by licensed staff and that volunteers are limited to genuine stewarding functions (information, wayfinding, crowd direction) with no access control element.

How do I check if a door supervisor’s SIA licence is valid?

The SIA maintains a publicly accessible licence register at sia.homeoffice.gov.uk. Enter the licence number displayed on the individual’s licence card, along with their name, and the register will confirm whether the licence is valid, in date, and relates to the correct individual. This check is free and takes less than a minute. Any event organiser using security staff should carry out these checks before the event — do not wait until the day.

What should I do if my security contractor turns up with unlicensed staff?

Do not permit unlicensed staff to work in any access control, searching, or ejection role. Stand them down immediately. Contact your contractor to obtain replacements, and record the incident in writing. If the event cannot be safely operated with the licensed staff available, you should consider delaying opening until compliant staffing is in place. Document everything — the stand-down, the time, and the names of those involved. If police or the SIA ask questions later, your records demonstrate that you acted appropriately when you became aware of the non-compliance.

Are licence requirements different for private events?

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 applies to door supervisors working at “licensed premises” — places that hold a premises licence or in respect of which a Temporary Event Notice has been given. For purely private events on private land with no licensed activities (no alcohol sales, no regulated entertainment), the strict legal requirement for SIA-licensed door supervisors may not apply. However, for any event involving licensable activities — which covers most events with alcohol or amplified music — SIA licensing requirements apply. If in doubt, treat the requirement as applicable and use licensed staff. The consequences of getting this wrong far outweigh the cost of compliance.

How many SIA-licensed door supervisors do I need?

There is no statutory prescribed ratio — the required number depends on your event’s specific risk profile, the number of entry points, the nature of the crowd, and any conditions attached to your licence. As a practical benchmark, most local authority licences for events above 500 people specify a minimum number of door supervisors as a licence condition. For events without specific conditions, the calculation should flow from your risk assessment: how many entry points require controlled access, what is the realistic ejection frequency, and how many staff are needed to maintain safe access control at peak arrival times? Your event security contractor should advise on appropriate staffing levels based on your event profile.