West Virginia Registration for Security Guard Work
In West Virginia, the secretary of state officer handles the registration process and requirements which must be met for a person to work as a security guard. The regulations are similar to all other states in the country and include being of legal age (18), having no issues of alcohol dependency or drug use or distribution. Persons must be legal citizens or legal aliens to be able to work. Their criminal history must be clean according to background checks and fingerprinting, and they need to be of good moral character. The state of West Virginia takes all of this very seriously as security guards are considered part of the WV law enforcement team.
The first step to becoming a West Virginia security guard is to apply for open jobs with local security companies. Those who do need meet the above criteria need not apply. Once hired, the company will require some level of initial security guard training, along with drug testing and background checks. The fees associated with this process come out of the employee’s pocket, so it is important to be able to cover these fees upfront. Once these steps and the security guard training is complete a person needs to be registered with the West Virginia secretary of state in order to maintain their work as security guard. The security company which hires you will be aware of all the requirements and procedures in order to successfully register. The West Virginia secretary of state website is: www.sos.wv.gov
People in West Virginia wishing to become armed security guards will need to complete the above requirements along with additional requirements and steps. An armed guard in West Virginia needs to be at least 21 years old. This is standard across the country in almost every state. In addition to the training for unarmed guards, armed guards must undergo firearms training as well. This is to ensure that West Virginia armed guards are equipped to handle the responsibility of carrying a firearm on the jobsite. Training includes gun safety along with an overview of all laws and regulations regarding the use of guns in the workforce. Additional checks into a person’s background and character are also required. The best way to become an armed guard in West Virginia is to first become an unarmed guard, then have the security company walk you through the process of obtaining the armed guard registration, if they see fit.
Security Guard Job Statistics in West Virginia
The Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area is among the highest employment levels for nonmetropolitan areas in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Southern West Virginia Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in the security guard field, with over 1,500 jobs. Charleston WV has the largest amount of security guard jobs for one area in the state, with 1,850 on record.