New Jersey Security Guard Training Overview

In New Jersey there are several steps which need to be followed in order to obtain a license to work as a security guard. The first step is receiving a temporary 30 day license through the New Jersey State Police Department, which is as simple as applying through their website. You are required to make under-oath statements regarding your name, age, location, and criminal background. The requirements for a NJ security guard are that a person has reached the age of 18, lives in New Jersey, and does not have any criminal charges in their history. In addition to these requirements, the applicant will also need to provide their work history for the past 5 years through the state police website as well.

New Jersey residents wishing to enter security guard training need to first register with the New Jersey state police for a 30 day temporary license at: https://eapps.njsp.org/applicant/logon.do. The license costs $75, and needs to be paid for when applying online by credit card.

During the 30 days in which your temporary license is good for, a person will need to complete the background check, fingerprinting, and required security guard training class hours in New Jersey. In order to maximize the 30 days, most places recommend registering for a security guard training class first, then obtaining your temporary license. The New Jersey training academy in place for all security guards is call SORA training. There is additional information on the requirements for SORA training below. The security guard training class requirements in New Jersey are a minimum of 24 hours of classroom time. The New Jersey Security Guard classes need to be taught by state certified security guard instructor. During the classroom hours a security guard students in New Jersey will learn about the following things and more:

  • New Jersey Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy
  • Terrorism Awareness and Prevention
  • Security Measures how to Prevent and Deter
  • New Jersey’s Critical Infrastructure Awareness
  • Recognizing weapons of mass destruction and terrorist bombers
  • First Aid Awareness and use as well as CPR
  • Ethics within the work force
  • Report Writing, communication and questioning tactics
  • Street Gangs recognition
  • Powers to Arrest
  • Emergency Response Tactics
  • Prevention of Theft
  • Instances that require use of force
  • Detaining suspects procedures
  • … and more

Also during the 30 days that a person has their temporary New Jersey Security Guard license, they will need to complete the background and fingerprinting portions of the process. In order to schedule a fingerprinting appointment in the state of New Jersey a person needs to visit the following website: https://nj.ibtfingerprint.com  This website will walk a person through the scheduling process and identify the date and time a prospective security guard will go to have their fingerprinting completed. Keep in mind that there are fees associated with scheduling the fingerprinting. They can be paid directly online with a major credit card.

New Jersey Security Guard Training: SORA

In New Jersey all security guards must have undergone SORA training through a certified instructor. Some security companies have their own SORA trainer on site, but often they end up charging higher rate for training than if a person had gone to a training facility. If a security guard in New Jersey is caught without having undergone SORA training they are eligible to be personally fined $1,000 by the state. This is why it is important to ensure that NJ security guard training is done through the properly certified training facilities or trainers. There are lots of online training programs offered, but these will not count towards the New Jersey SORA training requirements. There are additional SORA training courses for those wishing to work as armed guards in New Jersey. Armed guards also need to acquire a firearms permit through the New Jersey State Police Department.

There are many SORA training facilities for security guard classes in New Jersey to choose from. New Jersey Guard Academy training sites are located in Edison, Jersey City, Deptford, Atlantic County, Clifton, Ocean County, and Newark for weekend training classes. There are weekday SORA security guard training classes in Jersey City, Edison, Clifton and Newark, New Jersey.

Once SORA training is complete, the person holding a temporary New Jersey Security Guard License will then apply for a permanent license. Fingerprinting clearance will need to be complete, and successful completion of training hours. A person’s license will then be good for 2 years, at which point you will need to renew 90 days before your license is due to expire. It is vital that a person gets the recertification completed before a license expires, otherwise they will have to go through the entire certification process over again, including the 24 hours of SORA training. The cost to renew your license is $83.53 plus the cost of the one day recertification class which is required of all people who are renewing their security guard license in New Jersey.