ESS Global, a leader in security services in over 60 countries, provides professional Tampa Bay Security Guards, for government, commercial, educational and non-profit entities.
ESS Global – Tampa Bay Security Guards
When business owners think about hiring security guards, one of their first thoughts is “how well are they trained?”, because when you take a hard look at security, it’s all about the training.
Forty-one states (including Florida), plus the District of Columbia, license security officers, but requirements vary greatly from state to state. While nine states—Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming—do not license security officers at the state level, all while some cities within them do.
There is no national standard.
But let’s talk about Florida. Here in Tampa Bay security guards are regulated by the Florida Department of Agriculture, under current director Adam Putnam. Here are the current licenses Security Licenses that Florida grants.
- “D” – Security Officer: Any individual who performs the services of a security officer must have a Class “D” license.
- “M” or “MB” – Manager of a Security Agency: A Class “B” Security Agency or Class “BB” or “AB” branch office must have a Class “M” or Class “MB” licensed manager.
- “G” – Statewide Firearm license: Only Class “D,” Class “M,” or Class “MB” licensees are permitted to bear a firearm and any such licensee who bears a firearm must also have a Class “G” license.
- “K” – Firearms Instructor: Any person who provides classroom and range instruction to applicants for Class “G” licensure must have a Class “K” license.
- “DI” – Security Officer Instructor: Any person who provides classroom instruction to applicants for Class “D” licensure must have a Class “DI” license.
So yes. In Florida both armed (G) and unarmed (D) Security Guards are licensed by the State, through the Department of Agriculture.
What About the Security Guard Schools?
That would be the Security Training. Who regulates that? Who teaches this “G” and “D” stuff?
In a word, Nobody.
Nobody looks over the training syllabus. Nobody oversees what’s being taught. Nobody monitors what is said. Except….
At ESS Global, our Tampa Bay Security Guards are trained for the two required Florida security guard licenses (D,G) at our own school here at ESS and it’s the only security school in the state of Florida that is certified and approved by the Florida Department of Education.
So the next time you think about security guards here in the Tampa Bay/Clearwater area, think “it’s all about the training“.
Because it is.
If you have security concerns, ESS supplies the very best Tampa Bay Security Guards, because they have been trained to be the best. When you think of security, think of ESS.
Questions? Please call
727-940-7926
or email us at info@essglobalcorp.com

When it comes to event security in Tampa, ESS Global Corp has the experience you require to see your next event goes smoothly. From RNC conventions to concerts, races, festivals and more, ESS is your first choice for event security in Tampa.
ESS has experience with;
Our threat assessment and security advance specialists make our event security team one of the best the industry has to offer. Every event we secure will be given a proper advance by our agents. A full threat assessment will be performed and a security plan will be put into effect based on the information gathering during the security advance and threat assessment. It is our responsibility to our clients to take care of everything down to the last detail from a security standpoint so that their event can proceed as smoothly as possibly.
We have helped secure crowds with anywhere from 1,000 to over 1,000,000 people in attendance. Not only are we able to secure crowds, but we have the ability and knowledge to teach your staff how to do so properly.