§01Who needs a PSISA licence.
Every person paid to provide guard duties in Ontario — including in-house corporate security officers earning above a nominal threshold — must hold a valid PSISA licence issued by the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
§02The training requirement.
40 hours of provincially-approved training plus a ministry-administered test. Guardian Shield officers complete this before onboarding and add another 40+ hours of internal training on top.
§03Licence verification.
PSISA licences are queryable through the Ministry's public verification tool. Every reputable agency runs this check on hire and quarterly thereafter — not just at renewal.
§04Uniform and vehicle requirements.
PSISA prescribes uniform standards (no impersonation of police), vehicle marking rules, and use-of-force limitations. Violations can void an agency's licence.
§05Common cut-corners.
The two most common PSISA violations we see when auditing new client sites: expired individual licences left in service, and misrepresented job titles ('Loss Prevention Officer' is not a workaround).
§06What you should demand.
A live PSISA verification link for every officer assigned to your site, refreshed on the anniversary of onboarding. Non-negotiable.