Security work is one of the few jobs in Ontario where a short, cheap credential moves you straight past the “no experience” wall. You do not need a diploma, you do not need a car, and the licence itself takes weeks rather than years. That is why it shows up constantly on lists of first real jobs for people in their late teens and early twenties.
It is also one of the more heavily regulated entry-level jobs in the province. Working as a security guard for pay without a licence is not allowed, and the requirements are set out in law rather than left to the employer. Here is what the process actually involves.
Who can apply
To hold an Ontario security guard licence you must be at least 18, legally entitled to work in Canada, and have a clean criminal record. There is no education requirement beyond that. If you are still under 18 and looking now, the sensible move is to take a retail or food service job in the meantime; there are plenty of entry-level openings with no age floor above the provincial minimum.
The licence is issued under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act and administered by the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The Ontario government’s licensing page is the authoritative source, and it is worth reading before you pay anyone for anything.
Step one: the 40-hour basic training course
Ontario requires a basic training course of at least 40 hours, delivered by an approved training provider. The ministry’s training page confirms the 40-hour minimum and that the course must include certification in emergency first aid and CPR.
If you already hold a valid first aid and CPR certificate from a WSIB-approved or St. John Ambulance certified instructor, you can be exempted from that portion of the course. Keep the certificate; it also helps on applications for lifeguarding, camp and childcare work.
Course content covers the legal authorities of a guard, use-of-force theory, report writing, emergency response, de-escalation, and health and safety. Report writing matters more than new guards expect. A large share of the job is producing a clear, factual, timestamped account of something that happened at 3 a.m., and supervisors notice quickly who can do it.
Course prices are set by the individual training providers, not by the province, and they vary widely between colleges, private schools and online providers. Ontario publishes a list of approved providers, so check that a school appears on it before you pay. Compare a few, and be sceptical of anything advertised as a guaranteed pass.
At the end you receive an Ontario training completion number. You need it to book the test.
Step two: the ministry test
The provincial test is 60 multiple-choice questions with 75 minutes to complete it. Booking is handled through the province’s designated testing provider, and as of writing the test fee is $35 plus 13 per cent HST, or $39.55, according to the testing provider’s own booking and payment page. That fee covers sitting and marking the test only. Bookings cannot be cancelled or rescheduled and the fee is not refundable, so pick a date you are certain about.
Fees change. Confirm the current amount on the booking site before you budget.
Step three: the licence application
Once you pass, you apply to the province for the licence itself. The application fee for an individual security guard licence is $80. A private investigator licence is also $80, and a dual licence covering both is $160.
The licence expires two birthdays after the day it is issued, so the term is roughly two years but rarely exactly two. Online applications are processed in up to 15 calendar days; mailed applications can take up to 30. You will need a passport-style photo and a Canadian guarantor to verify it, so line that up early rather than discovering the requirement at the end.
The licence and test together come to under $125 in government and testing fees, plus whatever your course costs. Some employers reimburse training after a probation period, which is a fair thing to ask in an interview.
What the job pays
Job Bank, the federal labour market service, reports hourly wages for security guards and related security service occupations in Ontario at roughly $17.60 at the low end, $20.00 at the median and $34.87 at the high end for the 2023 to 2024 reference period. You can check the current figures on the Job Bank wage report.
Read the low end carefully. It sits at Ontario’s general minimum wage, which is $17.60 and rises to $17.95 on October 1, 2026. In practice a first licensed guard job in the Greater Toronto Area often starts a modest amount above minimum, and pay climbs with the site rather than with time served. Concierge work in a condo tower, hospital and healthcare sites, corporate reception, transit and airport posts, and anything requiring extra clearances or a mobile patrol licence all pay better than a standard retail or construction-site post.
Shift differentials for overnights are common and worth asking about specifically. So is whether the site is a sit-down post or a walking patrol, because that difference is the whole character of the job. You can see what is currently posted in security roles to get a feel for the range.
What the work is actually like
Most security shifts are 8 or 12 hours and a great deal of the time is uneventful. That suits some people and is unbearable for others. The parts that are not uneventful tend to involve someone who is upset, unwell or intoxicated, and your job is to observe, report and de-escalate rather than to intervene physically.
Overnights are easy to get as a new guard, because they are what experienced guards avoid. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act still applies to licensed guards: eating periods, the daily rest requirement between shifts, overtime after 44 hours in a week, and vacation pay.
If you are weighing this against other short-credential routes, warehouse and logistics work needs no licence at all. Either way, a licence plus open availability is a strong combination for a first job, and you can set up a free candidate profile so employers can find you.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by province.
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