A practical SIA licence renewal checklist for guarding companies — when to renew, what you need, and how to avoid deploying officers on lapsed licences.
Category: Compliance · Published: 2026-06-14
An expired SIA licence means an officer can't legally work — and you can't bill for them. This checklist helps guarding firms stay ahead of renewals across the whole workforce.
The SIA recommends applying to renew up to four months before a licence expires. Starting early avoids the gap between expiry and a new licence being issued.
For a firm managing dozens of officers, the practical answer is: track every expiry date centrally and trigger reminders well in advance.
Before an officer's licence lapses, confirm:
Tracking licences in a spreadsheet works until it doesn't — a missed reminder can put an unlicensed officer on site, exposing you to enforcement action and a lost contract.
Automated expiry alerts (e.g. by WhatsApp and email) to both the officer and the manager remove the single point of failure.
First aid, door supervisor top-ups and other certificates have their own expiries. Track them alongside the SIA licence so an officer is fully deployable, not just licensed on paper.
The SIA allows you to apply up to four months before expiry — and recommends doing so to avoid any gap.
Only if they still hold a valid licence. If the licence has expired, they cannot legally work in a licensable role until the new one is issued.
Centralise every expiry date and automate reminders to both officer and manager, rather than relying on a manual spreadsheet.
Yes. Pulcify verifies SIA licences and sends expiry alerts via WhatsApp and email so nobody is deployed on a lapsed licence.
Pulcify turns the checks described above into an automated workflow: licence and vetting status tracked per operative, expiry alerts before anything lapses, and audit-ready evidence packs generated on demand.
Book a demo or see pricing — 14-day free trial, no credit card required.