How to become a security officer in Singapore

What the job involves

Security officers are deployed to all kinds of sites, from condominiums and warehouses to events. At the entry rank the work covers screening, patrolling and guarding, access control and responding to incidents. Senior ranks operate security and fire command systems and supervise teams.

12-hour shifts are common, often on a 5-day or 5/6/5/6 pattern: these are the examples MOM’s security tripartite cluster uses. Under MOM’s rules for the sector, officers should not work more than 72 extra hours a month, and you do not have to work extra hours to earn the minimum basic salary. Agree your hours with your employer in writing.

Who can get a licence

• Singapore Citizens and PRs, or Malaysian citizens with a valid work pass.
• You must be a "fit and proper" person. The police can consider things like links to crime, dishonesty, some mental health conditions and being an undischarged bankrupt.
• If you declare a mental health condition, you need a doctor’s memo, dated within six months, saying you are fit to work as a security officer.
• If you are above 60, a registered doctor must certify you medically fit before you are deployed. The police provide a Security Officer Medical Form for this.

The training: four modules

Before you can be deployed, you need the Basic Licensing Units, WSQ courses run by training providers. Since 1 January 2024 new officers complete three courses that give four Statements of Attainment:

• Provide Guard and Patrol Services and Operate Basic Security Equipment (counts as two: Guard and Patrol, and Access Control Management).
• Handle Security Incidents and Services.
• Recognise Terrorist Threats. No officer can be deployed at any site without it.
• Look the courses up on MySkillsFuture, where each listing shows the fee after subsidies and whether you can use your SkillsFuture Credit.

Applying and renewing

• Apply on the GoBusiness Licensing portal with Singpass. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and the fee is $16.
• Processing takes at least 3 to 4 weeks once everything is in. Incomplete applications are rejected, so upload your training certificates, not result slips.
• The licence is issued by the Singapore Police Force’s Police Regulatory Department (PRD), previously called the Police Licensing & Regulatory Department (PLRD). Some training centres still use the old name.
• To renew, you get a reminder three months before your licence expires. Take the online Refresher Quiz before you submit the renewal, or the application may be rejected. A training package to prepare is on the police website.

The career ladder and minimum salaries

The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) has five ranks: Security Officer, Senior Security Officer, Security Supervisor, Senior Security Supervisor and Chief Security Officer. Each step needs more modules and time at the rank below, e.g. 6 months as a Security Officer plus 2 modules to become a Senior Security Officer.

The PWM covers Singapore Citizens and PRs employed by licensed security agencies, or by in-house employers that hire foreign workers. MOM’s minimum basic monthly wages for full-time outsourced officers (35 to 44 hours a week), from 1 January to 31 December 2026:

• Security Officer: at least $3,090.
• Senior Security Officer: at least $3,390.
• Security Supervisor: at least $3,690.
• Senior Security Supervisor: at least $3,990.
• Part-time outsourced Security Officers: at least $11.80 an hour in 2026. In-house officers have their own table on the same MOM page.
• Wages under the Progressive Wage Model are revised every year: check MOM’s page for the latest. You can check what your employer has declared for you on MOM’s Progressive Wage Portal.

Tips for older workers and career switchers, and what to watch for

• Ask about the site and shift before you accept: how much standing, walking and night work there is differs from site to site.
• Newer roles use technology. Senior Security Officers now train in remote surveillance, and MHA has highlighted an agency whose officers moved from patrolling to managing autonomous security robots.
• Never pay an "agency" or a stranger to get you hired or to get your licence. You apply for the licence yourself on GoBusiness, and training is done with a WSQ training provider.
• You may be employed as a security officer by no more than two employers at a time.