As featured in the Sunday Express.
We’re often asked: ‘How do I become a bodyguard?’ First and foremost, why do you want to be a bodyguard? Bodyguarding is not a quick and easy career path, there are many considerations to make before stepping onto the path to becoming a Bodyguard; also widely known in the UK as a Close Protection Officer/Operative – CPO for short.
Being a Bodyguard is not for everyone, it requires specific traits and skillsets. If you believe you have what it takes to be a Bodyguard, simply because you’ve watched a couple of movies or you want to live the high-life and brush shoulders with celebrities, then stop right now and go back to the drawing board. Close protection is much more about intelligence and planning than muscles and guns!
Patience, punctuality, integrity, selflessness, commitment, discretion, the ability to remain alert for long periods of time and inactivity, thinking on your feet, and of course – personal fitness. All these attributes are required before you even consider any “Bodyguard” training course, more commonly referred to as a ‘close protection course’.
Patience – There are many hours spent waiting around for the Principal (The VIP/Boss) to move, leave the house, finish a meeting, leave a social event – to name but a few. All of which at some point you’ll be required to be static for a considerable amount of time. Waiting around, sometimes in a featureless silent corridor of a 5* Hotel for example; for hours on end with very little notice, if any, to move or information on timings to depart.
Punctuality – If you’re the type of person that’s always late no matter how many times you set your alarm, or how hard you try – being a bodyguard is not for you! Poor punctuality not only delays the Principal and their business or plans but delays and reflects badly on the rest of the team, showing everyone that you lack self-discipline.
Integrity – You will be in a position of trust, often with the Principal’s valuable belongings or even family members. No matter how tempting it is to take a ‘selfie’ with the Principal’s supercar / private jet, take a dip in the swimming pool, or ‘check-in’ on social media at a posh hotel or restaurant, it’s a big no, no.
Selflessness – You will be expected to work long hours often with little sleep and not very much food, often putting the Principal’s needs before your own, and sometimes before your own families’. Unfortunately, missing your partner or child’s birthday is par for the course.
And as strange as it may seem; you will be required at some point in your career, to put yourself in harm’s way to prevent your Principal from getting injured or worse – after all; by definition – you are being paid to protect the Principal and their family. Bodyguard – ‘a person or group of people whose job it is to protect someone from attack’:
Commitment – Your commitment to your Principal and employers; be it a security company or the Principal themselves. Your commitment will be required on a personal level too, such as your personal fitness and abilities. And a commitment to continue learning within the industry, CPD (continuing professional development). If you cannot swim how can you save someone’s life? if you cannot drive how can you drive in an emergency? Very basic requirements but we have over the years come across “Bodyguards” who could not swim or could not drive!
Discretion – You may be put into compromising situations by your Boss that will need to be dealt with – with total discretion. Keeping yourself and your Principal out of the limelight or away from any bad press, goes hand in hand with being a Bodyguard – no matter what industry, culture or background your Principal is from.
Personal fitness – This topic goes hand in hand with commitment, it is down to you to keep your fitness up; again if you are unfit how can you possibly take care of someone else? High levels of fitness will help you stay alert and responsive and enable you to work longer hours before suffering fatigue. Discipline in a combative/defensive or unarmed combat skill is essential for working as a bodyguard, after all – how else will you protect your Principal?
Working long hours will make it difficult to maintain your fitness but it must and should be part of your daily routine. Unfortunately, this is where bodybuilders struggle within the industry; the need to spend hours in the gym every day, and the need to eat every couple of hours. This just does not work within the industry.
Bodyguards or Close Protection Operatives can come from all backgrounds and walks of life, the common misconception is that you must be from a military or policing background – this is simply not the case. Some of the best bodyguards we have had the pleasure of employing have been civilians, some of the worst have been ex-military! There are good and bad from both walks of life; you can only ride the coattails of your past police or military service once you become successful in your own right! It’s the above attributes that ‘Maketh the Man’ – or woman. Hiring female bodyguards is increasingly popular and they’re highly sought after.
It’s true that most bodyguards will have a military or police background, but this does not instantly make them suitable or more favourable for the close protection industry. There are only a handful of regiments that have a close protection connection within their duties, that still doesn’t mean that an individual is suited to the private sector, a certain Principal or environment.
The foundations of close protection most certainly come from, and will almost always be based around military tactics and thinking. The ability to think on your feet and operate without instruction is as important as following instructions. That said, there are environments such as hostile environments (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc.) that are more suited to ex-military, this should be considered when choosing the right close protection course; hostile and corporate close protection are very different sides of the same coin – make sure you pick a course that suits you and your desired career path.
There are thousands of training courses available around the world and hundreds throughout the UK. Ultimately, it will be down to your goals, budget, personal preference and research which will help you choose a suitable course.
Contracted close protection in the UK requires a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the regulator responsible for licensing individuals who work in the private security industry, and the licence is valid only in the UK. It lasts three years. Applicants must be at least 18, although many security companies set a minimum age of 25 for insurance and experience. The same licence permits the holder to work as a door supervisor or security guard.
In France, you will require a CNAPS licence, in Spain you will require ‘Titulo de Escolta Privado’. Similarly in most countries, there is some form of licensing and minimum training requirement.
The licence-linked qualification is the Level 3 Certificate for Close Protection Operatives in the Private Security Industry. Several awarding organisations offer it through approved training providers.
Before training begins, the candidate must hold a first aid qualification at Level 3 or above, with at least 12 months left to run. First Aid at Work (FAW), First Person on Scene (FPOS) and First Response Emergency Care (FREC) all meet the requirement.
Contracted close protection work cannot begin until the SIA has granted the licence. A licence dispensation notice (LDN) from an SIA Approved Contractor is not available to first-time applicants: since February 2025, LDNs can only be issued to applicants who already hold an active SIA licence. Most applications are decided within a month. In 2024 the SIA made 197,591 licence decisions, and 16,757 of them (8.5%) took longer than 31 days.
You can find recognised close protection course providers on the Security Industry Authority website.
Ultimately, the course you should be looking to attend should consist of/or offer the following, but not limited to:
You should consider courses that are residential, thus giving you as many learning hours as possible. Most of the residential courses offer a more realistic insight into the hours and dedication required when you’re eventually operating as a Bodyguard / Close Protection Operative. Don’t pick a course purely because it’s local and convenient or cheap, and avoid courses that claim to have a 100% pass rate – this is not a good statistic. It generally means they are pushing students through and passing them no matter what standard the candidate is, would you want them watching your back?
Choose a reputable training provider that is well known with honest reviews from previous students – but remember, they will only have done one course so nothing to compare it to. Ask to go along and view a course that is running and research as much as possible, ask to meet the instructors; what are their backgrounds? Are the instructors still actively working on the ‘Close Protection Circuit’? This will indicate if their knowledge is still current or outdated. Do they provide post-course support? The instructors may claim to be ex-special forces, but do they have the experience within your chosen environment? (Corporate / Hostile).
Look into more than one course, and don’t be swayed by a jazzy website, promotional videos/flyers, discounts and promises of guaranteed work upon completion – this simply will not happen.
Generally, the more expensive and longer a course is; the better – but that’s not a given.
The minimum is 194 guided learning hours over 18 days. The candidate then passes the SIA licence exams, set by the awarding organisation, and only then applies to the SIA for the licence. Finding work without experience takes time.
Since 1st April 2026, renewing a close protection licence has required the refresher qualification. It replaced the top-up training that licence holders completed between 2022 and early 2026, and it is repeated at every renewal.
The refresher is a Level 2 Award. Of its 34 hours, between 2.5 and 4.5 days are spent in the classroom, depending on how much is completed by self-study. Its three units cover door supervision principles, physical intervention, and physical intervention for close protection. The physical intervention units introduce no new techniques.
The SIA’s stated purpose is to keep current the safety-critical skills most exposed to skills fade: physical intervention, searching, protecting people in vulnerable situations and terror threat awareness. Door supervision content is included because the close protection licence covers that role too.
Before the refresher course, the training provider checks two certificates:
The SIA began a review of every licence-linked qualification in November 2025, covering course content, assessment and the way training is delivered. Its public consultation ran from 28th August to 23rd October 2026. Final specifications are due in winter 2026.
The new qualifications follow later in 2027. The proposals that bear on close protection are:
None of the proposals is yet in force.
Courses that promise you work once you have passed are generally untrue, you will be put on their database of potential employees, but no-one can guarantee you work on completion of your chosen Close Protection course. In September 2026 there were 11,811 active close protection licences in the UK, down from a peak of 15,479 in October 2022. Full-time employment in close protection is rare. Most licence holders are self-employed and compete for the limited work that is advertised openly. The vast majority of work is shared between friends, trusted colleagues and closed networks. Be very cautious of vacancies posted on social media that sound too good to be true, they often are and probably a CV harvest and/or cheap marketing ploy. Do your due diligence on security companies and their directors before handing over your personal data to them in the hope of work, and never pay them for vetting on the promise of work, it’s a scam. When you do find a company worth applying for follow our advice on preparing a close protection CV.
Most close protection work in the UK is concentrated in and around London; where do you live? – living several hours from London will put you at a distinct disadvantage. Do you have any accommodation in London? – most jobs these days do not include accommodation, and it’s not cheap living in the Capital. Do you have any knowledge of London? If not, you need to learn and quickly. Most principals will ask you for recommendations: where the nearest pharmacy or coffee shop is, and London is a big place. Do you have enough money to support yourself during the task, and for the 30 days proceeding? – that is how long it generally takes to get paid, sometimes longer. And during the quiet periods? It’s a seasonal feast and famine industry that is very cut-throat. The security industry is flooded, with the next person or company willing to do it cheaper than the last. You really need to consider these points before investing your hard-earned money and time into a course, which may yield zero return!
You need to consider and understand that you’ll be starting at the bottom of the ladder, you will need to gain experience, the trust of colleagues and companies before the work offers start coming in. Don’t be a ‘job-snob’, turn up for last-minute retail, doors and event security work – prove yourself, build your own professional network and reputation, because nothing will get handed to you on a plate. And be prepared for the backstabbing, sniping and bloating – the industry is rife with jealousy, egos and know-it-alls!
Becoming a bodyguard in the UK is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, it’s not simply a case of completing the minimum learning requirements and you’ll magically become a bodyguard. Being a bodyguard is not just a career choice, it’s a life choice. To become a bodyguard you need to live, breathe and become fully immersed in it. Once you’ve mastered that, then you can call yourself a bodyguard.