SIA licence statistics: how many, and in which sector
In the UK, frontline private security work requires a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Here are the active licences by sector and how they changed over a year.
505,452active licences, November 2026
Active licences, monthly total
Highest values: active licences
All the data
| Door supervision | 354,752 | −3.9% |
|---|---|---|
| Public space surveillance (CCTV) | 67,906 | +4.7% |
| Security guarding | 57,198 | +0.4% |
| Close protection | 11,788 | +2.8% |
| Non-front line | 8,302 | −4.7% |
| Cash and valuables in transit | 4,548 | −5.3% |
| Key holding | 941 | −18.4% |
| Vehicle immobilisation | 17 | +6.2% |
How to read these figures
- Licences are counted, not people: someone holding more than one appears more than once. Adding up holders by area gives 444,761 people in November 2026 (our sum of the SIA file by area).
- Until August 2021 the source headed the column "licence holders", then "active licences".
- For the earliest months of 2020-2021 the total is our sum of the sectors, as the file does not include one.
Source: Security Industry Authority (SIA), SIA licence holders (statistical data set, monthly) · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · Data retrieved on