How to Start a Security Guard Company in Pennsylvania: Act 235 and the County Agency License

Starting a security guard company in Pennsylvania involves two separate tracks that new owners often mix up. The first is the business: forming an LLC or corporation with the Department of State, registering for state taxes, and getting the county license that a watch, guard or patrol agency needs. The second is the people: unarmed guards generally need no state license, but armed guards need Act 235 certification from the Pennsylvania State Police under the Lethal Weapons Training Act. This guide covers both tracks in the order most owners find easiest to follow.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Security licensing is a regulated area, and county practice can vary. Confirm each requirement with the agency named, and consider speaking with a Pennsylvania attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease, hire staff or bid on a contract.

The Short Answer

• Unarmed guards: Pennsylvania has no state license for unarmed guards.
• Armed guards: each armed employee needs Act 235 certification from the Pennsylvania State Police.
• The company: a watch, guard or patrol agency is licensed under the Private Detective Act by the county Court of Common Pleas, and the license requires a $10,000 bond.
• The entity: you form the company as an LLC or corporation with the Pennsylvania Department of State, the same as any other business.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything:

• A business name that meets Pennsylvania rules and is available on the Department of State records
• A Pennsylvania registered office with a street address and number, or a contract with a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP)
• Money for the $125 formation filing fee and the $7 annual report that follows
• Funds or a surety relationship for the $10,000 bond required by the county license
• Access to the Department of State filing portal at file.dos.pa.gov and to myPATH for tax registration
• A written staffing plan showing which posts will be armed and which will be unarmed
• A list of prospective armed employees, with their age, health and background information ready for the certification process
• Insurance quotes from a broker. Clients commonly ask for proof of coverage before they sign

Step 1: Decide Armed or Unarmed, and Write It Down

This decision drives the rest of the setup. Armed posts require Act 235 certification for each armed employee, and they change your insurance conversations and your bid pricing. Many owners start with unarmed patrol or access control work to build a client base before they add armed posts. That is a practical business choice, not a legal one.

Write down which posts will carry firearms. Your insurer, your county paperwork and your clients will all ask you for the same answer, so keep it consistent.

Step 2: Choose a Name the Department of State Will Accept

An LLC name must contain the term company, limited, or limited liability company, or an abbreviation of one of those terms. A name such as Keystone Security Services LLC meets this rule. The name must also be distinguishable on the Department of State records from any name already registered, unless the prior holder files a Consent to Appropriation of Name (DSCB:19-17.2).

Search the records at file.dos.pa.gov/search/business before you settle on a name. If you need time to finalize your plans, you can reserve the name for 120 days for a $70 fee using the name reservation form. A reservation is not a license, and it does not replace the county license, so do not treat it as proof that your company name is approved for security work.

Step 3: Form the LLC or Corporation

Most small guard companies form an LLC. The formation document is the Certificate of Organization, Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form DSCB:15-8821), filed with a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A). The filing fee is $125. File online at file.dos.pa.gov.

The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations asks filers to allow about 15 business days for processing. If you need faster service, expedited options are available online or in person only, not by mail, in addition to the $125 filing fee:

• Same day, received before 10:00 a.m.: $100
• 3 hour, received before 2:00 p.m.: $300
• 1 hour, received before 4:00 p.m.: $1,000
• Special Processing, to file multiple same day documents in a specified order: $70

A corporation follows a different path. The formation document is Articles of Incorporation, For Profit, filed with a Docketing Statement, with the same $125 filing fee. Corporations also must advertise notice of the intent to file or of the filing in two newspapers of general circulation, one preferably a legal journal, and keep proof of publication in the corporate minutes. LLCs have no publication requirement, which is one reason most owners choose the LLC route.

Registered office, not registered agent. Pennsylvania does not use registered agents. Your filing must list a registered office address in Pennsylvania with a street and number. A post office box alone is not accepted. If your business has no physical or mailing address in Pennsylvania, you may contract with a Commercial Registered Office Provider under 15 Pa.C.S. section 109 and list the CROP name and county of venue instead. Listing a CROP without a contract can carry civil and criminal penalties, and a CROP cannot be used where a principal place of business is required.

Step 4: Get the County Private Detective Act License

A watch, guard or patrol agency in Pennsylvania is licensed under the Private Detective Act by the county Court of Common Pleas. This is the license most new owners miss, because it is not issued by the state Department of State. The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations states that it does not issue activity licenses, so do not expect the company license to appear through the state filing portal.

The county license requires a $10,000 bond. Contact the Court of Common Pleas in the county where you plan to operate and ask for the current application packet, the fee schedule, the background and character requirements, and the filing office that handles agency licenses. Confirm the bond terms with a surety before you apply, because the bond cost and the underwriting questions vary by provider. Do not assume that a Department of State filing or a Pennsylvania entity status satisfies the county requirement.

Step 5: Certify Each Armed Employee Under Act 235

Act 235, the Lethal Weapons Training Act, is administered by the Pennsylvania State Police. It applies to each person who will carry a firearm on the job, not to the company. Each armed employee must work through the following sequence:

1. Meet the age requirement. The applicant must be 18 or older.
2. Complete the screening. The applicant must pass a physical examination, a psychological evaluation and a criminal history check.
3. Get PSP approval before training. The State Police must approve the applicant before the 40-hour course begins.
4. Complete the 40-hour course. Enroll only after approval, and confirm the approved training provider and course schedule with PSP.
5. Pass the written exam. The exam covers the course material.
6. Pass range qualification. The applicant must qualify on the range as part of certification.
7. Renew every 5 years. Put each expiration date on your calendar. A lapsed certification can stop an armed employee from working an armed post.

Act 235 certification is not a license to carry a firearm. Pennsylvania courts have treated the two as separate, as in Commonwealth v. Anderson (2017). A certified guard may still need separate legal authority to carry outside the duties of the job, so have your attorney review your carry policy before you issue firearms or set rules for off-duty carry.

Step 6: Register for State Taxes on myPATH

Pennsylvania has no state general business license, and it does not require county business licenses. Your tax registrations are handled through myPATH. The old PA-100 registration form was retired in 2022, so do not look for it on current checklists.

Your federal and state tax treatment depends on how you organize the company. Based on the verified state rules:

• A standard LLC has no LLC franchise tax and no separate LLC annual tax. Its pass-through income is taxed to the owners at the flat 3.07 percent Personal Income Tax rate.
• An LLC taxed as a corporation pays the Corporate Net Income Tax, which is 7.49 percent for tax years beginning in 2026.

Sales tax is a separate question. The state sales tax rate is 6 percent, but whether your security services or your purchases require a sales tax permit depends on the facts of your business. Confirm this with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at pa.gov/agencies/revenue before you invoice your first client. You can register for any required tax account through the Department of Revenue tax registration page. If you plan to hire employees, also confirm the employer withholding registrations you need before your first payroll.

Step 7: Handle Local and Operating Details

• Office location. Check zoning and any municipal rules for the address you list as your registered office. Some municipalities have their own local requirements, so confirm with your township or borough office.
• Fictitious name. If you operate under a name other than the exact legal name of your LLC or corporation, register it. The fictitious name registration (Form DSCB:54-311) costs $70 and is filed statewide with the Department of State, not with the county. Details are at the fictitious names page. A fictitious name registration needs a real principal place of business, so a CROP address will not work for it.
• Insurance. Talk to a broker about general liability and workers' compensation coverage. Ask specifically about armed post endorsements, because many policies treat armed and unarmed work differently.
• Client contracts. Have an attorney review your standard service agreement, including indemnity and insurance clauses.

Step 8: Calendar Your Recurring Obligations

• LLC annual report: $7, filed online between January 1 and September 30 each year at file.dos.pa.gov.
• Corporation annual report: $7, filed online between January 1 and June 30 each year.
• Act 235 certifications: renew every 5 years for each armed employee.
• County Private Detective Act license: confirm the renewal date, fee and bond requirements with your county Court of Common Pleas.
• Tax filings: confirm your filing calendar with a CPA, based on your entity type and registrations.

Cost Summary

The figures below come from the verified state fee schedule. Where a fee is not published in that schedule, the table says so and tells you where to confirm it.

Item	Cost	Where to confirm
LLC Certificate of Organization	$125	file.dos.pa.gov
Expedited same day service (before 10:00 a.m.)	$100 added	file.dos.pa.gov
Expedited 3 hour service (before 2:00 p.m.)	$300 added	file.dos.pa.gov
Expedited 1 hour service (before 4:00 p.m.)	$1,000 added	file.dos.pa.gov
Special Processing	$70 added	file.dos.pa.gov
Name reservation (120 days)	$70	Department of State name reservation form
Fictitious name registration	$70	Department of State
LLC annual report	$7	file.dos.pa.gov
County Private Detective Act bond	$10,000 bond required	Court of Common Pleas and your surety
County agency license application fee	Not listed here	Confirm with the county Court of Common Pleas
Act 235 certification, course and exam	Not listed here	Confirm with the Pennsylvania State Police and the approved provider

Expected Timeline and Results

Based on the published processing guidance, a standard LLC filing may take about 15 business days to process, so you may have the entity on file in roughly three weeks. Expedited service can shorten that window for an added fee. The county license and the Act 235 steps are not on a published timeline here, so build those into your launch plan rather than assuming they will finish alongside the entity. Many owners find that their first armed contract is delayed by certification, not by the state filing, so plan the armed posts for later in the schedule.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming the state filing is the whole process. The county Private Detective Act license is a separate step.
• Treating Act 235 as a carry license. Certification covers training and approval. It does not replace separate legal authority to carry.
• Sending a guard to the 40-hour course before PSP approval. Get approval first, then enroll.
• Listing a post office box as the registered office. Pennsylvania requires a street address or a CROP arrangement.
• Using a CROP for a fictitious name. A fictitious name needs a principal place of business.
• Ignoring the publication rule for corporations. LLCs have no publication requirement, but a corporation must advertise and keep proof.
• Letting Act 235 certifications lapse. Track each 5 year renewal date for every armed employee.
• Using a name that is too close to an existing registration. Search the records first, and reserve the name if you need time.

Tips for a Smoother Launch

• Call the county Court of Common Pleas before you buy a bond, so you know the exact packet and the timing.
• Ask your surety and your insurer the same question about armed posts, and get the answer in writing.
• Start your Act 235 candidates through screening early, since approval comes before the course.
• Keep a single compliance calendar with every filing, bond, certification and renewal date.
• Have a CPA confirm your entity choice, since the LLC tax treatment and the corporation tax treatment differ.

Next Steps

Start with the name search at file.dos.pa.gov/search/business, then file your formation document. While the state processes it, call your county Court of Common Pleas about the agency license and the bond, and contact the Pennsylvania State Police about Act 235 for any armed employees. Consult a Pennsylvania attorney and a CPA before you finalize your structure, contracts and armed policy. The Pennsylvania Department of State business page at pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business is the starting point for any state filing question.