Yes, security guards can open carry in California, but only under a tight set of conditions: on duty, in a recognizable security uniform, with a valid Guard Card and Exposed Firearm Permit from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), and with the firearm carried openly in a holster rather than concealed. Step outside any one of those conditions and the state’s general ban on open carry applies to you the same way it applies to anyone else.
California prohibits carrying a loaded firearm in public under Penal Code 25850 and prohibits openly carrying an unloaded handgun under Penal Code 26350.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 25850 – Carrying a Loaded Firearm2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 26350 – Openly Carrying an Unloaded Handgun Penal Code 26030 creates the narrow exemption that armed security work runs through. It covers a uniformed guard who is regularly employed and compensated in that capacity, holds a BSIS firearms certificate, and is actively guarding the employer’s property, on duty, or traveling directly between home, work, and employer-required range training.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 26030 – Other Exemptions to the Crime of Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public Every element matters. Drop one and the exemption disappears.
The Permits You Need Before You Carry
Two credentials from BSIS are required: a Security Guard Registration, commonly called a Guard Card, and an Exposed Firearm Permit.4Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Firearms Permit Fact Sheet The Guard Card starts with a 3-hour Power to Arrest course and a 5-hour Use of Force course, with the remaining mandatory training rounding out to 16 hours due within your first six months of employment.5Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Security Guard Training Regulation
The Exposed Firearm Permit is the more demanding of the two. To qualify, you must:
- Be at least 21 years old.
- Hold a valid Guard Card or show proof of completing initial guard training.
- Complete the BSIS firearms training course at a Bureau-approved facility with a Bureau-approved instructor. The curriculum includes 8 hours of classroom instruction covering legal and moral aspects of firearm use, nomenclature, maintenance, and use-of-force principles, plus range training on weapon handling, shooting fundamentals, and a qualification course of fire.6Cornell Law Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, Section 635 – Course of Firearm Training
- Pass a written exam and a shooting qualification with each caliber and type of firearm you intend to carry on duty.4Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Firearms Permit Fact Sheet
- Clear a background check through both the FBI and the California Department of Justice, including fingerprinting.4Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Firearms Permit Fact Sheet
- Pass a psychological assessment. BSIS uses the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16pf), scored against standards specific to the judgment and self-control expected of an armed guard.7Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. BSIS Firearms Permit – Assessment Requirement for Security Guards
The psychological assessment stops a meaningful number of applicants. A “Did Not Demonstrate” outcome blocks the permit, and there is no substitute for any step in the process.
Requalification Keeps It Alive
The permit is not one-and-done. BSIS requires a two-hour refresher course before each range requalification, and instructors must verify the refresher was completed before administering the shooting test.8Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Firearms Requalification Training Requirement Let the qualification lapse and you cannot legally carry until you requalify. If your employer schedules you for an armed post and your requalification has expired, you are carrying illegally regardless of what your employer told you.
Uniform and Holster Rules
The exemption requires a distinct uniform, and California is specific about what shows on it. A security guard carrying an exposed firearm must wear a patch on each arm reading “private security” along with the name of the employing company. The patches have to be clearly visible at all times and follow a design approved by the BSIS director.9California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 7582.27 Violating the patch requirement can bring a $250 fine per incident from BSIS on top of losing the legal shelter to carry.
The firearm itself must be carried in a secured holster and openly displayed. Concealing it violates the terms of an Exposed Firearm Permit and turns lawful carrying into a separate criminal offense. BSIS regulations do not specify a retention level, but most armed security employers require at least a Level II or Level III retention holster as company policy.
Traveling To and From Work
Penal Code 26030 allows an armed guard to carry loaded while traveling directly to or from their residence, place of employment, or employer-required range training, and the guard must stay in full uniform for that travel.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 26030 – Other Exemptions to the Crime of Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public The word doing the work is “directly.”
Stopping for gas on the way home sits in a gray area many guards do not think about. Stopping at the grocery store, picking up your kids, or running any personal errand breaks the direct route and puts you outside the exemption. If you are pulled over on a detour while armed and in uniform, you may need to explain why you were not traveling directly, and “I needed milk” is not a defense California courts have endorsed.
Where the Authority Reaches, and Where It Stops
The BSIS permit authorizes carrying at your assigned post and during direct travel. A few boundaries deserve mention because guards routinely misread them in both directions.
California’s Gun-Free School Zone Act does not apply to security guards authorized to carry under the provisions that include Penal Code 26030. The statute exempts them explicitly.10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 626.9 A guard hired to protect a school campus can lawfully carry there with the proper permit and uniform, unlike most other armed civilians.
Federal property is the other direction. It generally restricts firearms unless the controlling agency specifically authorizes them. An armed guard contracted to protect a federal building needs explicit federal authorization on top of the state BSIS permit.
Penalties for Carrying Outside the Exemption
A guard who carries outside the boundaries of the exemption faces the same charges as any other person carrying illegally. Carrying a loaded firearm in public without authorization is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, and escalates to a felony in defined circumstances, including a prior felony conviction, a stolen firearm the person knew or should have known was stolen, active participation in a criminal street gang, or status as a prohibited person under state or federal law.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 25850 – Carrying a Loaded Firearm
Openly carrying an unloaded handgun without an exemption is a misdemeanor under Penal Code 26350, with the penalty rising to up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine when the person also has compatible ammunition and is not the lawful owner of the handgun.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 26350 – Openly Carrying an Unloaded Handgun
Criminal charges are only half of it. BSIS can independently suspend or revoke both the Security Guard Registration and the Exposed Firearm Permit, and the administrative action moves forward regardless of whether the criminal case results in a conviction. A revocation effectively ends a career in armed security in California. Guards sometimes focus on whether they will face jail time and overlook that their livelihood is on the line in a separate proceeding running in parallel.