Swiss Security Guard Study Guide 2026

Who makes the rules

Switzerland has no national security guard licence. Licensing private security is a job for the cantons. Some cantons work together in a concordat (an agreement between cantons); others have their own law. Before you start a job, ask your employer which canton's rules apply.

In 2010 the cantons tried to create one set of rules for German-speaking Switzerland, the Concordat on private security services (KÜPS). Too few cantons joined, so it was suspended and never came into force. Basel-Stadt decided to leave and kept the rules in its own Police Act.

The Romandie concordat (CES)

The Concordat sur les entreprises de sécurité of 18 October 1996 covers the six French-speaking cantons. It applies to guarding property, protecting persons and transporting goods or valuables, on public or private ground, paid or unpaid.

Authorisations

• The company needs an operating authorisation. Its manager must pass an exam on the applicable law, and it needs liability insurance of at least CHF 5 million.
• Each agent needs an authorisation and a card (carte de légitimation). The employer applies for it.
• Agents must be Swiss, EU/EFTA nationals, or hold a settlement permit or a residence permit for at least two years, and must show good character.
• Authorisations are valid for four years and work in all six cantons. Ask for renewal at least two months before expiry.
• The card names the employer. Two employers means two cards. Show it when police or people you deal with ask.
• Dog handlers need a separate authorisation, valid two years, after a test of handler and dog.

Training

A directive of the concordat commission requires initial training within the first three months (or before work starts if the job is shorter). It covers the concordat and the Criminal Code rules on self-defence and necessity, plus weapons law for permit holders. It is repeated in full at each four-year renewal, and every agent has at least one training session a year. Each subject ends with a written control test, and the firm sends attestations to the authority by 31 December.

Conduct

• Use force only within lawful self-defence and necessity. Agents have no special powers.
• Report offences that police prosecute on their own initiative without delay.
• Never obstruct police work. Uniforms and vehicles must look clearly different from the police.
• Carry weapons out of sight in public places.
• Adverts must not suggest an official role or play on fear.

Zurich, Bern and Ticino

Zurich

Zurich's rules are in the Police Act. Anyone providing security services commercially in the canton needs a company permit, wherever the firm is based, unless a permit from another canton already covers the work. Ticket checks, cash desks and visitor guidance are not security services. A doorman employed directly by a bar falls under the hospitality law, enforced by the municipality.

• Company: liability insurance of at least CHF 3 million per loss event.
• Employees: Swiss, EU/EFTA or C permit, legal capacity, no relevant criminal conviction.
• Training: the company decides content, but it must fit the job and be done before deployment. The canton recommends the collective agreement's 20 hours of basic training plus yearly refreshers.
• Staff must not be confused with police and must report special incidents.

Bern

Bern's SDPG (2018) and its ordinance require basic training of at least 20 hours within three months of starting. Until then, staff work only alongside a trained person. Refresher training happens at least once a year for at least 5 hours. Armed staff do the shooting programme at least twice a year. The company's managing person checks each employee's documents, including a criminal record extract no older than 3 months.

Ticino

Ticino has a real course and exam. CPSicur I for security agents has 40 lessons of 45 minutes (about 30 hours). Law and psychology are written exams; first aid is oral and needs a BLS-AED certificate; professional knowledge is practical and written. You need a grade of at least 4 on a 1–6 scale in every subject, and you only retake the subjects you failed. The cantonal Institute for continuing education (IFC) runs the course.

Federal laws every guard must know

After a private arrest, hand the person to the police as quickly as possible. Do not question or hold them longer than needed. Write clear notes: time, place, what you saw, who was there.

Emergencies and good practice

• Observe and report: you are the eyes and ears of the client, not a police officer.
• Stay calm, speak clearly and give people space. De-escalation prevents most incidents.
• Protect personal data: only collect what the job needs and keep it secure.
• Know your post orders and your canton's rules before your first shift.