Two licences open the industry: Security Guard (four days of training, from £267) and Door Supervisor (six days, from £329). People agonise over this choice. The facts make it short.
What each covers.
The SG licence covers guarding work: corporate sites, retail, warehouses, static and mobile patrol. The DS licence covers all of that plus licensed premises: pubs, clubs, events. One direction only: a DS badge can do SG work, an SG badge cannot do door work.
The arithmetic.
The difference is two training days and £62. Door and event work also tends to pay above static guarding: £14.37 an hour average against £13.65 (Indeed, August 2026). If a DS shift and an SG shift are both on offer, the DS holder chooses; the SG holder takes what fits the badge.
So the honest answer.
If you can spare six days, take DS. It is the flexible badge, the better hourly ceiling, and the standard first step of the Security Specialist track. Take SG when the four-day timetable is the difference between starting and not starting, or when your employer only needs guarding cover. You can always upgrade later; it just costs more in total than starting with DS.