Door supervision is the widest door into security work. The licence covers pubs, clubs, events and every role a security guard licence covers, and England's average pay sits around £14.37 an hour (Indeed, August 2026), with the top of the range above £18. Here is the whole route, with nothing skipped.
Step one: the six-day course.
The SIA requires a Level 2 award before it will license you. The course runs six days: emergency first aid on day one (the SIA requires it before physical intervention training), then the law and the industry, the specialist door supervisor day, conflict management, physical intervention, and exams on day six. No qualifications are needed to start. You need to be 18 or over, bring ID, and have English good enough to sit the exams.
Step two: the exams.
Multiple-choice papers for the knowledge units and a practical physical intervention assessment, all sat during the course. 95% of our learners pass first time, mock exams in GuardPass help you get there, and retake support is included if a paper goes wrong.
Step three: the SIA application.
With the award in hand you apply to the SIA online. You prove your identity, give your address history, and pay the SIA's application fee. Complete applications usually come back in three to six weeks. Many learners use the wait to line up work, and employers regularly hire on 'licence pending'.
What it costs, all in.
The course starts at £329, and you can split it in three with the first payment booking your seat. Add the SIA's licence fee on application. Set against licensed pay, most people who move from unlicensed work clear the whole cost within their first weeks of shifts.
Then keep climbing.
The DS badge is step one of the Frontline Security Specialist track. Add CCTV (the most common second badge), keep your first aid current, complete Behavioural Detection and Mental Health First Aid, and the Specialist title is awarded free and automatically, verifiable by any employer on the public register.