How to Start a Security Guard Company in Michigan: LARA Agency License, Bond and Training

If you plan to supply guards to other businesses in Michigan, you need a security guard agency license from the state before you bill your first client. Michigan does not license businesses in general, so this is a specific license issued under the Private Security Business and Security Alarm Act (1968 PA 330, MCL 338.1051 et seq.). Operating without it is a felony, which makes it the first thing to get right, not the last.

This guide walks through the steps in the order most applicants find workable: confirm what you need, check the principal holder rules, assemble the packet, and file. It covers the fees LARA lists for 2026, the local paperwork that sits alongside the state license, and the points where the requirements are not settled figures, so you know what to confirm with the agency before you spend money.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you open the application packet. Most delays happen because one of them is missing.

• A business name you have checked on the MiBusiness Registry business search
• A decision on structure: sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation
• A principal holder who meets the age, education, felony and experience rules
• A Michigan office for the agency
• The current LARA application packet, including the sheriff or police chief and county prosecutor approval form
• An insurance policy or bond that meets the requirements stated in the packet
• Money for the state fees, plus a separate budget for uniforms, vehicles, equipment and any training you choose to buy
• A written description of the services you will sell and the clients you will serve

What LARA Actually Licenses

The license comes from LARA's Corporations, Securities and Commercial Licensing Bureau, not the Michigan State Police. The State Police role is limited to private security police, so your guard agency application goes to LARA even though law enforcement sign-offs are part of the packet.

LARA licenses the agency, not the individual guards. Your compliance work sits on the company side: the principal holder, the office, the insurance or bond, and the records you keep. Keep that distinction in mind when you read the packet, because some questions are about the company and others are about the people you hire.

Step 1: Confirm You Need an Agency License

If you sell security guard services to other businesses or property owners, you need the agency license. If you only guard your own business premises, ask LARA whether your setup falls outside the act before you assume it does. Do not rely on a general assumption about exemptions, because the consequences of getting it wrong are a felony charge, not a late fee.

Step 2: Choose Your Structure and Check the Name

Your structure affects which office you file with, what the filing fee is, and what recurring paperwork you owe. The agency license fee also changes with the structure: $300 for an agency, or $200 if you operate as a sole proprietor.

Structure	Where you file the formation or assumed name	Filing fee	Recurring filing
Sole proprietor	County clerk, assumed name certificate under MCL 445.1	Set by statute and each county clerk. Confirm with the clerk.	None from LARA for the entity
LLC	LARA, through the MiBusiness Registry Portal, Articles of Organization (Form CSCL/CD-700)	$50	Annual Statement, $25, due February 15
Corporation	LARA, through the MiBusiness Registry Portal, Articles of Incorporation (Form CSCL/CD-500)	$60 minimum	Annual Report, $25, due May 15

Check the name on the MiBusiness Registry business search first. An LLC name must include Limited Liability Company, L.L.C. or L.C. If you need time to finish the application, you can hold a name for six months with Form CSCL/CD-540 for a $25 fee.

Remember that registering an LLC or corporation is a filing, not a license. Forming the entity does not give you the guard agency license, and the agency license does not replace the entity filing.

Step 3: Confirm the Principal Holder Qualifies

The principal holder is the person LARA looks to for the company's qualifications. That person must be 21 or older, have a high school education or an equivalent, and have no felony conviction. The principal holder must also meet an experience test set out in MCL 338.1056. The statute gives examples such as three years running a guard business out of state, four years supervising security personnel, or four years as a certified police officer.

Those examples are not a checklist you can self-certify. Work out which combination your background satisfies, gather the records that prove it, and confirm with LARA what documentation it accepts. If your background is borderline, ask LARA before you sign a lease or buy insurance, since those costs are wasted if the principal holder does not qualify.

Step 4: Set Up a Michigan Office

The packet requires a Michigan office. Use a real, staffed or reachable business location, not a mailbox. If you form an LLC or corporation, the same rule applies to the registered office: the resident agent must be in Michigan, and a P.O. box alone does not satisfy the requirement. The registered office may be the same address as your business, but it does not have to be.

Ask LARA what proof of office it accepts, such as a lease or a deed. Do not sign a long lease for a space the packet might reject. A short-term arrangement that LARA confirms in writing is a safer starting point than a handshake deal with a landlord.

Step 5: Get the Sheriff or Police Chief and Prosecutor Sign-Offs

The packet includes an approval form that a sheriff or police chief and the county prosecutor must sign. Get the current version of the form from LARA rather than using an old copy from a template site. Then contact the sheriff's office or police department that covers the location of your Michigan office, followed by the county prosecutor.

Ask each office how long it takes to process the request, and confirm whether it wants a cover letter, a background summary, or a copy of your business plan. These offices set their own turnaround, so plan for the wait and call ahead.

Step 6: Arrange Insurance or Bond

Under MCL 338.1059(4), LARA will not issue the license unless you provide a $25,000 bond approved by the department. In place of the bond, you may furnish a policy from an insurer authorized to do business in Michigan that names the licensee and the state as coinsureds, with $25,000 for property damage, $100,000 for injury to or death of one person and $200,000 for injuries to or deaths of more than one person. Confirm the current form and certificate requirements with LARA before you buy a policy or post a bond. Buying coverage that does not match the packet means buying it twice.

Ask an insurer that writes security company policies to quote the exact requirement from the packet. Get the certificate in the form LARA asks for. Keep the policy in force for the full life of the license, because a lapse can stop your filing.

Step 7: Plan Training and Staffing

The Private Security Business and Security Alarm Act (MCL 338.1051 to 338.1080) does not set a number of training hours for guard employees, so do not assume one number from a website. Ask LARA whether the agency packet asks for training records or personnel information, and get the answer in writing. Your insurer and your clients may impose their own training standards, and those can be stricter than the state's, so collect them before you write your staffing plan.

Build the training file as you hire, not after. Record who trained each guard, on what, and when. If a client or insurer asks for proof, a dated file is far easier to produce than a memory of the training. For help with the business side of staffing and planning, the Michigan Small Business Development Center offers free advising.

Step 8: File the Application and Pay the Fees

Assemble the complete packet, pay the fee that matches your structure, and submit it to LARA. LARA's guard agency page directs applicants to MiCLEAR, the Licensing Division's online system, to apply and renew, so the agency application does not go through the MiBusiness Registry Portal that files entity documents. Sole proprietors upload a Certificate of Doing Business as from the county clerk with the application.

Item (LARA, 2026)	Fee
Agency license, initial	$300
Sole proprietor license, initial	$200
Branch office	$50
Reinstatement of a suspended license	$100

By statute, LARA must issue or deny an initial or renewal license within 180 days after you file a completed application, and that clock pauses while it waits for information it has requested (MCL 338.1059(8)). The agency may also issue a nonrenewable temporary license of up to 120 days while the investigations and approvals are completed (MCL 338.1057(4)). Ask LARA for its current processing time before you commit to a start date with a client.

Do not bill a client, post a guard at a site under contract, or advertise security services as if you are licensed until the license is actually issued. Unlicensed operation is a felony, and a signed contract is not a defense.

Step 9: Handle Local Permits and the County DBA

The state license is only one layer. Michigan has 83 counties, about 275 to 280 cities, about 255 to 258 villages and 1,240 townships. Zoning, certificate of occupancy and local approval requirements depend on where your office sits, so check with that municipality before you sign a lease. City income tax applies in only 24 Michigan cities, so if your office is in one of them, ask the city how it expects you to file.

If you operate as a sole proprietor under a name other than your own, you file an assumed name certificate with the county clerk under MCL 445.1. The county sets the fee, so confirm it with the clerk. If you form an LLC and use a different name, the assumed name certificate (Form CSCL/CD-541) is filed with LARA for a $25 fee. It is effective through December 31 of the fifth full calendar year after the year you file it, and you renew it with Form CSCL/CD-542.

Step 10: Keep the License and Entity Current

The agency license must be renewed every two years. Renewal fees are $150 for an agency, $100 for a sole proprietor and $50 for a branch. Late renewal within 30 days costs more: $175, $125 and $75 for the same three categories. Put the renewal date on your calendar the day the license issues.

Renewal (every 2 years)	On time	Late, within 30 days
Agency	$150	$175
Sole proprietor	$100	$125
Branch	$50	$75

If the 30-day late renewal window passes without renewal, the license is lapsed and you apply for relicensure at the initial fee ($300 agency, $200 sole proprietor, $50 branch). The $100 reinstatement fee applies only to a suspended license. Your entity has its own yearly filing. An LLC files the Annual Statement ($25) by February 15 each year, beginning the year after formation. An LLC formed or qualified after September 30 does not owe a statement on the February 15 immediately following. A corporation files its Annual Report ($25) by May 15, and late fees rise on a published schedule. Your insurance and bond must stay active throughout.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Billing before the license issues. A signed contract and a deposit do not make the work legal. Wait for the license.
• Using a P.O. box as the office. The packet requires a Michigan office, and a mailbox does not meet that test.
• Naming a principal holder without checking the experience test. Document the qualifying history before you commit money to the rest of the packet.
• Buying insurance before reading the packet. Coverage that does not match the stated requirement gets replaced.
• Treating an LLC filing as the guard license. The MiBusiness Registry filing creates the entity. It is not the agency license.
• Ignoring the sheriff and prosecutor form timeline. Those signatures sit on the critical path, so start them early.
• Running a sole proprietor business under a trade name without a county filing. File the assumed name with the county clerk before you invoice under that name.
• Missing the renewal window. The late renewal fee is higher, and a lapse forces you to apply for relicensure at the full initial fee.

What to Expect

Applicants who prepare the packet in full before filing may find the process more predictable, though the statute gives LARA up to 180 days to decide a completed application, so treat the license as the longest step in your plan. Budget for the state fees above, the insurance or bond cost once LARA confirms the amount, and a separate allowance for uniforms, equipment and any training you choose to buy.

If you need a faster entity filing, LARA lists expedited review for formation documents: $50 for a 24 hour review, $100 for same day review, $500 for a two hour review received by 3 p.m., and $1,000 for a one hour review received by 4 p.m. Confirm whether any expedite option applies to the agency application, since the expedite options listed here are for formation documents.

Official Resources

• LARA Corporations Division
• MiBusiness Registry business search
• MiBusiness Registry Portal
• Michigan Department of Treasury
• Michigan Small Business Development Center
• SBA Michigan district office

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Requirements, fees and processing times can change, so confirm each item with LARA, the county clerk or the relevant agency before you act. Because licensing, insurance, employment and tax structure carry real consequences, consult a qualified Michigan attorney and a certified public accountant before you form the company or sign contracts.