DCJS Security Officer (D) – 2026 Study Guide
1. What Virginia statute governs the licensing of private security services?
Answer: Virginia Code § 9.1-138 et seq. (Private Security Services Act).
2. What state agency issues the Security Officer (D) license in Virginia?
Answer: The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
3. What is the minimum age requirement to obtain a DCJS Security Officer
(D) license?
Answer: 18 years of age.
4. How many hours of classroom training are required for a Security Officer
(D) registration?
Answer: 18 hours of classroom (entry-level) training.
5. How many hours of on-the-job training are required for a Security Officer
(D)?
Answer: 16 hours of on-the-job training.
6. Within how many days of employment must a security officer complete
entry-level training?
Answer: 90 days of employment.
7. What document must a security officer carry while on duty?
Answer: A valid DCJS registration card (photo ID card).
8. What must a security officer do if their registration card is lost or stolen?
Answer: Report it to DCJS immediately and request a replacement.
9. Can a security officer work without being registered with DCJS?
Answer: No; working without a valid DCJS registration is illegal.
10. How long is a DCJS Security Officer registration valid?
Answer: Two years.
11. What criminal conviction permanently disqualifies a person from
obtaining a security license?
Answer: Any felony conviction that has not been pardoned.
12. May a security officer carry a firearm under a (D) registration?
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, DCJS Security Officer (D) – 2026 Study Guide
Answer: No; a (D) registration is unarmed. An armed endorsement (DCJS
firearms training) is required to carry a firearm.
13. What authority does a security officer have to arrest someone?
Answer: A security officer has citizen's arrest authority only—they may detain
for a reasonable time only when a crime is committed in their presence.
14. Define 'private security services business' under Virginia law.
Answer: Any person or entity that, for compensation, provides security
officers, investigators, or guard dog handlers to protect property or persons.
15. What is the penalty for working as an unlicensed security officer in
Virginia?
Answer: It is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail
and/or a $2,500 fine.
16. Must a security officer wear a uniform on duty?
Answer: Yes, if required by their employer; the uniform must clearly identify
the wearer as a security officer and not resemble a law enforcement uniform.
17. What does 'scope of authority' mean for a security officer?
Answer: The geographic area (property/site) and specific duties the officer is
authorized to perform under their assignment.
18. Can a security officer enforce laws off their assigned property?
Answer: Generally no; their authority is limited to the property they are hired
to protect.
19. What are the DCJS training standards for in-service training?
Answer: Eight hours of in-service (refresher) training every two years for re-
registration.
20. Who is responsible for ensuring a private security employee is
registered?
Answer: Both the private security services business (employer) and the
individual officer share responsibility.
Section 2: Legal Powers & Limits (Q21–40)
21. What is the difference between 'detain' and 'arrest'?
Answer: Detention is a brief, temporary stop to investigate; arrest is a formal
taking into custody with the intent to charge with a crime.
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, DCJS Security Officer (D) – 2026 Study Guide
22. Under the 'shopkeeper's privilege,' when may a security officer detain a
suspected shoplifter?
Answer: When there is reasonable suspicion that a person has shoplifted; the
detention must be brief, non-abusive, and on or near the premises.
23. What is 'trespassing' and how does it apply to security officers?
Answer: Trespassing is being on property without permission; security
officers may warn trespassers and request they leave, and may call police if
they refuse.
24. What is 'reasonable force'?
Answer: The amount of force that a reasonable person would consider
necessary and proportionate to the threat faced.
25. When is deadly force justified for a security officer?
Answer: Only when there is imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury
to themselves or another person.
26. Define 'assault' as it applies to security work.
Answer: Assault is an intentional act that creates reasonable fear of imminent
harmful or offensive contact in another person.
27. Define 'battery' as it applies to security work.
Answer: Battery is the intentional, harmful, or offensive physical contact with
another person without consent.
28. What is 'false imprisonment'?
Answer: Unlawfully restraining or confining a person against their will without
legal justification.
29. What is 'defamation'?
Answer: Making a false statement of fact about a person that harms their
reputation; slander is spoken, libel is written.
30. What is 'negligence' in the context of security?
Answer: Failing to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable security
officer would use, resulting in harm to another.
31. What does 'duty of care' mean for security officers?
Answer: The legal obligation to act in a reasonable and prudent manner to
protect persons and property on the premises.
32. What is 'respondeat superior'?
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1. What Virginia statute governs the licensing of private security services?
Answer: Virginia Code § 9.1-138 et seq. (Private Security Services Act).
2. What state agency issues the Security Officer (D) license in Virginia?
Answer: The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
3. What is the minimum age requirement to obtain a DCJS Security Officer
(D) license?
Answer: 18 years of age.
4. How many hours of classroom training are required for a Security Officer
(D) registration?
Answer: 18 hours of classroom (entry-level) training.
5. How many hours of on-the-job training are required for a Security Officer
(D)?
Answer: 16 hours of on-the-job training.
6. Within how many days of employment must a security officer complete
entry-level training?
Answer: 90 days of employment.
7. What document must a security officer carry while on duty?
Answer: A valid DCJS registration card (photo ID card).
8. What must a security officer do if their registration card is lost or stolen?
Answer: Report it to DCJS immediately and request a replacement.
9. Can a security officer work without being registered with DCJS?
Answer: No; working without a valid DCJS registration is illegal.
10. How long is a DCJS Security Officer registration valid?
Answer: Two years.
11. What criminal conviction permanently disqualifies a person from
obtaining a security license?
Answer: Any felony conviction that has not been pardoned.
12. May a security officer carry a firearm under a (D) registration?
Page 1 of 29
, DCJS Security Officer (D) – 2026 Study Guide
Answer: No; a (D) registration is unarmed. An armed endorsement (DCJS
firearms training) is required to carry a firearm.
13. What authority does a security officer have to arrest someone?
Answer: A security officer has citizen's arrest authority only—they may detain
for a reasonable time only when a crime is committed in their presence.
14. Define 'private security services business' under Virginia law.
Answer: Any person or entity that, for compensation, provides security
officers, investigators, or guard dog handlers to protect property or persons.
15. What is the penalty for working as an unlicensed security officer in
Virginia?
Answer: It is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail
and/or a $2,500 fine.
16. Must a security officer wear a uniform on duty?
Answer: Yes, if required by their employer; the uniform must clearly identify
the wearer as a security officer and not resemble a law enforcement uniform.
17. What does 'scope of authority' mean for a security officer?
Answer: The geographic area (property/site) and specific duties the officer is
authorized to perform under their assignment.
18. Can a security officer enforce laws off their assigned property?
Answer: Generally no; their authority is limited to the property they are hired
to protect.
19. What are the DCJS training standards for in-service training?
Answer: Eight hours of in-service (refresher) training every two years for re-
registration.
20. Who is responsible for ensuring a private security employee is
registered?
Answer: Both the private security services business (employer) and the
individual officer share responsibility.
Section 2: Legal Powers & Limits (Q21–40)
21. What is the difference between 'detain' and 'arrest'?
Answer: Detention is a brief, temporary stop to investigate; arrest is a formal
taking into custody with the intent to charge with a crime.
Page 2 of 29
, DCJS Security Officer (D) – 2026 Study Guide
22. Under the 'shopkeeper's privilege,' when may a security officer detain a
suspected shoplifter?
Answer: When there is reasonable suspicion that a person has shoplifted; the
detention must be brief, non-abusive, and on or near the premises.
23. What is 'trespassing' and how does it apply to security officers?
Answer: Trespassing is being on property without permission; security
officers may warn trespassers and request they leave, and may call police if
they refuse.
24. What is 'reasonable force'?
Answer: The amount of force that a reasonable person would consider
necessary and proportionate to the threat faced.
25. When is deadly force justified for a security officer?
Answer: Only when there is imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury
to themselves or another person.
26. Define 'assault' as it applies to security work.
Answer: Assault is an intentional act that creates reasonable fear of imminent
harmful or offensive contact in another person.
27. Define 'battery' as it applies to security work.
Answer: Battery is the intentional, harmful, or offensive physical contact with
another person without consent.
28. What is 'false imprisonment'?
Answer: Unlawfully restraining or confining a person against their will without
legal justification.
29. What is 'defamation'?
Answer: Making a false statement of fact about a person that harms their
reputation; slander is spoken, libel is written.
30. What is 'negligence' in the context of security?
Answer: Failing to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable security
officer would use, resulting in harm to another.
31. What does 'duty of care' mean for security officers?
Answer: The legal obligation to act in a reasonable and prudent manner to
protect persons and property on the premises.
32. What is 'respondeat superior'?
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