My SIA licence has expired: do I need a refresher or the full course?

Published 5 November 2026

It’s one of the questions we’re asked most. Your licence has lapsed and you want to get back to work. Do you need a short refresher, or the whole course again?

First: you can’t renew an expired licence

The SIA is clear. You can only renew if you hold a current licence in that sector. If yours has expired, you have to apply for a new licence. You also mustn’t work in a licensable role while you’re unlicensed.

The three-year rule

What decides your training is how long it’s been since your old licence was active.

Less than 3 years since your licence was active

The SIA can still accept your existing qualification. For door supervisors and security guards, you’ll need your full licence-linked qualification plus the refresher qualification, just like someone renewing. That means:

• first aid (EFAW or equivalent) valid for at least another 12 months
• ACT Awareness and ACT Security certificates from the last year
• the refresher course

More than 3 years since your licence was active

You’ll need a new, current, full licence-linked qualification. In practice that means doing the full course again, for example the Door Supervisor course.

An example

The SIA’s Get Licensed booklet gives one: a licence granted in February 2020 that expired in February 2023. An application in January 2025 is fine, because it’s less than three years since the licence expired.

Not sure where you stand?

Check your old licence dates in your SIA online account, then get in touch. We’ll tell you which course you need before you book.

Training in Bootle, north Liverpool

Our training centre is at St Mary’s Complex, Waverley Street, Bootle L20 4AP, in north Liverpool. By train, take a Merseyrail Northern Line train towards Southport to Bootle New Strand, about an 8-minute walk from us, or Bootle Oriel Road, about a 12-minute walk. There’s free on-site parking if you drive. We run the Door Supervisor refresher, the full Door Supervisor course, the Security Guard refresher and Emergency First Aid at Work.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Renew your SIA licence
• GOV.UK: Check what training you need to get an SIA licence
• SIA: Get Licensed booklet (May 2026 edition)