Security guard

A security guard is employed at a security company and carries out guard duties on someone else's behalf.

How to apply

The security company that wants to employ you, applies for approval to one of the County Administrative Boards below, depending on which county you primarily will be working in. 

  • The Norrbotten, County Administrative Board for the counties of Jämtland, Norrbotten, Västerbotten or Västernorrland,
  • The Örebro County Administrative Board for the counties of Dalarna, Gävleborg, Södermanland, Uppsala, Värmland, Västmanland or Örebro
  • The Stockholm, County Administrative Board for the counties of Gotland or Stockholm,
  • The Östergötland , County Administrative Board for the counties of Jönköping, Kalmar or Östergötland
  • The Västra Götaland County Administrative Board for the counties of Hallands or Västra Götaland 
  • The Skåne County Administrative Board for the counties of Blekinge, Kronoberg or Skåne län.

You must consent to the county administrative board checking the registries and records needed for your application to be tried. 

As a security guard you can work for example with guard duties, shop inspection and cash-in-transit. 

Security guards who work with guard duties must wear an approved uniform with the designation “VÄKTARE” (guard) and the security company’s logo. They should act in a manner that inspires confidence and respect.

Security guards can also work as civilians for example when carrying shop inspections. 

Prior training

In order to work as a security guard you must

  • have been approved by a county administrative board (länsstyrelse) for employment at an authorised security company
  • have good skills in the Swedish language and knowledge of Swedish conditions
  • have completed security guard basic training (väktargrundutbildning) at an authorised training company.

Approval application

Every employee at an authorised security company must be approved by a county administrative board. During the approval process greater demands are placed upon you as a security guard to be law-abiding, civilly reliable and otherwise suitable for the job, than on other personnel. The County Administrative Board checks information in the criminal record or the suspect register and send the case for referral to the Swedish Security Police. You must consent to the County Administrative Board checking the registries and records needed for your application to be tried.

When your approval is revoked

An approval to work for a security company might be revoked when the requirements for approval are no longer fulfilled or when there is a particular reason to revoke it.

It could be for example when someone has committed or is suspect of a crime. An approval will be revoked if the approved person has not been employed by a security company during at least three months. 

Recognition of professional qualifications

If you are an established security guard in another country within the EU and EEA and want to permanently begin working as a security guard in Sweden, you must refer to another member state's corresponding training. Your application is to be made to the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County (Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län), which will process your request.

In your application for approval you should attach documents from the country you are from, proving you are law abiding. There is no fee when applying for recognition of professional qualifications.