To file a complaint against a security guard, send a written complaint to the guard’s employer, file with your state’s private security licensing board, and report the incident to local police if the guard’s conduct was criminal. Each venue does something different: the employer can discipline or fire the guard, the licensing board can suspend or revoke the license that lets them work in private security at all, and the police can pursue criminal charges. For a serious incident, use all three at once.
Pick the Right Venue for What Happened
The nature of the incident decides where your complaint belongs. A rude, careless, or unprofessional guard is a problem for the employer and, if the behavior violates licensing standards, the state agency that issued the license. A guard who hit you, grabbed property, locked you in a room, or touched you inappropriately committed a crime, and that belongs with the police on top of any administrative filing.
You are not choosing one path. An administrative complaint does not substitute for a police report, and a police report does not trigger a licensing review. If the conduct fits more than one category, file in each venue that applies. The investigations run independently and reach different outcomes.
Build the Record Before You File
A complaint backed by specifics gets taken seriously. “The guard was rude” goes nowhere. Start documenting as soon as you can, because memories blur and surveillance footage is often overwritten within days.
Write down the guard’s name, badge number, and physical description. Note the security company name from their uniform, badge, or signage at the location. If none of that is visible, the property owner or manager can tell you which company holds the contract. The complaint has to reach the right organization to go anywhere.
Record the exact date, time, and location, then write a chronological account of what happened and what was said on both sides. Stick to facts. Collect names and phone numbers of witnesses. Photograph injuries, property damage, and the scene. Keep any medical records if you were treated. Cell phone video is especially valuable because it captures events in real time and is hard to dispute.
If the incident happened somewhere with cameras, which is most commercial properties, send a written preservation request to the property owner or security company immediately. Ask them to preserve all footage from the relevant time period and camera angles. Send it by certified mail or email so you have proof of delivery. A written request creates a paper trail that makes it harder for anyone to later claim the footage was routinely deleted. If a lawsuit is on the table, an attorney can send a formal preservation demand carrying legal consequences for destruction of evidence.
Filing With the Security Company
Start with the employer. The security company has direct authority over the guard and can act quickly, from reassignment to suspension to termination. It is often the fastest route to a practical outcome like getting a problem guard off the property.
Address your complaint to the corporate office, not the on-site supervisor, who may be reluctant to act against a coworker. The written complaint should include the guard’s name and identifying details, the date, time, and location of the incident, and a factual narrative of what happened. Attach copies of your evidence, never originals. Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested so you have proof the company received it and when. Keep a copy of everything you send.
Filing With Your State’s Licensing Board
Over 40 states and the District of Columbia license private security officers through a state regulatory agency. The specific agency differs by state: Department of Public Safety, Department of State, a division of the state police, or a standalone licensing board. Search your state’s name together with “private security license complaint” to find the correct office and its intake form.
This is the venue the security company cannot control. A licensing board investigation is independent, and if the complaint is substantiated the consequences can include a formal reprimand, fines, mandatory retraining, license suspension, or permanent revocation. Those are penalties the employer would not voluntarily impose.
Most agencies provide a complaint form on their website, and some accept online submission. Fill out every field, writing “unknown” where you lack information rather than leaving blanks. Attach your evidence. Some boards have filing deadlines, so submit promptly. If the website doesn’t have an obvious form, call the main number and ask for the complaint intake process.
Filing a Police Report
If the guard’s conduct crossed into criminal behavior, file a police report. Assault, battery, theft, sexual misconduct, and false imprisonment are crimes regardless of whether the person committing them wears a security uniform. Go to the police station with jurisdiction over the incident location, or call the non-emergency line and ask an officer to come take a report. Bring your documentation. Ask for a copy of the report, or at least the report number, which you’ll need for any civil claim or follow-up.
Don’t assume someone else will report it. Administrative complaints do not generate criminal charges.
Other Venues Worth Knowing
The Property Owner or Manager
The business or property owner who hired the security company has contractual leverage the public does not. They can require the company to investigate, remove specific guards from the site, or terminate the contract. This route works when the security company itself is unresponsive, because losing a client is a direct financial consequence.
Federal Civil Rights Complaints
When a guard’s misconduct involves discrimination or a hate crime, you can report it to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division through its online portal at civilrights.justice.gov.1U.S. Department of Justice. Report a Civil Rights Violation Federal civil rights statutes cover offenses motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. Federal Civil Rights Statutes This route is most useful when the conduct reaches hate-crime territory or when local authorities have been unresponsive.
What Happens After You File
Response times vary by venue. A security company may act within days, particularly if you’ve signaled that you’ll also go to the licensing board. State agencies typically acknowledge receipt and then assign an investigator who may interview you, the guard, and witnesses, and review physical evidence or surveillance footage. This is not fast. Board investigations can run weeks to months depending on caseload and complexity.
A substantiated licensing complaint can produce a formal reprimand, fines, mandatory retraining, suspension, or permanent revocation of the license. If the investigation concludes no violation occurred and you disagree, most states allow you to appeal or submit additional information. An unfavorable administrative finding does not block a civil lawsuit on the same facts.
When a Lawsuit Is the Right Track
The administrative complaint process addresses the guard’s fitness to hold a license. It does not put money in your pocket. If you suffered physical injuries, emotional distress, lost wages, or property damage, a civil lawsuit is the mechanism for recovering compensation, and it runs independently of any employer discipline or licensing action.
You usually wouldn’t sue only the individual guard. The security company can be held liable under respondeat superior if the guard was acting within the scope of their duties. Even where the specific act was unauthorized, the company may face a negligent hiring claim for failing to run adequate background checks or ignoring prior complaints about the same guard. The property owner who contracted with the company can also be on the hook, particularly if they knew about a pattern and kept the contract.
Recoverable damages can include medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property repair costs. In cases of especially egregious conduct, courts may award punitive damages aimed at punishment rather than compensation. An attorney who handles personal injury or civil rights cases can evaluate whether your situation justifies the cost of litigation.
Keep the Complaint Honest
Filing a complaint you know to be false carries real legal risk. Every state has laws criminalizing false reports, and knowingly submitting a fabricated complaint to a state licensing agency can result in misdemeanor or felony charges depending on the jurisdiction and the fallout. A guard who suffers professional harm from a knowingly false accusation may also have grounds for a defamation suit. Truth is a complete defense to defamation, so an accurate complaint carries no exposure. Describe events as they happened and let the investigating body reach its own conclusion.