Purpose

This bill updates Minnesota law to classify the duties of protective agents and their employees and to require new, minimum training levels. It defines a tiered system of security work and sets preassignment (before starting a job) and ongoing continuing training requirements based on the functions performed. It also clarifies training expectations for proprietary employers and creates an implementation plan to recognize prior related experience.

Main provisions

• Classification of duties (tiered responsibilities)

  • Tier 1: Facility or event access control, crowd flow, and traffic/parking control. Minimal use of force with no expectation of detaining people.
  • Tier 2: Building access control, patrols, escorting visitors. No detention of trespassers or persons suspected of crime.
  • Tier 3: Unarmed high-risk building security and detaining trespassers or persons suspected of criminal conduct.
  • Tier 4: Armed security in a high-risk environment (e.g., armored transport or critical infrastructure).
  • Tier 5: Armed security for an individual or group.

• Training requirements (preassignment and on-the-job)

  • Tier 1: Minimum 12 hours of preassignment or on-the-job training within the first 21 days of employment.
  • Tier 2–Tier 5: Minimum 40 hours of preassignment or on-the-job training within the first 21 days of employment.
  • On-the-job training under this subdivision is not allowed to involve carrying or using a weapon.

• Core training content (required for preassignment)

  • Community health and wellness (drug/alcohol addiction, homelessness, mental illness)
  • First aid and medical response (including CPR, use of AEDs, and administering opiate antagonists)
  • Crisis and conflict de-escalation strategies for violent incidents and for people impaired by substances or experiencing mental health crises
  • Orientation to the security industry
  • Orientation to public safety entities and their duties
  • Legal standards for how license holders should interact with public safety personnel
  • Responding to disruptions in building operations (e.g., power/water issues, floods, elevator problems)
  • Identifying internal and external threats to buildings and occupants
  • Understanding citizens’ authority to detain or arrest someone suspected of a crime and the related legal obligations and liability
  • Best practices for safely detaining or restraining someone suspected of crime

• Implementation and credit for prior experience

  • The board must create an implementation plan to help existing license holders meet the new requirements and must provide credit for prior relevant experience and training from other professions.
  • Rules may credit prior training or experience and specify criteria for earning that credit.

• Continuing training and weapons-related requirements

  • All license holders, qualified representatives, Minnesota managers, partners, and employees must complete at least six hours of certified continuing training each year.
  • Individuals armed with firearms or armed with weapons must complete an additional six hours each year, including annual certification for the armed status.
  • Rules require certification of completion for weapon-related training and for carrying or using a firearm, weapon, or restraint technique.

• Contents related to weapons and use of force

  • Training rules must include certification for carrying or using a firearm, a non-firearm weapon, or restraint techniques.
  • The sections reference legal limits on justifiable use of force and deadly force.

• Prohibitions and protections during training

  • An individual may not carry or use a weapon while undergoing on-the-job training under this subdivision.

• Proprietary employers

  • Proprietary employers are not required to obtain a separate security license but must follow the same training requirements for their security employees when hiring and assigning them to tiers.

• Scope of applicability

  • Applies to license holders, their agents, and employees who perform security functions across the defined tiers.

Significant changes to existing law

• Establishes a formal, tiered framework (Tier 1–Tier 5) for security duties and links each tier to specific preassignment training requirements.
• Increases minimum preassignment training hours (12 hours for Tier 1; 40 hours for Tier 2–Tier 5) and ties these hours to a 21-day onboarding window.
• Introduces mandatory annual continuing education (six hours per year for all; six additional hours per year for those armed with firearms or weapons, plus annual certification for armed status).
• Expands required training content to include comprehensive topics such as mental health, homelessness, crisis de-escalation, public safety interactions, threat identification, and detention authorities.
• Allows and prescribes credit for prior relevant experience or training, easing transitions for workers with background in related fields.
• Clarifies on-the-job training restrictions related to weapon use during the training period.
• Extends training requirements to proprietary employers, ensuring non-licensed security operations still meet standardized training.

Terminology and key concepts (for clarity and search relevance)

• Protective agent, license holders, qualified representatives, Minnesota managers, partners, and employees
• Preassignment training, on-the-job training, continuing training
• Tier 1–Tier 5 security services
• Armed security, firearms, weapons other than firearms, immobilizing or restraint techniques
• First aid, CPR, AED (defibrillators), opiate antagonists
• Crisis de-escalation, conflict management
• Justifiable use of force, deadly force (legal limitations)
• Community health and wellness (drug/alcohol addiction, homelessness, mental illness)
• Detaining or arresting (and related legal obligations and liability)
• Building security, access control, patrols, escorting, crowd control
• Public safety interaction and interagency coordination
• Proprietary employers (non-licensed security employers)

Relevant terms

• protective agent
• license holder
• preassignment training
• continuing training
• Tier 1 security services
• Tier 2 security services
• Tier 3 security services
• Tier 4 security services
• Tier 5 security services
• armed security
• firearms
• weapons
• immobilizing techniques
• detention
• arrest
• justifiable use of force
• deadly force
• crisis de-escalation
• first aid
• CPR
• AED
• opiate antagonists
• community health and wellness
• mental illness
• homelessness
• public safety entities
• implementation plan
• prior relevant experience
• proprietary employer
• certificate of training
• annual certification