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Private security licence — DIGESSP
→ DIGESSP website DIGESSP PBX 2294-3500
Before you start, have ready:
  • A draft deed for a sociedad anónima whose only purpose is security services
  • Q150,000 paid-in capital, deposited in a bank supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos
  • Criminal and police record certificates for every shareholder and manager (Art. 29 bars records for organised-crime offences)
  • Plans of the premises for weapons storage, firing range and training
  • Quotes for the group life insurance, civil-liability cover and performance bond the law requires
Licence fee 2026: Q71,053.20 · Agent accreditation: Q592.11 each · Valid: 3 years · Legal basis: Decreto 52-2010 · Checked: 24 September 2026

A private security company in Guatemala needs two things from DIGESSP, the Dirección General de Servicios de Seguridad Privada that Decreto 52-2010 created under the Ministry of the Interior: authorisation to incorporate the company, and then an operating licence for each security service it will sell. The governing law is Decreto 52-2010, the Ley que Regula los Servicios de Seguridad Privada, with its regulation Acuerdo Gubernativo 417-2013 and DIGESSP’s fee regulation Acuerdo Gubernativo 220-2012.

Summary: Incorporate a sociedad anónima with Q150,000 paid-in capital and security as its only purpose, with DIGESSP’s authorisation first (the law gives DIGESSP up to three months to decide). Then apply for an operating licence within six months; DIGESSP must resolve within 30 days. The 2026 licence fee is Q71,053.20, each agent’s accreditation Q592.11. The licence lasts three years. Operating without one is a crime: six to twelve years in prison and a Q100,000 fine, for the provider and for any client who knowingly hires one.

Correction, 24 September 2026: earlier versions of this page named Decree 39-89 as the private security law, gave the licence cost as Q5,000-Q25,000 and the agent credential as Q437, and listed agent and partner requirements that are not in the law. Decreto 39-89 was the former arms law, repealed by Decreto 15-2009. This page now follows Decreto 52-2010 and DIGESSP’s 2026 cost table.

Applies to: anyone setting up or running a private security business. If you want to hire a guard, see hiring a security guard in Guatemala.

Which services need a licence

Article 41 of Decreto 52-2010 lists the private security services, and a provider needs a separate operating licence for each service it offers (Art. 34):

Service (Art. 41)Examples
Watch, custody, protection and defence of people and propertyGuards at homes, businesses, condominiums
Protection of people and goods in transport, by land, air, river or seaCash-in-transit, cargo escorts
Watch and prevention with staff or patrol vehicles in specific areasNeighbourhood patrols
Alarm receiving centres and response servicesMonitoring and armed response
Security planning and consultingSecurity consultants
Installing and monitoring satellite, GPS or other electronic protection devicesGPS tracking, electronic monitoring
Private investigationPrivate investigators
Recruiting, training, evaluating and selecting security staffTraining centres

Individuals may only be licensed on their own account as escorts or private investigators (Art. 15). Everything else is provided through a company.

Requirements for the company and its owners

The company (Arts. 18-19):

  • A sociedad anónima whose corporate purpose is exclusively one or more of the security services regulated by the law.
  • Minimum paid-in capital of Q150,000, subscribed and paid in cash and deposited in a bank supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos.
  • Shares must be registered (nominativas) so the individuals who ultimately own them can be identified.
  • A draft deed, the names of founders and shareholders, the governance structure, and plans of the facilities for weapons storage, firing ranges and training.
  • The Registro Mercantil only registers the company if DIGESSP’s authorisation is attached.

Shareholders, owners and managers (Arts. 19 and 29):

  • Of legal age.
  • Not active members or officials of the army, the security ministry, the Public Ministry, the PNC, the prison system, or any state security or intelligence body. Former members must show why they left, and the departure must be at least two years before the application.
  • No conviction or prosecution for offences under the Ley Contra la Delincuencia Organizada (Decreto 21-2006).
  • Not previously an owner or manager of a security company whose licence was cancelled for breaking its legal duties.

Insurance and bonds, kept in force the whole time (Art. 31):

  • Group life insurance for the workers of at least 15 minimum wages.
  • Civil-liability insurance or bond in favour of third parties of at least Q150,000.
  • A performance bond covering obligations to clients.

Requirements for security agents

Security companies must employ their staff as employees with all labour benefits (Art. 17). Every member of staff must be of legal age, not an active member of a state security or intelligence body, and have passed the training programmes DIGESSP designs (Art. 42). The law then sets class-specific minimums:

Agent classArmed?Education and training
Vigilante (Art. 45)No firearmsOver 18; primary school completed, or 4th grade plus the company’s special course completed within one year; certified
Guardia (Art. 46)Firearms approved in the company’s security planOver 18; ciclo básico completed, or the special course within 18 months; certified
Guard for rural property (Art. 47)Civil or sporting firearms authorised by DIGECAMSame as a vigilante; works only inside the property boundaries
Escolta privado (Art. 48)Firearms authorised by DIGECAMDiversificado diploma; certified
Investigador privado (Art. 49)—University or technical university degree, or graduate of a state security training centre; certified

Anyone who previously served in the army, PNC, an intelligence body or another security company must show the departure was not for a crime, a human-rights violation or breach of duty. Each agent is accredited with DIGESSP (Q592.11 in 2026) and must carry the credential DIGESSP and the company sign and seal while on duty (Arts. 30 and 59).

Step by step

  1. Company authorisation. Apply to DIGESSP for authorisation to incorporate. The law requires DIGESSP to authorise or refuse within three months of receiving the application, giving reasons if it refuses (Art. 21).
  2. Incorporation. Take the deed and DIGESSP’s authorisation to the Registro Mercantil (Art. 19).
  3. Operating licence. Apply for the operating licence within six months of the authorisation, or it lapses automatically (Art. 35). Attach the payment receipt, or the application is treated as not filed; DIGESSP must resolve within 30 days (Art. 39). DIGESSP weighs technical and operating capacity, geographic scope, capital, operating plans, the staff list with a sworn statement that operational staff meet the law, the weapons inventory, uniforms and insignia, the insurance policies and internal work regulations (Art. 32).
  4. Staff accreditation. A company may start operating from the date of its licence and the accreditation of its operational staff (Art. 33). No provisional licences exist.
  5. Weapons. Armed services also need weapons licensed under the Ley de Armas y Municiones, Decreto 15-2009, through DIGECAM.
  6. Ongoing duties. Report the full staff list, weapons, equipment and vehicles at the start and every year, report changes within eight days, and give notice within eight days if operations stop for more than three months (Art. 30).
  7. Renewal. The licence lasts three years. Apply to renew at least 30 days before it expires, with a notarial statement that conditions have not changed or updated documents (Art. 36).

DIGESSP’s website lists the formal procedures (company authorisation, operating licences, agent accreditation, renewals, share transfers, dissolution) and a form generator for them.

DIGESSP fees for 2026

From DIGESSP’s Costos de servicios para prestadores de servicios de seguridad privada año 2026, posted 23 December 2025. Every fee is set in minimum wages and converted at Q3,947.40 per minimum wage (Q131.58 a day × 30, Acuerdo Gubernativo 256-2025).

ProcedureMinimum wages2026 fee
Operating licence for a company18Q71,053.20
Licence for an individual escort3Q11,842.20
Licence for an individual private investigator6Q23,684.40
Accreditation of each security agent15% of 1Q592.11
Accreditation of a trainer or consultant15% of 1Q592.11
Administrative fee to request, renew or modify a licence5% of 1Q197.37
Authorising a change to the company deed1Q3,947.40
Merger, transfer or assignment of most of the balance sheet5Q19,737.00
Acquisition or transfer of shares—10% of the nominal value of the shares traded
Excluding a partner10% of 1Q394.74
Total dissolution2Q7,894.80
Changing the uniform or insignia1Q3,947.40
Certification of a file10% of 1Q394.74
Replacement carné5% of 1Q197.37
Copies—Q0.60 each

The fees do not include the company’s own costs (notary, capital, insurance, premises, training, weapons), which the law requires but does not price.

Infractions, fines and the crime of illegal security

  • Infractions (Art. 58). Minor: not giving authorised staff their credential. Grave: not filing the annual report, working with staff not registered with DIGESSP, hiring staff who do not meet the law, no authorised uniform, not reporting alarm signals to the police. Very grave: subcontracting unlicensed providers, breaching employer obligations and labour rights, disclosing client information, and using investigation methods reserved to the state.
  • Fines (Art. 61): never less than 10 nor more than 20 minimum wages; grave infractions add a warning of suspension or cancellation, and very grave ones mean cancellation.
  • Cancellation (Art. 64) bars the owners, partners or shareholders from forming another company for the same services for five years.
  • Illegal security (Art. 66): providing private security without authorisation or a licence carries six to twelve years in prison and a Q100,000 fine. The same penalty applies to anyone who knowingly hires an unauthorised company or person, and to the board members and legal representatives of a company that does it.