Licensed armed and unarmed officers for Houston construction sites, warehouses, office buildings, shopping centers and vacant properties. In most cases the free proposal arrives the day you call, and the certificate of insurance issued to your company and the first officer follow the day you approve. No long-term contract required.
How to hire security guards for a Houston business
To hire a guard company, get 3 things in hand before an officer starts: a written proposal, proof the company holds an active Texas DPS company license, and a certificate of insurance issued to your company. The proposal should state the officer level (Level II unarmed or Level III armed), the post type, the days and hours, the hourly rate, how rounds get recorded and the contract term.
Reliable Guard & Patrol Service Inc. holds DPS company license B07315701. We write proposals at no charge and issue the insurance certificate the day you approve. In most cases an officer is on the post that day too. The full list of posts we staff is on our security guard services in Houston page.
What happens after you call
You call, and we ask about the property, the address, the days and hours to cover, what has happened there so far, and whether the post needs an armed officer or a Spanish speaker.
- You get a free written proposal. It lists the officer level, the post type (fixed post, foot patrol or vehicle patrol), the schedule, the hourly rate, how you’ll receive reports, and the term.
- Every post gets written post orders, the instructions the officer works from. Some properties get a site assessment first, where we walk the site with you and set those orders.
- You approve the proposal, and we issue a certificate of insurance to your company the same day.
- A licensed officer arrives and logs each patrol round on our GPS guard-tour system.
- From the first shift on, your account supervisor checks in and incident reports reach you in real time.
If the officer will need a badge, a key or a gate code, tell us on that first call. Here’s how same-day starts work across the metro.
CALL US FOR SMART SECURITY SOLUTIONS
We Cover Houston, TX, Sugar Land, TX, Pearland, TX, Conroe, TX
Decide 3 things before you call
- Choose unarmed or armed. An unarmed post takes a Level II officer. An armed post takes a Level III officer who holds a state commission, which means more training, more screening and a higher rate. Settle it before the call, because it decides which officers we can send.
- Work out the hours. A weeknight post, Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., is 60 hours a week. Weekends only, Saturday 6 a.m. to Monday 6 a.m., is 48. The calculator below works out any other schedule, 24/7 included.
- Pick the term. Agreements run week to week, month to month or for a set period, and none needs a long-term commitment.
Guard company, your own payroll, or an off-duty officer
You can hire a licensed guard company, put a guard on your own payroll, or pay an off-duty peace officer. Texas law treats each route differently, and the differences show up in licensing and in who carries workers’ comp when a guard gets hurt. This section explains the statutes in general terms, not legal advice for your property.
A guard on your own payroll
Texas exempts a guard who works only for your business from DPS licensing (Occupations Code §1702.323). The exemption ends when the guard does all 3 of these at work: deals with the public, wears a security-style uniform, badge or patch, and performs security officer duties. A uniformed guard at a front entrance usually does all 3, which brings the licensing rules back. A guard who carries a firearm needs a security officer commission either way.
The workers’ comp decision becomes yours too. Texas lets most private employers go without it (Labor Code §406.002). If an injured employee sues an employer that has no coverage, the employer can’t argue the employee’s own negligence, an assumed risk or a co-worker’s negligence (Labor Code §406.033). The rest of the in-house math is in what outsourcing takes off your books.
An off-duty peace officer
A full-time Texas peace officer can work private security without a guard license (Occupations Code §1702.322). The officer’s police work has to come to 32 hours a week or more on average, so your post gets the hours that schedule leaves open.
A licensed guard company
With a licensed company, the company holds the license, employs the officers, and carries their workers’ comp and its own liability coverage. Outside the 2 exemptions above, Texas requires every security officer to hold an individual license and to be employed by a licensed company (Occupations Code §1702.221).
Get Your
Free Armed & Unarmed Security Proposal
Why Houston businesses choose Reliable Guard & Patrol Service
Why Choose Our Armed Guards:
01. Fully Licensed to Carry in the State of Texas
02. Background-Checked and Drug Tested
03. Trained in Firearms Handling and De-Escalation
04. Experienced in High-Risk Property Protection
05. Serving Houston Businesses for Over 20 Years
06. Corporate, Construction, Retail, and Event Coverage
07. 24/7 Coverage Including Holidays
What you'll have before the first shift
Before an officer starts, you can have all of this in hand:
- Our company license number, B07315701, which you can look up on the state’s TOPS license search
- A certificate of insurance issued to your company, covering our liability, auto and workers’ comp policies
- The written proposal, with the officer level, post type, schedule, rate and term
- Post orders for your site
- An officer who passed our screening: background and drug tests, a verified license, an interview and references
- The name of your account supervisor, and the way your GPS tour logs and incident reports will reach you
Read the certificate line by line. The state’s insurance rule for a guard company license covers general liability only (Occupations Code §1702.124), so workers’ comp and auto coverage appear on a certificate when a company carries them and not otherwise. More on Texas security company insurance requirements.
What an officer on site changes about the police call
An officer on site can report a theft while it’s happening, instead of someone finding it in the morning, and inside Houston city limits HPD ranks those 2 calls differently. Under HPD General Order 600-01, a property crime in progress is a Priority 2 call. A theft discovered after the fact is a delayed report, Priority 4 or 5, a lower priority than Priority 2. The City of Houston’s FY2026 budget document lists Priority 2 average response times and targets of 11.5 to 12 minutes.
When one of our officers spotted a person pulling copper wire from a storage container on a construction site, the officer’s call went out while the suspect was still on the property, and responding police apprehended the suspect. Found by the morning crew, the same theft would have gone in as a report after the fact.
Overnight, the officer on site is the first response. The police are the second.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hire a guard for a short job, or a bodyguard for a day?
For a property, yes. Short-term and weekly agreements are both options, and no long-term contract is required. We don’t staff events or personal protection, the bodyguard work Texas licenses separately at Level IV.
Does a security guard need a license in Texas?
Yes. A security officer needs an individual DPS license and has to be employed by a licensed company (Occupations Code §1702.221), and an armed officer needs a commission (§1702.161). The 2 common exceptions: a guard employed only by your business who doesn’t combine public contact, a security uniform and guard duties (§1702.323), and a full-time peace officer working off duty (§1702.322).
What do you need from me to write a proposal?
The address and property type, the days and hours, what has happened so far (police report numbers help), how the officer gets through gates and doors after hours, and who on your side approves post orders and answers the phone overnight.
Start with a written proposal
Send us your property type, or call. The proposal usually comes back the same day, and once you approve it, an officer can start that day in most cases.