Type “On Guard security company in Houston, TX” into Google and you get a mix of businesses that share a name and not much else. Some are based out of the area. At least one is not a guard company at all. The page ranking first tells you what it wants to sell, not whether it can legally put an officer on your property tonight.
There is one filter that cuts through all of it: the Texas security license. This page shows you how to check any Houston guard company on the state portal in about two minutes, what a licensed officer can and cannot do on your site, and where Reliable Guard & Patrol Service fits if you want a licensed local option (Texas DPS #B07315701).
What a search for On Guard Security Company in Houston, TX actually returns
The results mix several unrelated businesses, and the name on the page is a weak signal. Read the license instead.
Run the search and you will usually see three kinds of results stacked together. There are statewide or national brands that list Houston as one of dozens of Texas cities they claim to cover, often with an 800 number and no local office. There are companies using an “On Guard” or “OnGuard” name that sell alarms, monitoring, or call systems rather than staffed guards. And there are local guard firms, including this one, competing for the same words.
None of that overlap tells you who is licensed, who is insured, or who can actually staff your site this week. A polished homepage is not a credential. In Texas, staffing guards for pay without a current Department of Public Safety license is illegal, and hiring an unlicensed provider pushes the liability back onto you, the property owner, if something goes wrong on your site.
So treat the company name as a starting point, not an answer. The next section is the two-minute check that settles it.
How to verify any Houston security company on the Texas TOPS portal
You can confirm any Houston guard company yourself, free, on the state’s public license search. It takes about two minutes and it works for every name on your list, this one included.
- Open the Texas TOPS public search. Go to the Texas Online Private Security (TOPS) system, run by the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Program. Look for the public “Search Licensees” option.
- Search by company name or license number. Enter the company name, or a license number if you have one. For Reliable Guard & Patrol Service, the number is B07315701.
- Confirm the license is active. Check that the status reads active and shows no open issues. A lapsed, missing, or out-of-state-only license is a real problem for your insurance and your liability.
- For armed posts, check the officer too. A company license alone does not cover an armed post. Each armed officer must also hold an active Level III commission. Ask the provider for officer names and confirm the level. Reliable Guard supplies names on request.
If a company cannot give you a Texas license number, or the number does not resolve to an active Texas license, that is your answer. Stop there.
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We Cover Houston, TX, Sugar Land, TX, Pearland, TX, Conroe, TX
What a licensed Texas guard can and cannot legally do
A licensed security officer in Texas has a citizen’s authority, not police powers. What you pay for is an officer trained to use that limited authority correctly and to document it, so a stopped incident holds up afterward with an insurer or in a dispute.
When an officer can detain. Under Texas law, any person, including a security officer, may make a warrantless arrest only when a felony or an offense against the public peace happens in their presence or view (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 14.01). For theft, Texas separately lets any person recover stolen property and hold the suspect when there are reasonable grounds to believe the property was stolen (Art. 18.16).
What happens next. A detained person is turned over to police without delay. A security officer does not file charges, transport, or jail anyone. Force is limited to what is reasonable, under the same self-defense and defense-of-property rules that apply to any citizen under the Texas Penal Code.
Armed versus unarmed, in legal terms. A Level III commissioned officer may carry a firearm on duty. That does not widen arrest authority. The difference is deterrence and the response option on a high-risk post, not extra legal power. Both officer types work inside the same citizen-authority limits.
Why this matters to you: an officer who oversteps that authority creates liability for the property owner, not the guard company alone. Training, clear post orders, and a written record are the controls that keep a stop defensible. That is the work behind our 6-point standard below.
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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
The 6-point officer standard
No officer works a post until they clear all six checks. Guard reliability is the thing clients worry about most, so the same standard applies to every officer, on every site, before deployment.
- DPS license verification. Active Texas DPS registration confirmed for the level the post requires, before deployment.
- Fingerprint background check. Full criminal background screening, with fingerprint-based checks consistent with state requirements.
- Drug testing. Pre-assignment drug testing, armed or unarmed, no exceptions.
- Interview to standard. An in-person interview against company conduct and presentation standards, beyond the license check.
- Verified references. References contacted and confirmed. We verify history rather than assume it.
- Recurring training. Unarmed officers complete Level II training. Armed officers hold a Level III commission (a 45-hour course plus firearms proficiency) and re-qualify with 6 hours of continuing education and a firearms proficiency certificate at each two-year renewal.
Texas license levels, plainly:
- Level II, non-commissioned. Unarmed officers. State training course and test required.
- Level III, commissioned. Armed officers. A 45-hour training course plus a firearms proficiency test.
- Level IV, personal protection. Close protection, an added 15-hour minimum on top of Level III. We do not staff this.
Who we are not for
We take commercial posts, and we say no to the rest. That keeps our officers on the site types they know.
We do not staff residential, HOA, or event work. We do not run K-9, fire watch, alarm response, or parking enforcement. If that is what you need, we are not your provider, and it is better you hear that now than after a bad shift. Our whole business is armed and unarmed officers on construction sites, warehouses, vacant buildings, retail centers, and office buildings.
What stopping a loss actually looks like
The entries below are representative examples drawn from our patrol logs, with client names and exact addresses removed. They are the reason a documented officer on site beats a camera nobody is watching.
Construction site. A pickup circled the site, then stopped near a gated entrance while the people inside studied the access points. The officer switched on the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and moved toward the gate. The truck left. He logged the vehicle description and notified site management. No property was lost.
Vacant commercial building. Two people were prying at a boarded rear window. The officer called dispatch and police, kept watch from cover, and ran the patrol vehicle’s lights. Both left before getting in. A later check found minor damage to the window covering and no entry. He secured the site and notified the owner.
Distribution warehouse. An unauthorized vehicle sat near the loading docks after hours while someone tried a secured storage area by the dock doors. The officer called dispatch and the site supervisor, identified himself, and directed the person off the restricted area. The person left. A dock-and-gate check found no forced entry, damage, or missing inventory.
Every one of these was GPS-logged and written up as an incident report the client received. That record is the point. It is what holds up with an insurer or in a dispute later.
Armed or unarmed: which your site needs
Most commercial posts run unarmed. Here is when armed is worth the higher hourly rate.
Choose armed when the site has cash on hand, high-value or easily resold assets, a history of violent incidents, or a credible specific threat. Otherwise, unarmed deterrence and documentation handle the large majority of commercial loss: theft, trespass, and vandalism, not armed confrontation. Many sites run unarmed patrol with a clear escalation plan and never need more.
If you are not sure which fits, tell us the site type and what has gone wrong before, and we will scope it honestly rather than upsell the higher rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I verify your license?
Search “Reliable Guard and Patrol Service” or license number B07315701 on the Texas DPS TOPS public portal and confirm the status is active. For armed posts, ask us for officer names and confirm each holds a Level III commission.
Do you require a long-term contract?
No. Terms run weekly, month-to-month, short-term, or long-term, set to the job. The “you must sign for a year” line is a myth.
How fast can you start?
In most cases we deploy the same day. We do not run random drive-by patrols and call it security.
What’s the difference between armed and unarmed officers?
Armed (Level III commissioned) officers add deterrence and a response option for high-risk or high-value posts. Both types work inside the same citizen-authority limits under Texas law. Unarmed officers handle most commercial theft, trespass, and vandalism risk.
Do you offer event security, fire watch, K-9, or residential service?
No. We take commercial posts only: construction, warehouses, vacant buildings, retail, and offices.
Are your officers background-checked?
Yes. Fingerprint background checks, drug testing, license verification, an in-person interview, and confirmed references before any officer works a post.
Do you have Spanish-speaking officers?
Yes. We staff English and Spanish speaking officers across the metro, and clients call this out for overnight coverage.
How do you prove the patrols actually happen?
GPS guard-tour tracking, documented rounds, real-time incident reports, and supervisor check-ins. You see the activity, not a promise.
Talk to a licensed local option
If you searched for an On Guard security company in Houston, you were really looking for one thing: an officer who is licensed, insured, and on your site when you need one. Verify whoever you hire on the Texas TOPS portal first. Then, if you want a licensed local option, we are one call away.