Security Industry Authority Approved Contractor Scheme

The Private Security Industry Act (PSIA) 2001 set the ground rules for the licensing of security officers operating within the manned guarding industry and commencing in March 2006 the self-regulated industry was replaced by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) who became responsible for regulating the private security industry throughout the United Kingdom.

The SIA cover two main duties:

• The compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated duties within the private security industry to ensure that they are ‘fit and proper’ persons, who have received formal training and are qualified to carry out their duties.
• Management of the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) which measures security companies against independently assessed criteria.

The ACS introduced a minimum level of achievement in respect of operational and performance standards for companies providing security services. Only organisations that meet these standards, and continue to do so when inspected annually, are awarded Approved Contractor status, and may advertise themselves as such.

For further information on the SIA and ACS go to The SIA’s official site.

The scoring pyramid below, which is available on the ACS section of the SIA website, shows the total number of companies in each quartile and the score which they have had to achieve during their annual assessment to reach that position.  The results show the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and is based on the results of 688 security suppliers.