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New SIA Refresher Training Requirements for Close Protection Operatives (2026 Guide)

Updated November 2025 — Mandatory from April 2026

The SIA has officially announced new mandatory refresher training for Close Protection Operatives (CPOs).
This training becomes:

  • Available: 1 October 2025

  • Mandatory for licence renewals: 1 April 2026

This marks one of the biggest changes to CP licensing since the introduction of the 2022 qualification update.

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✔️ Why the Change?

The SIA states the purpose clearly:

  • To ensure operatives maintain safety-critical skills
  • To keep standards aligned with modern threats and operational realities
  • To ensure CP licence holders remain competent across multiple regulated roles (Door Supervisor/Security Guard crossover)

The refresher has been developed with subject matter experts, meaning it’s aligned with current UK operational risk profiles.

📘 What the Refresher Training Includes

The new training focuses on core practical skills that directly impact safety and operational capability:

Physical Intervention (Updated Standards) – Modernised techniques, safety considerations, and situational judgement refreshers.

Conducting Searches – Refresher on lawful, safe, and effective person/property searches.

Protecting Vulnerable People – Updated safeguarding methodologies that reflect current policy and threat patterns.

Counter-Terror Threat Awareness – Includes new considerations driven by national threat level assessments and hostile event trends.

First Aid Requirement – Operators must hold a valid, recognised first aid qualification, matching the same standard required for new CP licence applicants.

👉 For detailed medical training guidance for CPOs, see our CP Medical Training Guide (2026).

📅 Timeline & Renewal Planning

Training available:

✔️ 1 October 2025

Mandatory for licence renewals starting:

⚠️ 1 April 2026

If your licence expires on or after 1 April 2026, you must complete the new refresher before renewing.

The SIA’s 6-month lead-in period is intended to allow:

  • Training providers to update materials
  • Operatives to book training without financial pressure
  • Companies to align internal training cycles

👥 For Operatives Working Multiple Roles

If you work as a:

  • Close Protection Operative
  • Door Supervisor
  • Security Guard

…this refresher ensures your competencies remain up-to-date in all overlapping areas.

The SIA explicitly confirmed CP licences continue to provide integrated cover, provided you complete the refresher.

🧭 What This Means for UK CPOs

If your licence expires before 1 April 2026:

Nothing changes — renew as normal.

If your licence expires on or after 1 April 2026:

You must complete the refresher training first.

If you operate internationally:

This update strengthens your credibility, UK licensing is seen as a high-standard benchmark globally.

📌 Practical Advice

  • Check your licence expiry date now
  • Book early — demand will surge March–June 2026
  • Keep an eye on SIA updates for the finalised training specification
  • Companies should prepare training budgets for Q4 2025–Q1 2026

👉 Read: How to Prepare for a Close Protection Course (UK, 2026)

🧩 Final Thoughts

The SIA’s new CT refresher requirement will be seen in two very different ways across the industry.

On one side, it does bring the UK in line with what many international clients already expect: regular, standardised refreshers in high-risk skill sets. It gives companies something concrete to point to when justifying competence, and it nudges the industry toward a more consistent baseline.

But on the other side, and this is where most working CPOs sit, it’s another compulsory course, another fee, and more time off the circuit for training many feel they’ve already done repeatedly. For operators who already juggle irregular work patterns, long rotations, or gaps between contracts, mandatory training every few years often feels less like improving standards and more like the regulator creating another hoop to jump through.

The reality is simple:

It will improve standardisation, but it will also cost operators money and time.

Both truths can exist at the same time, and this update reflects exactly that.

👉 Read next: How to Find Close Protection Work (UK & International)

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