By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Security Services Intake Forms: What Every Guard Company Needs to Capture at Client Intake

A security company that places an officer on site without knowing the property layout, the number of access points, whether armed or unarmed coverage is required, or what happened the last time someone broke into the loading dock is not providing security — it is providing a warm body in a uniform. The client is paying for protection, and protection starts with information. An officer who does not know the site cannot secure it.

Most security companies collect a client name, an address, and the number of guards requested. That is a staffing order, not an intake. A real security services intake form captures everything your operations team needs to staff the post correctly, write effective post orders, price the contract accurately, and ensure your company is in full compliance with state licensing requirements before a single officer sets foot on the property. Here is what that form should include.

Service type: the engagement starts with the threat profile

Security is not a single service — it is a category that spans a dozen distinct specialties, each with different staffing, training, equipment, and liability considerations. Your intake form should present clear service categories because the downstream requirements change dramatically depending on which box the client checks:

• Unarmed guard / static post — the most common service type. Lobby security, front desk, warehouse gatehouse. The officer is a visible deterrent and access control point. Requires a state guard card but not firearms qualification.
• Armed guard — a fundamentally different engagement. Separate firearms permits, higher insurance requirements, different use-of-force protocols, and a more rigorous background check. Your intake must flag this at the top because it changes everything downstream — pricing, staffing pool, compliance documentation.
• Mobile patrol — vehicle-based coverage of multiple locations or large properties. Requires patrol vehicles, GPS tracking, defined checkpoint routes, and auto insurance. Different cost structure than a static post.
• Event security — temporary coverage for concerts, corporate events, sporting events, private parties. Short-duration, high-density, crowd management focus. Staffing ratios depend on expected attendance, alcohol service, and venue layout.
• Executive protection / close protection — personal security for individuals. Entirely different skill set — advance work, route planning, threat assessment, low-profile operation. Typically billed per-agent per-day, not hourly.
• Loss prevention / retail security — plainclothes or uniformed officers in retail environments focused on shoplifting deterrence, internal theft, and merchandise protection. Requires understanding of detention laws and merchant privilege statutes that vary by state.
• Construction site security — after-hours coverage of active construction sites. Equipment theft, material theft, trespassing, and vandalism are the primary concerns. Often remote locations with limited lighting and no permanent structures.
• Fire watch — required when a building's fire suppression system is down. Mandated by fire code, with specific patrol intervals and documentation requirements. Your officer needs to know the building layout, fire panel location, and extinguisher placements.
• Alarm response — dispatching an officer when a monitored alarm triggers. Response time commitments, coordination with the alarm monitoring company, and site-specific protocols for each client location.
• Residential security / concierge — HOA communities, luxury residential buildings, gated neighborhoods. Combines access control with customer service — the officer is greeting residents, managing visitor logs, and accepting deliveries while also monitoring for unauthorized access.
• Parking enforcement — lot management, permit verification, towing coordination. Requires knowledge of local towing regulations and private property enforcement authority.

Capturing the service type first is not administrative — it determines which sections of the rest of your intake form are relevant and which compliance requirements apply.

Client and site details: you cannot secure what you do not understand

Security is site-specific. An officer trained for a corporate lobby is not interchangeable with one assigned to a warehouse perimeter. Your intake needs a complete picture of who the client is and what the site looks like:

• Client name and company — the contracting entity. For property management companies, capture both the management company and the property owner if different, because the authority to grant access and direct security operations may come from different parties.
• Primary contact and emergency contact — who does the officer call at 2 AM when something happens? The primary contact handles day-to-day scheduling and operational questions. The emergency contact is who your officer reaches when there is an incident that cannot wait until business hours. These should be different people.
• Site address — if the client has multiple locations, each site needs its own intake. A company with three warehouse locations cannot be covered by a single intake form because each site has different access points, different layouts, different incident histories, and different staffing needs.
• Property type — commercial office, retail storefront, industrial facility, warehouse, residential community, construction site, event venue. Each type has distinct security considerations. A retail environment is about customer interaction and shoplifting. An industrial facility is about perimeter control and hazardous material awareness.
• Site size — square footage for buildings, acreage for outdoor properties. This directly impacts staffing — a 500,000-square-foot distribution center cannot be patrolled by a single officer on foot.
• Hours of operation — is this a business-hours-only facility or a 24/7 operation? After-hours security has fundamentally different requirements than daytime lobby coverage.
• Number of employees, tenants, or residents — this drives access control complexity. A building with 12 tenants is a different access management challenge than one with 200.
• Access points — every door, gate, loading dock, parking entrance, emergency exit, and service entrance. Map them. An officer who does not know about the side door behind the dumpster enclosure has a gap in the security perimeter they do not know exists.
• Existing security measures — CCTV cameras (how many, where, monitored or recorded-only), alarm system (monitored by whom, zones), access control system (key cards, fobs, biometric), fencing (type and condition), lighting (adequate or dark spots). Your officers are supplementing these systems, not replacing them, and they need to know what is already in place.
• Guard post locations — fixed post (lobby desk, gatehouse), roving patrol, or a combination. If roving, what is the patrol route and checkpoint frequency?
• Key control — who currently has keys or access cards? Is there a master key system? How are keys issued and tracked? Key control is one of the most overlooked elements of physical security, and your intake is where you establish the baseline.
• Incident history — prior break-ins, theft, vandalism, trespassing, employee incidents, workplace violence events. This is not optional information — it tells you what threats the site actually faces, as opposed to what the client assumes the threats are. A warehouse that has had three copper theft incidents in six months needs different coverage than one that has never had a security event.

Staffing requirements: matching officers to the post

Security staffing is not interchangeable labor. An armed officer at a jewelry store has different qualifications than an unarmed concierge at a residential tower. Your intake should capture every staffing parameter so your operations team assigns the right people:

• Number of officers — per shift, per post. A site with a front gate and a loading dock may need two officers simultaneously.
• Shift schedule — 8-hour, 10-hour, or 12-hour shifts. Twelve-hour shifts are common in security but create fatigue issues that affect alertness. The client should understand the tradeoff.
• Coverage hours — 24/7 or specific hours. After-hours-only coverage (6 PM to 6 AM) is common for construction sites and commercial properties.
• Armed vs. unarmed — this is a licensing, insurance, and pricing decision that must be explicit in the contract.
• Uniform requirements — company uniform with patches, blazer and tie, plain clothes. Residential and corporate clients often want a professional appearance that blends with the environment. Event security may require specific attire. Plain clothes is typical for loss prevention.
• Certifications required — state guard card, armed guard permit, CPR/AED, first aid, fire watch certification. Some clients require specific additional training — OSHA 10 for construction sites, food handler certification for officers posted at food processing facilities.
• Patrol method — foot patrol, vehicle patrol, bicycle, golf cart. Large campuses and industrial parks typically require vehicle patrol because the distances are too great for foot coverage.
• Equipment — two-way radio, flashlight, body camera, AED, fire extinguisher, traffic cones, reflective vest. Each post has specific equipment needs, and your intake determines what your officers carry.
• Supervisor requirements — does the client want a supervisor on site? What is the officer-to-supervisor ratio? Some large accounts require a dedicated site supervisor who handles scheduling, training, and client communication.

Licensing and compliance: the regulatory foundation

Private security is one of the most heavily regulated service industries in the United States, and the regulatory landscape varies dramatically by state. Your intake must capture enough information to confirm that your company and your individual officers are in compliance before you begin service:

• Company licensing — every state requires a private security company license. Some states (California's BSIS, Florida's Division of Licensing, Texas DPS) have specific application processes, continuing education requirements, and renewal cycles. Your intake should confirm that your company license covers the jurisdiction where the client's site is located.
• Individual guard registration — most states require each security officer to hold an individual license or registration. California requires a BSIS Guard Card. Florida requires a Class D license (unarmed) or Class G license (armed). Illinois requires a PERC card. These are not interchangeable — an officer licensed in New Jersey cannot work a post in New York without a separate New York registration.
• Armed guard permits — if the engagement requires armed officers, separate firearms qualification and permitting is mandatory. This typically includes range qualification, use-of-force training, and a standalone armed guard license on top of the basic guard registration.
• Insurance — general liability, professional liability (errors and omissions), workers' compensation, and commercial auto if patrol vehicles are involved. Most commercial clients will require a Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming them as an additional insured before officers go on site.
• Bonding — fidelity bonds (covering employee theft) and surety bonds (required by some states as a licensing condition). Some clients, particularly financial institutions and high-value retail, require bonded officers.
• Background check requirements — what level of screening does the client require for officers assigned to their site? Criminal history (how far back?), drug screening (pre-employment and random?), credit check (common for financial sector posts), driving record (for patrol officers).
• Training hours — state-mandated minimum training varies widely. Some states require as few as 8 hours of pre-assignment training; others mandate 40 hours or more. Your intake should document both the state requirement and any additional training the client expects — site-specific orientation, emergency procedures, customer service standards.

Licensing compliance is not a checkbox exercise — it is a liability shield. A security company operating with unlicensed officers or expired permits faces regulatory penalties, contract termination, and catastrophic exposure if an incident occurs while officers are out of compliance. The intake form is where you establish the compliance baseline for every engagement.

Post orders and procedures: written instructions for every post

Post orders are the operational backbone of contract security. They are the written instructions that tell each officer exactly what to do at their assigned post — and your intake is where you gather the information to write them:

• Access control procedures — who is authorized to enter? How are visitors managed — sign-in log, photo ID, escort required, visitor badges? What about deliveries — UPS, FedEx, food delivery, vendor access? Each client has different rules, and your officer needs to know them before the first shift.
• Patrol routes and checkpoints — for roving patrol, define the route, the checkpoints, and the frequency. Electronic guard tour systems (Deggy, Detex, smartphone-based) create a verifiable record that the officer completed each patrol. Your intake should ask whether the client wants electronic verification.
• Incident reporting — how does the officer document events? What triggers a report — every trespasser, or only confirmed incidents? Who receives the report — client contact, property manager, your dispatch center? What is the escalation chain?
• Emergency procedures — fire evacuation, medical emergency, active shooter, bomb threat, severe weather. The officer needs site-specific emergency protocols, not generic security industry guidelines. Where are the fire exits? Where is the AED? Where is the rally point? Who calls 911 — the officer or the client's facility manager?
• Use of force policy — your company's use-of-force escalation ladder must be documented and the client must understand it. Private security officers are not law enforcement. Their authority is limited, and the legal exposure for excessive force falls on both the security company and the client. Your intake should establish mutual understanding of what your officers will and will not do physically.
• Law enforcement coordination — when does the officer call police? Some clients want police called for every trespasser. Others want to handle situations internally and only involve law enforcement for criminal acts in progress. This preference must be documented because an officer who makes the wrong call — in either direction — creates problems for everyone.
• Trespass authority — does the client grant trespass authority to your officers? Can they issue criminal trespass warnings on behalf of the property owner? This authority typically needs to be documented in writing, and some jurisdictions require specific language.

Contract terms: the business framework

Security contracts involve significant recurring revenue and substantial liability. Your intake form should capture the commercial terms alongside the operational details:

• Billing rate — hourly rate per officer, typically broken out by unarmed, armed, supervisor, and any specialty positions. Overtime rates for hours beyond 40 per week per officer. Holiday premium rates. Short-notice or emergency callout rates.
• Minimum contract term — most security contracts run month-to-month with a 30-day cancellation notice requirement. Some large accounts negotiate annual terms with locked rates. Your intake should establish which structure the client expects.
• Invoice frequency — weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Security companies with hourly billing typically invoice weekly or bi-weekly to maintain cash flow, but some corporate clients require monthly invoicing aligned with their AP cycle.
• Start-up costs — background checks, site-specific training, equipment procurement, uniform fitting. These are real costs that should be disclosed at intake, not discovered on the first invoice.
• Cancellation policy — notice period, any early termination fees, return of client-provided equipment or access credentials.
• Liability and indemnification — liability cap (typically a multiple of annual contract value), mutual or one-way indemnification, hold-harmless provisions. These are negotiable terms, but your intake should surface them early so legal review happens before officers are deployed, not after an incident.
• Insurance certificates — the client will want a COI. Your intake should note the COI request, the additional insured requirements, and any specific coverage thresholds the client mandates (some require $2 million general liability rather than the standard $1 million).

Reporting: proving the value of the service

Security is one of those services where, when everything goes well, the client wonders whether they need it. Reporting is how you demonstrate value — and your intake should establish the reporting framework from day one:

• Daily Activity Reports (DARs) — the standard security industry report. Documents every shift — officer name, post, hours, activities, observations, incidents. Some clients want detailed DARs; others only want exception-based reporting (report only when something happens).
• Incident reports — detailed narrative reports for specific events. Trespass, theft, property damage, medical emergency, altercation, fire alarm activation. These should include date, time, location, persons involved, officer actions taken, law enforcement response if any, and follow-up recommendations.
• Guard tour verification — electronic checkpoint records, GPS tracking data, time-stamped patrol logs. This proves your officers are completing their rounds, not sitting in the guard shack.
• Monthly summary reports — trends, patterns, recommendations. If trespassing incidents are increasing on the north side of the property, the monthly report should flag it and recommend additional lighting or a camera. This is consultative security — it is what separates a professional security company from a staffing agency that puts bodies in uniforms.
• Client portal access — do you offer real-time reporting through a client-facing platform? Can the client log in and see today's DAR, review incidents, and pull historical data? This is increasingly expected by commercial clients and should be discussed at intake.

Building the security relationship from the first form

A thorough intake form does more than collect data. It demonstrates to the client that your company understands security at a level deeper than headcount and hourly rates. When a prospective client fills out a form that asks about their incident history, their key control procedures, and their trespass authority preferences, they recognize that this company has secured enough sites to know what questions matter. That professional impression — established before you place a single officer — is what wins the contract and keeps it on renewal year after year.

If you are building documentation across a multi-trade or multi-service operation, the Trade Services Bundle includes security services alongside 51 other service categories, each with trade-specific intake fields. For another example of trade-specific intake documentation, see our guide on what cleaning companies need to capture at client intake — different industry, same principle of thorough documentation from the first interaction.