• 74 questions

South Carolina Security Guard Practice Test

Unofficial questions on the South Carolina law a registered security officer works under, each answer linked to its section.

How long is a South Carolina security officer registration valid?

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Exam mode: 25 questions, no time limit, 20 right to pass (80%).

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Bank checked October 14, 2026.

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All 74 questions

Registration: who needs it, who qualifies, the card 26

  • A factory posts a guard on its own premises. Which fact means the factory must hold a proprietary security business license? S.C. Code § 40-18-60(A)
  • A licensed security business may use unregistered temporary employees for special events for at most how long? S.C. Code § 40-18-90
  • A new officer is working while the registration certificate is pending. Which limit applies under S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(2)? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(2)
  • A registered officer is offered a weekend side job guarding a store that holds no security license. May the officer use the registration for it? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(9)
  • A registered security officer is arrested. How soon must the officer report it to SLED? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(7)
  • After SLED receives the application, how long may a person work as a security officer while the registration certificate is pending? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(2)
  • An applicant served in the military. What does S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5) require about the discharge? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)(i)
  • An officer works a post without being registered and without an application on file. Who answers for it under the penalty provisions? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)
  • For how many past years does a registration application list the applicant's home addresses and employers? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(1)
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Registration: who needs it, who qualifies, the card, continued

  • How does S.C. Code § 40-18-20 define a "uniform"? S.C. Code § 40-18-20(E)
  • How far ahead of a special event must SLED receive the names, addresses and birth dates of the temporary employees? S.C. Code § 40-18-90
  • How long is a South Carolina security officer registration valid? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(9)
  • How recent must the color photograph sent with a security officer's application be? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(1)
  • How soon must a licensee tell SLED that it has hired or terminated a registered security officer? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(8)
  • SLED has not issued a registration certificate within thirty days of receiving the application. What must the officer do? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(2)
  • Under SLED regulation 73-409, who may hold a private security registration despite holding a law enforcement commission? S.C. Code Regs. 73-409
  • What drug-testing rule does S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5) set for a registration certificate? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)(h)
  • What is a "contract security business" under S.C. Code § 40-18-20? S.C. Code § 40-18-20(B)(1)
  • What is a "proprietary security business" under S.C. Code § 40-18-20? S.C. Code § 40-18-20(B)(2)
  • What is the minimum age for a security officer registration certificate under S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)(b)
  • Where must a registered security officer's registration certificate be while the officer is on duty? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(6)
  • Which agency registers security officers in South Carolina under S.C. Code § 40-18-80? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(4)
  • Which limit applies to unregistered temporary employees at a special event under S.C. Code § 40-18-90? S.C. Code § 40-18-90
  • Which of these keeps SLED from registering an applicant under S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(5)(d)
  • Which of these must come with a security officer's application for registration under S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(1)? S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(1)
  • Which worker is exempt from the proprietary license section under S.C. Code § 40-18-60(J)? S.C. Code § 40-18-60(J)

SLED regulations: training, the test, cards and vehicles 16

  • A candidate completes the standard basic training and SLED issues a card. What is the candidate designated under regulation 73-420? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(2)(A)
  • A company hands an officer a piece of equipment the officer has never been trained to use. What does SLED regulation 73-421 say? S.C. Code Regs. 73-421
  • A registered officer changes employers and cannot produce past training records. What must the new employer do under regulation 73-420(6)? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(6)
  • An officer qualified through an approved alternative basic course. How much more orientation and training by a certified company training officer does regulation 73-420 require? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(3)(B)
  • By when must basic training and its written examination be finished under SLED regulation 73-420? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(2)
  • Does holding a SLED registration card prove that an officer has had the required training? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(7)
  • How long is the standard basic training course for a South Carolina private security officer under SLED regulation 73-420? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(2)
  • How must a vehicle used for security patrol be marked under SLED regulation 73-412? S.C. Code Regs. 73-412
  • Under SLED regulation 73-420, who designs the written examination that follows standard basic training? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(2)
  • What happens when a timely renewal application is not filed, under SLED regulation 73-408(2)? S.C. Code Regs. 73-408(2)
  • What is the status of a registration card that has been altered, under SLED regulation 73-407? S.C. Code Regs. 73-407
  • What must every licensed private security business have under SLED regulation 73-419? S.C. Code Regs. 73-419(1)
  • When may a private security vehicle display blue lights in South Carolina? S.C. Code Regs. 73-411
  • When must SLED receive an application to renew a registration under regulation 73-408? S.C. Code Regs. 73-408(3)
  • Which word may not be used in connection with a licensed security company under SLED regulation 73-406? S.C. Code Regs. 73-406(3)
  • Who keeps a security officer's training records under SLED regulation 73-420(5)? S.C. Code Regs. 73-420(5)

Arrest authority and its limits 14

  • A security officer discovers a crime on the protected property. What does SLED regulation 73-418 require first? S.C. Code Regs. 73-418(1)
  • A security officer makes an arrest. What does SLED regulation 73-415 require next? S.C. Code Regs. 73-415
  • A suspect runs off the protected property. What does SLED regulation 73-416 say about pursuit? S.C. Code Regs. 73-416
  • After an arrest by a private person under S.C. Code § 17-13-10, where does the statute say to take the person arrested? S.C. Code § 17-13-10
  • After an arrest on the property, may the security officer drive the arrested person to the county jail? S.C. Code Regs. 73-416
  • How may "constructive notice" of a property's rules be given under SLED regulation 73-414(3)? S.C. Code Regs. 73-414(3)
  • To whom may a security officer issue a private ticket that starts a punitive action, under SLED regulation 73-414? S.C. Code Regs. 73-414(1)
  • Under S.C. Code § 17-13-10, which of these lets any person make an arrest? S.C. Code § 17-13-10
  • What arrest authority does S.C. Code § 40-18-110 give a registered security officer hired to provide security on specific property? S.C. Code § 40-18-110
  • What does S.C. Code § 16-17-720 forbid a person who is not a law enforcement officer to do? S.C. Code § 16-17-720
  • What does SLED regulation 73-417 require of a security officer after a case the officer started goes to court? S.C. Code Regs. 73-417
  • When may a private security officer issue State Uniform Traffic Summons tickets under SLED regulation 73-413? S.C. Code Regs. 73-413(1)
  • Where does a South Carolina security officer hold the arrest powers of S.C. Code § 40-18-110? S.C. Code § 40-18-110
  • Whom may a security officer arrest under S.C. Code § 40-18-110? S.C. Code § 40-18-110

Discipline and penalties 8

  • A registration certificate is suspended. What must its holder do with it under S.C. Code § 40-18-130(E)? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(E)
  • An applicant gives false information on a registration application. What may SLED do under S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)(1)? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)(1)
  • An officer neither pays a civil penalty nor asks for a hearing within thirty days of SLED's decision. What follows? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(D)
  • In place of suspension or revocation, what civil penalty may SLED impose on a registered security officer for each offense? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(B)
  • Since being registered, an officer let a coworker pose as a police officer. Is that a ground for discipline under S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)(8)
  • SLED decides to revoke a registration. Where and by when may the officer appeal under S.C. Code § 40-18-130(C)? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(C)
  • What kind of offense is a violation of Title 40, Chapter 18 under S.C. Code § 40-18-150? S.C. Code § 40-18-150
  • Which of these is a ground for SLED to suspend a registration under S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)? S.C. Code § 40-18-130(A)(6)

Trespass and shoplifting 10

  • A landowner posts no-trespassing notices under S.C. Code § 16-11-600. In how many conspicuous places on the borders of the land? S.C. Code § 16-11-600(B)(1)
  • A merchant's employee delays a suspected shoplifter. Under S.C. Code § 16-13-140, what must have existed for the delay to be a defense in a later lawsuit? S.C. Code § 16-13-140
  • A person is on a business's premises with no earlier warning. Under S.C. Code § 16-11-620, when does staying become an offense? S.C. Code § 16-11-620
  • How must a suspected shoplifter be delayed for the defense in S.C. Code § 16-13-140 to apply? S.C. Code § 16-13-140
  • In place of signs, which paint marking gives notice against trespass under S.C. Code § 16-11-600? S.C. Code § 16-11-600(B)(2)
  • Shoplifted merchandise is worth two thousand dollars or less. How does S.C. Code § 16-13-110 class the offense? S.C. Code § 16-13-110(B)(1)
  • Someone peels the label off a cheaper item, sticks it on a dearer one and goes to the register. How does S.C. Code § 16-13-110 treat that? S.C. Code § 16-13-110(A)(2)
  • What does "conceal" mean in South Carolina's shoplifting law, S.C. Code § 16-13-105? S.C. Code § 16-13-105(1)
  • What is the most a person may be fined for entering premises after warning, or refusing to leave, under S.C. Code § 16-11-620? S.C. Code § 16-11-620
  • Where does the delay to investigate in S.C. Code § 16-13-140 take place? S.C. Code § 16-13-140

How this list was compiled: South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40, Chapter 18, Private Security and Investigation Agencies (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t40c018.php); S.C. Code of Regulations, Chapter 73, Article 9, regulations 73-400 to 73-421 of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2073.pdf); S.C. Code sections 16-11-600 and 16-11-620 (trespass), 16-13-105, 16-13-110 and 16-13-140 (shoplifting and the delay to investigate), 16-17-720 (impersonating a law enforcement officer) and 17-13-10 (arrest by any person), all on https://www.scstatehouse.gov. Each was read on October 14, 2026. The SLED Primary Basic Training outline (https://www.sled.sc.gov/sites/sled/files/forms/security/Primary_Basic.pdf, revised 3/22/17) lists the thirteen topics of the required basic training and its 80% test score. Each question names its section and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law. Nothing is taken from any test a training officer gives, from any training course or from any other practice test.

How it works

This unofficial South Carolina security guard practice test asks 74 of our own questions on the registration statute, SLED's regulations, a security officer's arrest authority and trespass law. Not affiliated with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

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What the South Carolina test covers

SLED's Primary Basic outline lists thirteen topics, from registration and ethics to crime scene preservation, and draws each written test from that lesson's performance objectives. These questions ask the statute and regulations those lessons cite, and add arrest authority, trespass and shoplifting law.

Limits on a security officer's arrest

SLED regulations 73-415 and 73-416 limit the arrest power of S.C. Code § 40-18-110: report every arrest to the law enforcement agency of primary jurisdiction as soon as the suspect and the scene are secure, and never pursue a suspect or transport a prisoner off the protected property.

  • You may work up to thirty days while SLED processes the application, with no arrest authority and no firearm (§ 40-18-80(A)(2)).
  • Report your own arrest to SLED within seventy-two hours (§ 40-18-80(A)(7)).
  • Keep your training records: the card alone proves no training (regulation 73-420(7)).

Questions and answers

What score do I need on the South Carolina security guard test?

80% on each test, under SLED's Primary Basic Training outline (revised 3/22/17). The outline gives no question count, so the 25 questions of the practice exam here are this page's own choice.

Is there a state exam for a South Carolina security guard license?

Yes, a written test on each training topic, given by your company's SLED-certified training officer. Regulation 73-420 puts the examination after at least four hours of basic training and before your first client site.

Can a security guard arrest someone in South Carolina?

Yes, on the property where the guard is employed. S.C. Code § 40-18-110 gives a registered officer the arrest power of a sheriff's deputy there, and nowhere else. This is exam practice, not legal advice.

How long is a SLED security officer registration good for?

One year. S.C. Code § 40-18-80(A)(9) makes registration valid for one year, and regulation 73-408 wants the renewal application at SLED thirty to sixty days before it expires.

Are these the real South Carolina security guard test questions?

No. Each was written for this page from the South Carolina Code and SLED's regulations. SLED's outline has the training tests kept confidential, and the course also teaches ethics, observation, reports and emergency response, which this page does not ask.

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