California guard card training, built for what BSIS allows online

The 8-hour Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force course has two halves under B&P 7583.7. Most of it may be verbal instruction, including video, but the use of force topics need traditional classroom instruction with the instructor physically present for at least half the course. We build the platform so the online part, the classroom part and the 32 skills hours all land on one record.

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What BSIS requires of an online course

Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS). Summarized from the rule text, with the citation for each so you can check it yourself.

  1. 01

    Power to Arrest and use of force before registration

    B&P Code 7583.6(a) and 7583.7(a)

    Every applicant completes the course of approximately eight hours, administered and certified by a single course provider, within six months before the application goes to BSIS.

  2. 02

    Use of force needs a physical classroom

    B&P Code 7583.7(b)

    The majority of the course is verbal instruction and may use video. The use of force topics require an instructor physically present for a minimum of 50 percent of the course and available at all times, including during distance learning.

  3. 03

    A 100% exam on Bureau answer sheets

    16 CCR 628(b) and (c)

    Students must score 100% on the exam in the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force Training Manual dated July 2023. Results are kept on Bureau-approved answer sheets for at least two years or until audited.

  4. 04

    32 skills hours, 16 in the first 30 days

    B&P Code 7583.6(b); BSIS training course outline

    Registrants complete 32 hours of security officer skills training within six months of registration, 16 of them within 30 days. The BSIS outline sets four 4-hour mandatory courses plus electives.

  5. 05

    Eight hours every year

    B&P Code 7583.6(e); BSIS training course outline

    Registrants complete eight hours of security officer skills review annually, including at least two hours reviewing the appropriate use of force topics.

  6. 06

    Serially numbered certificates

    16 CCR 643(b)

    Each course earns a certificate naming the courses, hours, issuing entity, student and instructor, with a date and a statement of compliance with the DCA skills training course. Certificates are serially numbered and kept at least two years.

  7. 07

    Who may train

    B&P Code 7583.6(f)

    The trainings may be given by a licensee for its own applicants and employees, a training facility certified under the chapter, or an organization or school approved by the bureau, which also approves each of its instructors.

Would your course pass BSIS today?

7 questions, one per rule above, about how you deliver the course now. You see the result right away.

Question 1 of 7

B&P Code 7583.6(a) and 7583.7(a)

Power to Arrest and use of force before registration

Every applicant completes the course of approximately eight hours, administered and certified by a single course provider, within six months before the application goes to BSIS.

Does your current setup do this?

How the platform is built to it

Your course, on your site, under your name. Every requirement above is a feature, not a promise in the application.

Arrest topics online, use of force booked in person

The Power to Arrest topics run as video lessons with an instructor channel. The use of force block books into a classroom session, and the course will not certify until the in-person attendance is recorded.

One provider, one record

Online and classroom parts sit on the same student record under your school, so a single course provider administers and certifies the whole course, as 7583.6(a) requires.

Exam held to 100%

The exam engine follows the July 2023 manual, will not pass anything under 100%, and stores every attempt for the two-year retention period.

Skills hours on a 30-day and six-month clock

Mandatory and elective skills courses count hours against the BSIS outline, and each guard sees what is due at day 30 and month six.

Certificates numbered at issue

Every completion issues a serially numbered certificate with the 643(b) fields and the compliance statement, and the annual eight hours track the two-hour use of force review.

The path to BSIS approval

  1. 1

    Decide which route you train under: a licensee training its own people, a certified training facility, or an organization or school approved by the bureau.

  2. 2

    If you are a school, get the organization and each instructor who will administer the trainings approved by the bureau under 7583.6(f)(3).

  3. 3

    Teach from the Power to Arrest and Appropriate Use of Force Training Manual dated July 2023 and the bureau skills outline.

  4. 4

    Run the use of force topics as traditional classroom instruction and keep exam answer sheets and certificates for at least two years.

  5. 5

    Expect inspection: the bureau may inspect or view test administration at any time without notice under 7583.7(e).

The terms

We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.

One flat fee
Quoted per course before any work starts. No hourly billing and no surprise line items.
Final payment on approval
The last payment is due when the regulator approves the course, so the platform has to pass review before it is paid for in full.
No per-student fees
You keep what every enrollment pays. Nothing is skimmed per seat, per certificate or per month of traffic.
You own it
The platform, the code and the student records are yours outright, on your site and under your brand.

Questions schools ask

Can the California guard card course be taken fully online?

No. B&P 7583.7(b)(2) requires the appropriate use of force topics to be traditional classroom instruction, with the instructor physically present for at least 50 percent of the course. The Power to Arrest topics may be taught with video.

Is WMD and terrorism awareness still required?

Not in the 8-hour course. Under B&P 7583.7(a)(11), Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Awareness may be an elective topic only, and the BSIS outline lists it among the electives.

What score does the Power to Arrest exam need?

One hundred percent, under 16 CCR 628(b), on the exam in the Training Manual dated July 2023.

What does the build cost and who owns it?

One flat fee per course, final payment when BSIS approves your school and instructors, no per-student fees, and you own the platform and code outright. We are building one right now for a state-approved online school in Virginia, in English and Spanish, on the same terms.

Can the course run in Spanish?

Yes. We build in English and Spanish, and the exam and certificates work in both.

Price your BSIS course

Tell us the course and how you teach it now. You get a flat price back by email, and a list of what the application will ask about the platform.

Or email [email protected]

Sources

Read from the sources above on October 17, 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current text with BSIS before you apply. This page is not legal advice.

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