Entrusting the surveillance of a construction site, a shop or a villa puts your responsibility on the line. If the provider you appoint is not in order, you risk indirectly employing officers without a licence, with legal and insurance consequences falling on you. The prior check is in no way optional: the law gives you precise rights, and CNAPS provides public tools to verify in a few minutes.
This article details the documents to request, where to check them and what the principal can legitimately require before signing. The vocabulary used is that of the Internal Security Code, to avoid any confusion between concepts that look alike but are not equivalent.
CNAPS and the legal framework of private security
The Conseil national des activités privées de sécurité (CNAPS) is the public authority that has overseen the sector since 2012. It issues the licences, monitors the operators and sanctions breaches. Any company carrying out manned surveillance, manned guarding or the physical protection of people falls under this framework.
Article L.612-14 of the Internal Security Code prohibits an unauthorised company from carrying out these activities. It also prohibits employing an officer without a valid professional licence card. The principal who knowingly uses an out-of-framework provider exposes themselves, which justifies checking upstream.
Three levels of control coexist: the company, its manager and each officer who works in the field. Checking one without the others leaves a blind spot.
The company's operating authorisation
Every security company must hold an operating authorisation issued by CNAPS. This licence carries a standardised number, of the form AUT followed by a series of digits. It is the first document to ask for, and it must appear on quotes, contracts and commercial documents.
The number lets you trace the actual company, its SIREN and the authorised activities. A company may be authorised for manned surveillance without being authorised for cash transport or airport security: the authorisation specifies the scope. As an example, TMG Sécurité Privée operates under operating authorisation AUT-034-2124-12-03-20231012588.
- The operating authorisation number (AUT-... format)
- The SIREN and the exact registered name
- The activities covered by the licence
- The absence of any current suspension or withdrawal
The manager's approval
The company's authorisation is not enough. The manager or managers must hold a personal manager's approval, issued after a good-character inquiry and a fitness check. This approval certifies that the person running the activity meets the conditions required by law.
Ask for the approval number of the manager signing the contract. A withdrawn or unrenewed approval weakens the whole chain: without an approved manager, the company cannot legally run its security activity, even if its operating authorisation appears valid.
The officers' professional licence cards
Every officer who works on site must hold a valid professional licence card. This individual licence is issued after qualifying training and an administrative inquiry, then renewed periodically. An officer without a valid card cannot work, and the company that deploys them is at fault.
As the principal, you can ask for the list of officers assigned to your site with their card numbers. This check is especially useful on sensitive assignments: isolated construction sites, events, night surveillance of shops or villas. In the Hérault, where seasonal pressure pushes some operators to recruit quickly, this point deserves real attention.
- A professional licence card number for each officer present
- Validity on the date of the assignment
- Consistency between the declared officer and the officer actually on site
The CNAPS online services: checking online
CNAPS provides public online services that let you check the validity of the licences. With an authorisation, approval or card number, you confirm in a few minutes that the document exists, that it is active and that it matches the company or person stated.
This cross-check guards against forged documents and expired licences presented as valid. It takes little time and provides a useful record in the event of a dispute or an insurance check. Keep a dated copy of your checks in the provider's file.
What the principal can require before signing
You are entitled to ask for all the documents before any commitment. A serious provider supplies them without reluctance, because transparency is part of the job. A refusal or persistent vagueness on these points should put you on alert.
Beyond the CNAPS licences, two documents complete the check: the professional civil liability insurance certificate, current and suited to the activity, and a written contract setting out the scope, the hours and the resources. For an assignment in the Hérault, also check that the company genuinely covers your area in-house, and not through undeclared subcontracting.
- The company's operating authorisation
- The approval of the signing manager
- The professional licence cards of the assigned officers
- The current professional civil liability insurance certificate
- A written contract detailing the service
