Security agencies in India: PSARA licence, list and checks

The quick answer

Security agencies in India have to be licensed. Under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 (PSARA), nobody may run a private security agency without a licence from the Controlling Authority of the state, the licence lasts five years, and the agency must display it at its place of business. There is no single public list of all of them. The Ministry of Home Affairs, announcing its licensing portal in 2019, quoted one estimate that 90 lakh people work in the sector. In Starleads' data there are 22,231 facility management and security services firms in 25 states and 142 cities (count on 28 October 2026), most of them in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi.

This guide is for two kinds of reader. Housing societies, offices, factories, hospitals and warehouses want to find a security agency or facility management company and check it before signing. Businesses that sell to these firms (uniforms, cleaning chemicals, attendance software, CCTV, training, insurance) want a list of security agencies and facility management companies in India they can reach. It covers who does what, what the PSARA licence involves and how to check it, how many agencies there are and where, how to choose one step by step, what goes into a guarding rate, and how to approach these firms as customers within TRAI's rules on calls and messages. The Starleads figures in it are counts of contacts in Starleads' data, not an official census.

Security agency, facility management company, housekeeping contractor: who does what

People search for "security agencies in India" and "facility management companies in India" as if they were two separate markets. On the ground they overlap heavily. Many firms that started with guards now offer housekeeping, pantry staff, gardening, lift and pump operators and pest control under one contract, and many facility management companies supply guards through a licensed arm. Before you call anyone, be clear which job you need, because the licence and the questions you ask change with it.

Type of firm	What it does	Licence or registration to ask about	Typical buyer
Private security agency	Supplies trained guards and supervisors, with or without arms, for a site; may also offer armoured car and cash services	PSARA licence from the state's Controlling Authority, for each state it works in	Factories, offices, housing societies, malls, hospitals, banks
Integrated facility management (IFM) company	Runs the soft services of a building: housekeeping, security, front desk, pantry, gardening, and often technical services such as electrical and HVAC upkeep	PSARA licence for the guarding part (its own or a partner's), plus labour registrations as an employer and contractor	IT parks, corporate offices, campuses, hospitals
Housekeeping and cleaning contractor	Cleaning staff, deep cleaning, tank cleaning, facade and floor care	No PSARA licence needed if it supplies no guards; labour registrations still apply	Offices, societies, hotels, factories
Pest control firm	Termite, rodent and general pest treatment, often on an annual contract	Licences for the pesticides it uses; see our pest control companies guide	Homes, restaurants, warehouses, food factories
Detective agency	Investigations, background and pre-matrimonial checks, corporate due diligence	PSARA licenses guarding firms; a detective agency needs that licence only if it also supplies guards	Companies, law firms, individuals
CCTV and security system dealer	Sells and installs cameras, access control, alarms and video door phones	Trade and GST registration; manufacturer authorisations	Shops, offices, societies, homes

That overlap shows in the data. Starleads keeps facility management, security guard agencies, housekeeping and cleaning services and industrial pest control in one list, because the same firm often appears under several of these headings. Of the 22,231 contacts, the biggest category is "Facilities Management" with 14,514, followed by "House Keeping Services- Indl" with 1,486. The separate "Security Guards" category is small: 713 contacts, 712 of them in Mumbai. Security agencies elsewhere sit mostly inside the broader facility management categories, so read the business names in the sample rows before you buy. For guards specifically, the sample's own entries (names such as "Security & Intelligence Services" and "Guarding Pvt Ltd") show how they are mixed in.

The PSARA licence: what the law says

The Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 (Act 29 of 2005, text published by PRS Legislative Research) is the central law. We read it on 28 October 2026. It defines a private security agency as anyone, other than a government body, in the business of providing private security services, including training guards or supplying guards to any business or person. Each state designates a Controlling Authority, an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary in the state Home Department or an equivalent officer, who grants, renews, suspends and cancels licences. The Ministry of Home Affairs administers the Act and frames central model rules, and each state adopts them by notifying its own rules, so details such as training hours, forms and renewal fees come from your state's rules, not the Act.

Rule	What the Act says	Section
Licence needed	No person shall carry on or start the business of a private security agency without a licence; providing security abroad needs the Controlling Authority's permission	4
Who cannot get one	People convicted of company fraud, undischarged insolvents, anyone convicted of an offence punishable with two years or more, anyone linked to a banned organisation, and people dismissed from government service for misconduct. A firm not registered in India, or with a foreign proprietor, majority shareholder, partner or director, is also not considered	6
Application fee	₹5,000 to operate in one district of a state, ₹10,000 for two to five districts, ₹25,000 for the whole state	7(3)
Decision time	The Controlling Authority grants or refuses within 60 days of a complete application, after a no objection certificate from the police; a refusal must give reasons and a hearing	7(4)
Validity and renewal	Five years; renewal application at least 45 days before expiry, decided within 30 days	7(5), 8
Starting work	The agency must start operating within six months of the licence and employ the prescribed number of supervisors within 60 days	9
Who can be a guard	A citizen of India (or of a country the Centre notifies), aged 18 to 65, with verified character and antecedents, prescribed training and physical standards; preference may be given to ex-servicemen, police and Home Guards	10
Licence on display	The licence or a copy must be exhibited in a conspicuous place of business	12
Register	Names, addresses, photos and salaries of guards and supervisors, and the names of clients served	15
Photo identity card	Every guard gets one from the agency, carries it on duty and shows it on demand	17
Penalties	Running without a licence: up to one year in prison, a fine up to ₹25,000, or both. Breaking sections 9, 10 or 12: a fine up to ₹25,000 plus suspension or cancellation. Guards wearing army or police uniform: up to one year or ₹5,000, for the guard and the proprietor	20, 21

Two parts of the Act matter most to a buyer. First, section 13 lets the Controlling Authority cancel a licence for repeated failures by the agency's guards (gross negligence, theft from the property they guard, being habitually drunk, involvement in crime) and for breaking the labour laws in the Schedule. Second, that Schedule lists the Payment of Wages, Minimum Wages, Employees' Provident Funds, Payment of Bonus, Contract Labour, Payment of Gratuity and other labour Acts. Since 21 November 2025 most of these have been folded into four Labour Codes: the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, which the Press Information Bureau announced on 21 November 2025 as replacing 29 central labour laws. Among other things, that release says every worker now gets an appointment letter and a statutory minimum wage. An agency that cannot show it pays its guards properly is a risk to you, not only to them.

Licensing also went online. In a release of 8 November 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs described its Private Security Agency Licensing Portal as a single window for licensing across the country, linked to the Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) for checking antecedents, with online fee payment, e-sign and geo-tagging. The MHA website still lists it as its "Private Security Agency Licensing Service" at psara.gov.in. What the portal shows the public, and whether your state's Home Department or police website adds its own list of licensed agencies, differs from state to state, so check both for your state.

How many security agencies are there in India?

Nobody publishes one current, all-India count. Each state's Controlling Authority holds its own licence records, agencies often hold licences in several states, and many facility management firms supply guards through a separate licensed company. The figures you will find measure different things:

• People employed. The Ministry of Home Affairs' 2019 release says that "as per one estimate 90 lakh persons are employed" in the private security sector, and that it has been "growing very fast". That is a headcount estimate, not a count of agencies.
• Licensed agencies by state. Each Controlling Authority knows how many licences it has issued, and licensing now runs through the national portal. That is the best way to confirm one agency, but licence records are not published as a contact list, and an agency licensed in five states counts five times.
• Contactable firms. Starleads counts the businesses it holds contact details for. That count includes facility management, housekeeping and pest control firms, so it is bigger than the number of security agencies alone, and it does not say whether a firm's licence is valid.

With that caveat, here is how Starleads' facility management and security services list splits by state. Maharashtra alone holds 8,919 of the 22,231 contacts, and the three biggest states hold 59% of the list.

State	Contacts in Starleads' data	With a mobile number	With an email address	Where most of them are
Maharashtra	8,919	96%	64%	Mumbai (6,869), Pune (1,628)
Karnataka	2,729	99%	80%	Bengaluru (2,625)
Gujarat	1,554	98%	74%	Vadodara (730), Ahmedabad (471)
Telangana	1,529	99%	97%	Hyderabad (1,512)
Delhi	1,398	99%	62%	Delhi (1,220)
Haryana	1,283	99%	92%	Gurugram (1,100), Faridabad (107)
Rajasthan	854	90%	58%	Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer and Jaipur among others
Tamil Nadu	814	98%	98%	Chennai (619), Coimbatore (104)
West Bengal	723	99%	98%	Kolkata (667)
Uttar Pradesh	693	99%	87%	Noida (665), Ghaziabad (25)

The pattern follows office space and industry. Gurugram has 1,100 of Haryana's 1,283 and Noida 665 of Uttar Pradesh's 693, because that is where the corporate parks are. Gujarat is the exception that proves the rule: Vadodara (730) has more firms in the list than Ahmedabad (471), which fits its large industrial belt. In Mumbai, where a locality is given, the most firms are in Andheri East (181), Andheri West (121) and Malad West (96), the suburbs around the city's office districts. Rajasthan holds 179 of the 325 contacts in the separate "Security Services" category, mostly in Jodhpur (93), Kota (42) and Ajmer (24).

The coverage columns matter if you plan to sell to these firms. Lists in Hyderabad, Gurugram, Noida, Kolkata and Chennai have an email address for 89% of contacts or more, so an email-first approach works there. Mumbai's list has a mobile number for 96% but an email for only 58%, which makes it a calling list more than a mailing list.

Starleads' security and facility management lists

Our Facility Management & Security Services list has 22,231 contacts in 142 cities. 75% of rows name the contact person, 97% have a mobile number and 74% an email address. Most contacts are in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi. Every list page has 60 sample rows and a free Excel download, and you can buy one of 11 cities instead of all of India. City and state lists cost ₹499 each and the All-India file ₹1,999, with no GST added at checkout.

Facility management and security services by city

• Mumbai 6,869 contacts · 58% email · 96% mobile ₹499
• Bengaluru 2,625 contacts · 80% email · 99% mobile ₹499
• Pune 1,628 contacts · 78% email · 99% mobile ₹499
• Hyderabad 1,512 contacts · 97% email · 99% mobile ₹499
• Gurugram 1,100 contacts · 93% email · 99% mobile ₹499
• Vadodara 730 contacts · 61% email · 100% mobile ₹499
• Kolkata 667 contacts · 98% email · 98% mobile ₹499
• Noida 665 contacts · 89% email · 99% mobile ₹499
• Chennai 619 contacts · 97% email · 98% mobile ₹499
• Jaipur 553 contacts · 62% email · 97% mobile ₹499
• Ahmedabad 471 contacts · 92% email · 97% mobile ₹499

Related lists: CCTV dealers, detective agencies and recruiters

Firms in these lists sell alongside security agencies or to the same buyers. In Starleads' data there are 5,290 CCTV and security system dealers and 3,354 detective agencies, of which 723 are listed under "Security & Detective Services".

• Facility Management & Security Services 22,231 contacts · 74% email · 97% mobile ₹1,999
• CCTV & Security System Dealers 5,290 contacts · 53% email · 92% mobile ₹499
• Detective Agencies 3,354 contacts · 50% email · 89% mobile ₹499
• Placement & Recruitment Agencies 49,464 contacts · 87% email · 99% mobile ₹1,999

How to choose a security agency, step by step

Whether you run a housing society in Pune or the admin desk of a factory in Manesar, the process is the same. It takes a week or two done properly, and it saves you from the most common problems: guards who change every month, wages paid late, and an agency that disappears when something goes missing.

1. Write down what you need. Number of posts, shifts (12-hour or 8-hour), whether you need a supervisor on site, armed or unarmed guards, women guards for night shifts or a women's hostel, and extras such as a visitor register, CCTV monitoring or fire safety rounds. Shortlisting is much faster when every agency quotes on the same brief.
2. Build a shortlist of five or six. Ask neighbouring societies and factories who guards them, look at the firms working in your industrial area, and use a list such as Starleads' Mumbai, Bengaluru or Pune facility management list to find firms near you. Prefer agencies with an office in your city: a supervisor two hours away will not visit at night.
3. Ask for the PSARA licence and check it. Ask for a copy of the licence issued by your state's Controlling Authority, and note its number, the districts it covers and its expiry date. Remember the Act makes the licence last five years and requires it to be displayed at the agency's office, so a visit to the office is a quick check. If your state's Home Department or police website, or the PSARA portal, lets the public look up licences, check the agency there; otherwise write to the Controlling Authority in the state Home Department and ask it to confirm. An agency that works in several states should show the licence for yours.
4. Check the company behind it. Look up its company or LLP record on the MCA site, its GSTIN and its Udyam registration if it gives one. Our company search guide shows how to do each look-up free. Make sure the name on the licence, the invoice and the GST registration match; the Act lets a licence be cancelled when an agency uses a different name from the one it was licensed under.
5. Ask about the guards, not only the company. How are they recruited and their antecedents verified, what training do they get and can you see the certificates, will they carry the photo identity card the Act requires, and how many relievers does the agency keep for weekly offs and leave? Ask to meet the supervisor who will cover your site.
6. Check labour compliance. Ask for recent PF and ESI payment challans for the guards deployed with existing clients, the minimum wage rate it pays in your state and zone, and whether it gives appointment letters, which the Labour Codes now require. You can ask for monthly proof of payment for the guards on your site as a contract term.
7. Take two references and visit one site. Call two current clients of a similar size, ideally one that has used the agency for more than two years, and see a site at night if you can.
8. Sign a written contract. Put in the number of posts and shifts, the rate per post with its break-up, the statutory payments the agency will prove, the replacement time for an absent guard, penalties for unmanned posts, insurance and liability for loss, the notice period and how the rate changes when minimum wages are revised.

Housing societies and companies that buy through formal vendor processes can use the same checks as part of supplier onboarding; our guide to vendor registration explains what large buyers usually ask suppliers for.

What goes into a security guard rate

Quotes for security guards are usually given per guard per month for a 12-hour or 8-hour shift. The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest contract, because the gap is usually wages or statutory payments that are not being made. A fair rate is built from parts you can check:

Part of the rate	What it covers	What to check
Basic wage and dearness allowance	The guard's pay for the shift length agreed	At least the minimum wage notified by your state for the guard's skill category and zone; overtime for shifts beyond normal hours
Employer's PF and ESI contributions	Statutory social security for each guard	Monthly challans or the agency's PF and ESI code; guards should be able to see their own PF account
Bonus, gratuity and leave	Statutory bonus, gratuity provision, paid leave and holidays	That the quote includes them rather than leaving them for later "extras"
Relievers	Cover for weekly offs, leave and absences, so the post is never empty	How many relievers the agency keeps per site and who pays for them
Uniform, equipment and training	Uniforms (which must not look like army or police uniforms), torches, whistles, registers, training	A sample uniform and a training plan
Supervision and the agency's margin	Field supervisors, night checks, office costs, insurance and profit	The number of supervisor visits a week, written into the contract
GST	Tax on the agency's invoice	How GST applies to your contract; ask your chartered accountant, as the treatment depends on who supplies and who receives the service

Ask every shortlisted agency to break its rate down this way. When one quote is far below the others, the break-up shows where the difference comes from. Minimum wages are revised by the states from time to time, so the contract should say how the rate moves when they change.

Selling to security agencies and facility management companies

Security and facility management firms are big buyers themselves. A firm with a few hundred guards and cleaners needs a steady supply of uniforms, shoes, torches and registers, housekeeping chemicals and machines, attendance and payroll software, insurance and training. That makes them a good market for:

• Uniform and shoe makers, who often sell on a yearly contract tied to a firm's headcount.
• Cleaning chemical, tissue and machine suppliers, since housekeeping is the biggest category in the list.
• HR, attendance and payroll software, including guard tour and patrol apps and face or GPS attendance, which help agencies prove posts were manned.
• CCTV and access control dealers, who often sell through security agencies to the agency's clients.
• Training institutes and skill partners, since every guard needs prescribed training before deployment.
• Insurance brokers, for group health, accident and liability cover.
• Staffing and recruitment firms, which help agencies fill posts quickly; our HR database guide covers the HR side of the same buyers.

Who decides depends on the size of the firm. In a small agency the owner, often a retired officer, decides everything. In larger firms, the operations head chooses equipment and apps, HR chooses payroll and training, and purchase handles uniforms and chemicals. Starleads' facility management list names the contact person for 75% of rows, which helps you reach the owner rather than a front desk.

Calls and messages to these firms must follow TRAI's rules, even when the person you are calling is a business owner:

• The DND register (NCPR). Any mobile subscriber can block commercial calls and SMS, by category, mode, time band and day, by calling or sending an SMS to 1909, according to TRAI's preference registration page. Check numbers before a campaign; our DND check guide shows how.
• DLT registration for SMS. TRAI's advice to senders says every business sending bulk messages must register as a principal entity, register its headers and content templates, and register customers' consent where needed, on the telecom operators' DLT platforms. See our DLT registration guide.
• Consent and opt-outs. Promotional messages need the recipient's consent; stop contacting anyone who asks you to, and keep a record.

In practice, a short personal call or email to the owner works better than bulk SMS. For example: "Namaste Mr Shinde, we make guard uniforms in Bhiwandi and supply three agencies in Thane with 200 to 500 guards each. Could I send you our rate card and a sample shirt?" Our cold calling tips and telecalling scripts give more wording to start from.

Where Starleads' data falls short

Be clear about what a contact list can and cannot tell you before you rely on it:

• No licence status. The list does not say whether a firm holds a PSARA licence, for which districts or until when. Check that yourself, as described above, before you hire.
• Security agencies are mixed in. Most security agencies sit inside the "Facilities Management" categories alongside housekeeping and pest control firms. The dedicated "Security Guards" category has only 713 contacts, almost all in Mumbai, and "Security Services" another 325, mostly in Rajasthan and Mumbai. If you only want guarding firms, filter by business name and category in the Excel file.
• Uneven geography. The list covers 142 cities, but the big metros dominate. Smaller industrial towns have few rows, and Uttar Pradesh outside Noida and Ghaziabad is thin.
• Data ages. Agencies merge, change names and lose contracts. Every list page shows 60 real sample contacts and how many records have each detail, so check those before you pay.

Questions people ask

Is a PSARA licence mandatory for a security agency?

Yes. Section 4 of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 says no person shall carry on or start the business of a private security agency without a licence under the Act. Running one without a licence can lead to up to one year in prison, a fine of up to ₹25,000, or both.

How do I check whether a security agency is licensed?

Ask for a copy of the licence and note the number, the districts covered and the expiry date. The Act requires the agency to display its licence at its place of business. Then check it with your state: the Controlling Authority in the state Home Department can confirm a licence, and licensing runs through the MHA's portal at psara.gov.in, so see whether it or your state's police website offers a public look-up.

What is the PSARA licence fee?

The Act sets the application fee by area: ₹5,000 for one district of a state, ₹10,000 for two to five districts and ₹25,000 for the whole state. States set renewal fees and other charges in their own rules.

Who can work as a private security guard?

Under section 10, a citizen of India aged 18 to 65 whose character and antecedents have been verified, who has completed the prescribed training and meets the physical standards. Agencies may prefer former soldiers, police and Home Guards, and must not employ people convicted by a court or dismissed from the armed forces, police or government for misconduct.

What is the difference between a security agency and a facility management company?

A security agency supplies guards and needs a PSARA licence. A facility management company runs a building's services, such as housekeeping, front desk, pantry and maintenance, and often security too, either through its own PSARA licence or a licensed partner. If a firm's quote includes guards, ask whose licence covers them.

Which are the top security companies in India?

Rankings usually compare headcount or revenue that the companies state themselves, and they change often. For a buyer, the right agency is the licensed one with a strong office in your city and good references from sites like yours. Use a list to find candidates near you, then apply the checks in this guide.

Is there a free list of security agencies in India?

Every Starleads list page has 60 real contacts you can download free as Excel or PDF before you buy, including the All-India facility management and security services list. Licence records held by the states confirm whether an agency is licensed, but they are not a contact list.