If you run a Virginia security company, the license on your wall is a promise to the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) that every officer you dispatch has been screened, trained, and registered before they set foot on a post. It is also the first thing DCJS will pull when an incident report crosses their desk. The gap between "we ran a background check" and "we have documented, licensed-investigator-grade vetting on file" is where employers lose license standing, insurance coverage, and — in one bad case — an entire contract book.
This is a plain-English walk-through of what DCJS actually requires before an officer works a post, and where the standard consumer screening tools quietly leave you exposed.
The DCJS Baseline — What the Regulation Actually Says
Under 6VAC20-171 and related sections, a licensed private security business in Virginia cannot dispatch an unarmed or armed security officer, armored car crew member, or personal protection specialist to a post until that person is registered with DCJS. Registration, at minimum, requires:
- A completed fingerprint-based criminal history record check submitted through Virginia State Police to the FBI — both state and federal.
- Compulsory minimum training for the category (unarmed, armed, personal protection, etc.), documented on the DCJS-approved training completion form.
- Verification that the applicant is legally authorized to work in the United States.
- An attestation from the employer that the individual meets the fitness-and-character standards of the regulation.
The last item is the one that gets employers into trouble. DCJS does not just ask whether the fingerprint check came back clean. It asks whether the employer has affirmatively verified that the applicant meets a fitness standard — and that verification lives on the employer's file, not DCJS's.
Where the $29 Online Check Falls Short
Consumer-grade background check services run a name against a national database aggregator, return whatever they find, and disclaim the rest. For a Virginia security employer that is not enough, for three specific reasons.
1. They miss county records.
Most criminal cases in the United States are prosecuted at the county level. Aggregator databases sample counties selectively; large populations, small budgets, and paper-only clerks mean many counties never make it into the feed. An officer with a two-year-old assault conviction in a mid-sized Virginia jurisdiction can — and routinely does — come back "clear" on a $29 report.
2. They cannot verify identity.
A consumer search runs on the name and date of birth the applicant provides. If the applicant supplies a middle initial that doesn't match, a slightly wrong DOB, or a legal name that differs from what appears in court records, the report returns nothing — and the tool has no way to catch the mismatch.
3. They do not verify prior security employment or DCJS status.
An officer who was terminated for cause at another Virginia security company, or whose DCJS registration lapsed for a disqualifying event, will not surface in a consumer report. Those checks require a direct DCJS licensee-lookup and reference calls to the prior employer — a licensed investigator's workflow, not a database.
What a Licensed Investigator Actually Adds
When 3SA screens a candidate for a Virginia security employer, we build on top of the DCJS-required fingerprint-based state and federal criminal history record check — we do not replace it. What we add is the layer DCJS assumes the employer has done but does not run for them:
- County-level criminal record search across every jurisdiction where the applicant has lived or worked in the last seven to ten years, pulled directly from the clerk of court.
- Sex-offender registry sweep across every state on the applicant's residential history.
- DCJS licensee-lookup to verify current registration status, disciplinary history, and whether the officer's file at DCJS is in good standing.
- Prior-employer verification with named, documented reference calls — dates of employment, position, eligibility for rehire, and any documented separation-for-cause.
- Identity verification cross-referencing DOB, SSN, and residential history so the criminal search runs on the right person.
- Motor vehicle record where the post involves driving or armed transport.
Everything is delivered in a documented, court-ready report on the applicant's file — the same standard our attorney clients rely on for litigation-grade backgrounds.
What to Do Before the Next Hire
If you run a DCJS-licensed security business and you're relying on an online tool alone, the fix is straightforward. Layer a licensed-investigator background check on every new hire, put the report on the officer's file next to the DCJS registration paperwork, and keep both for the full retention period the regulation requires. On an audit, you want the file to answer every DCJS question before they have to ask it.
3SA runs pre-hire background checks for Virginia security employers on a flat per-officer rate. Volume clients get a partner-desk rate card. Turnaround for standard screens is 5–7 business days; rush windows are available. Start with a 30-minute consulting session to walk through your current screening workflow and identify the specific gap DCJS would flag.
Screening security officers in Virginia?
Book a 30-minute session and we'll walk your intake process against DCJS's actual audit checklist.