To hire a bodyguard in Texas, call a company with a Texas DPS security services contractor license, confirm the assigned agent is registered with DPS (Level IV if armed), describe the threat and the dates, and get a written scope with hours, posture and price before anyone shows up. A standard engagement takes a day or two to arrange.
People who have never done this before make the same two mistakes: they search for a person instead of a licensed company, and they accept a number instead of a scope. Here is how to do it properly, in order, whether you are in Dallas, Houston, Austin or anywhere else in the state.
First, what Texas requires
Texas regulates private security through the Department of Public Safety under Chapter 1702 of the Occupations Code. Two things matter when you hire.
The company must be licensed. A business that provides bodyguards or guards for hire in Texas needs a security services contractor license from DPS. Elite Security Pro is a licensed Texas security company. Any legitimate company will give you its license number on the phone without hesitation.
The individual must be registered at the right level. Texas registers security officers in levels, and every registration runs through a licensed company (the state does not register freelancers).
| Level | What it allows | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Level II, non-commissioned security officer | Unarmed work, including unarmed close protection | At least 18, fingerprint background check, a 6-hour state-approved course |
| Level III, commissioned security officer | Armed work | At least 21, the Level II course, a 45-hour course with firearms qualification, psychological evaluation |
| Level IV, personal protection officer | Protecting a person while carrying a firearm | Level III commission plus a 15-hour course in non-lethal defense of a third person and the MMPI psychological test |
Under Texas law, anyone who protects a person while armed must hold Level IV. For unarmed close protection the legal minimum is Level II registration under a licensed company, which is why the training and experience behind the registration, not the card alone, is what you are really vetting.
You can check both the company and the individual on the Texas DPS online license search (the Texas Online Private Security system). Do it. It takes two minutes and removes most of the risk in this process.
One more thing. Off-duty acquaintances, friends who “do security”, and gym contacts with a concealed-carry permit are not licensed to do this work for pay. Hiring unlicensed security in Texas is illegal for the company and the client alike, and if something goes wrong you have no insurance behind you and no regulator to complain to.
Step 1: Write down the problem before you make a call
What goes wrong: people call a company and say “I need a bodyguard” and nothing else. The company quotes the generic version of the service, which is rarely the right one.
Before you call, write four lines:
- Who needs protecting (you, a family member, a visiting guest, an executive, a child).
- What has happened or what is coming (a threat, a court date, a public event, a trip, a pattern that worries you).
- The dates, places and hours.
- What you want it to look like from the outside: invisible, visible, or somewhere in between.
Those four lines are the threat assessment in miniature. A good company will build on them. A bad one will ignore them and quote you a person by the hour.
Step 2: Shortlist licensed companies, not individuals
What goes wrong: a marketplace or a referral produces an individual with an impressive background who is not working under a licensed company. The work may be good. The insurance, the backup agent and the accountability are missing.
Search for executive protection or bodyguard companies in your city, then check each one on the DPS license search before you call. In Dallas-Fort Worth you will find a mix of guard companies that also sell “VIP protection”, investigations firms with a protection side, and dedicated executive protection firms. The third group is usually the right call for anything beyond a single evening, because planning is their normal product rather than an add-on.
What about bodyguard apps and marketplaces?
Several apps and marketplaces now let you book a “protector” by the hour, with cheaper and premium tiers. They can work for a low-risk, short engagement at a known venue. Two cautions. First, check the agent’s DPS registration yourself; a platform’s badge is not a license search. Second, understand what you are buying: an individual’s hours, with no advance, no backup and no team lead. For a credible threat, a child, a public figure or anything spanning days, hire a company.
Step 3: Ask these eight questions
Ask every company the same questions and write down the answers. The pattern of answers tells you more than any single one.
- What is your DPS license number, what registration will the agent assigned to me hold, and if the detail is armed, does that agent hold the Level IV personal protection officer license?
- Who, specifically, will be on my detail, and what is their background?
- Have you handled this type of situation before? (A stalker is not a red carpet. A red carpet is not a hostile deposition.)
- Will someone advance the locations before I arrive, and is that included in the price?
- What is your insurance coverage, and can I see a certificate?
- What happens if the engagement runs long, or if a second person needs covering mid-way?
- Armed or unarmed, and who decides?
- Who do I call at 2 am if something changes?
What goes wrong: companies answer question one with “yes, all our guys are licensed” and move on. Make them say the number. Make them name the agent.
Red flags that end the conversation
No license number on request. Cash only. No insurance certificate. Vague about who will actually show up. A famous name dropped in the first five minutes. An agent who wants to talk about his gun before he has asked a single question about your situation.
Step 4: Get a written scope, then a price
What goes wrong: the quote arrives as a number in a text message. Then the night runs long, a friend joins the group, the venue changes, and nobody agreed who pays for what.
A real quote is a one-page scope. It states the dates and hours, the number of agents and their registration level, the posture (armed or unarmed, low profile or visible), what is included (advance, communications, reporting), what is excluded (vehicles, travel costs, overtime), the overtime rate, the cancellation terms and the emergency contact.
For a sanity check on the number, compare what each quote includes rather than the total. Our guide to how much a bodyguard costs breaks down what moves the number. A quote far below the others usually means a post-based guard, not a close protection agent.
Step 5: Agree the rules before the first shift
What goes wrong: the principal and the agent meet for the first time at the door and discover they have different ideas about the evening.
Settle these in a ten-minute call before the engagement: how close the agent stays, how the agent is introduced (or not), who the agent takes instructions from if the principal is busy, what counts as a reason to leave, and what the agent does if the principal says “it’s fine” and the agent disagrees. Good agents will raise all of this themselves. If yours does not, raise it.
Step 6: Start short, then extend
What goes wrong: a nervous client books three weeks of round-the-clock coverage on day one, then regrets the cost when the situation turns out to need two agents for two events.
Unless there is a specific, credible threat, start with the smallest engagement that covers the next real exposure: an event, a week of movements, a trip. Use the report afterwards to decide what comes next. A company that pushes a long contract before it has seen your situation is selling hours, not protection.
If you are unsure which level of service you need, our comparison of bodyguards, close protection and executive protection explains the difference in plain terms.
Hiring a bodyguard for a child or a family member
The request is more common than people think: a custody dispute, a school with a known problem parent, a teenager who has been contacted by a stranger online, an elderly parent being targeted by a scammer who has started turning up in person.
The rules are the same, with three additions. Ask for an agent with experience around children, and consider a female agent for a young child or a teenage girl. Insist on low profile; a visible guard at a school gate marks the child out. And write the school, the nanny and the other parent into the plan, because the agent will be dealing with all of them.
Two examples of this working
A visiting executive, Dallas, two days. A family office assistant calls on a Tuesday. Her principal arrives Thursday for meetings in Uptown and a dinner in Highland Park, with a flight out Friday from a private terminal. She has the four lines ready. We scope one licensed agent for both days, an advance of the dinner venue on Wednesday, and coordination with the principal’s own driver. Quote sent Tuesday evening. Nothing happens on Thursday or Friday, which is the result she paid for.
A harassment situation, Fort Worth, open-ended. A professional has received messages from a former acquaintance that mention her gym and her office. She wants to feel safe going to work, not to hire an army. We scope two weeks: one agent for arrivals and departures, an advance of the office and the gym, and a conversation with the building’s security manager. We also tell her what to document for law enforcement. At the end of two weeks the messages have stopped and the engagement ends. If they had not, it would have grown.
Can you work security in Texas without a license?
No, not for pay. Guarding property or people for hire in Texas requires registration with DPS at the appropriate level, under a licensed company, after a fingerprint-based background check. Someone offering bodyguard services outside a licensed company, or working armed without the Level IV personal protection officer license, is working illegally, which also means no insurance stands behind them if something goes wrong. The exceptions in the law are narrow and do not cover a private individual hiring a friend to act as security.
Ready to hire in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Elite Security Pro is a veteran-owned executive protection company based in Dallas and a licensed Texas security company, with 24 years of close protection experience. Our agents are drawn from military, law enforcement and executive protection backgrounds. We cover Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Frisco and the wider metroplex, and we deploy the same standard in Los Angeles, Florida and Nashville.
Call (972) 914-9037 or request a confidential quote. Bring your four lines.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hire a bodyguard in real life?
Call a licensed security company, not an individual. Describe who needs protecting, what has happened, the dates and the locations. Ask for the company’s state license number and the agent’s DPS registration, then get a written scope with hours, number of agents, posture and price before the engagement starts. In Texas you can verify both on the DPS online license search.
How much does it cost to hire a bodyguard in Texas?
It depends on the threat level, the hours, the number of agents, whether the detail is armed and any travel. A single unarmed agent for a short booking is the simplest engagement; armed agents, extra agents, overnight and travel work cost more. A licensed company will send a written, confidential quote after a short consultation.
Can I hire a bodyguard for one day or one event?
Yes. One-day and one-event engagements are routine: a court appearance, a dinner after a public event, a party at your home, an executive’s visit to the city. Most companies set a four-hour minimum. For an unfamiliar venue, allow for a short advance beforehand.
Can a normal person hire a bodyguard, even for no specific reason?
Yes. You do not need a threat, a title or a public profile to hire a licensed agent, and many short engagements are for people who simply want to feel safe at an event, on a trip or during a difficult period. A good company will still ask why, because the answer shapes the plan and the price.
Do I need an armed bodyguard?
Usually not. Most private and corporate details in Dallas are unarmed and low profile by design. Armed coverage is a deliberate decision based on a specific threat, and in Texas it requires an agent who holds the Level IV personal protection officer license. A good company will tell you which you need rather than selling you the more expensive option.
What should be in a bodyguard contract?
Dates and hours, the number of agents and their DPS registration level, posture (armed or unarmed, visible or discreet), what is included and excluded, the overtime rate, cancellation terms, insurance details, confidentiality terms and the emergency contact. If any of those are missing, ask for them before you sign.
Can I hire a former Secret Service or federal agent as a bodyguard?
Yes, through a licensed private company. Former federal agents, military special operations veterans and retired police officers make up a large share of experienced executive protection agents, and firms like ours recruit from those backgrounds. They still work under a Texas DPS registration like everyone else. Serving federal agents cannot be hired privately.
What is a Level 4 security license in Texas?
Level IV is the Texas DPS personal protection officer license. It sits on top of the Level III armed commission and allows the holder to protect a person while carrying a firearm. It requires being at least 21, a 15-hour course in non-lethal defense of a third person and the MMPI psychological test, and it must be held by any armed bodyguard working in Texas.
Related services: Executive Protection in Dallas-Fort Worth | Bodyguard Services and Close Protection | Request a consultation
