Close Protection Jobs

Close protection (CP) means physical and reputational security for an individual or family — escorting them through travel, vetting venues, driving, screening visitors. In the UK most CP work is residential or lifestyle for high-net-worth clients in central London, or event-based for executives, public figures and visiting diplomatic delegations.

The SIA CP licence requires a 138-hour training course (rather than the 6-day guard licences), a clean DBS, and physical fitness assessments. Most operators come from a military or police firearms / specialist background, though that's not a formal entry requirement. A small number of specialist firms route the bulk of the UK work — Westminster Security, ICP Group, Praesidium, Pilgrims and a handful of others — and a CV without one of those names on it makes it harder to land the better residential or family contracts. Day rates for residential or family CP run £200-£350 outside London, £300-£500 in Mayfair and Belgravia, and considerably more for short-term task work overseas.

Watch the licence-only-not-experience ads. They exist, they pay around £100 a day, and they're usually nightclub door work badged as "CP" by an agency. Genuine CP work expects an SIA licence plus a tested CV — UK and defensive driving, trauma first aid, and ideally a few years on a residential team.