“My company will just certify me.” It is the most common thing we hear from College Station officers moving from unarmed to armed work, and for Level 3 it is simply not something a company is allowed to do.

Where the In-House Option Stops

The confusion is understandable, because at the unarmed level the in-house route is real. A licensed company can put its own designee in front of a room and deliver Level 2 training to its own staff. Plenty of Brazos Valley officers got their start exactly that way and never dealt with a training school directly.

Level 3 works differently, and deliberately so. The course material is prepared by and obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the course may only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor. There is no in-house designee option for the armed course. A company cannot hand it to a supervisor, cannot build its own version of the curriculum, and cannot put its own people through it internally, regardless of how experienced its staff are. Once a firearm is involved, the state keeps the training inside approved schools.

Practically, that means the question to ask any provider is not “how much” but “are you an approved school, and is your instructor approved?” Anything else and you have bought a class that will not support an application. You can verify how the licensing side works through the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau.

What the Rule Requires the Course For

Under 37 TAC §35.141(a)(2), the Level 3 training course is required for anyone seeking a security officer commission, the credential that lets an officer carry a firearm on duty, and also for personal protection officers. Note what that does not say: finishing Level 3 is not itself the commission. The commission is issued by DPS when you apply for it, and under §35.81(a) that application requires copies of both your Level 2 and your Level 3 certificates of completion along with the other items DPS lists.

And while personal protection officers also need Level 3, that does not make Level 4 an upgraded Level 3. Level 4 is its own separate course for personal protection officers, the bodyguard credential, with a minimum of fifteen classroom hours under §35.141(a)(3). Job postings across Texas blur the two constantly. They are different classes for different work.

How the Class Is Split

• Part 1, online. The classroom material: the law governing armed security work, use of force, the duties that attach to a commission, and the written exam. ETXSTA delivers this part 100% online.
• Part 2, in person. Defensive tactics, firearms handling and the firearms proficiency exam.
• What the online price covers. The online training only. The in-person firearms qualification is scheduled separately and is not included, and nothing in Part 1 involves handling a firearm.

75%, Not the LTC Standard

Students who already hold a License to Carry tend to relax about the written test, and that is a mistake. Under §35.144(c), the minimum passing grade on Level 3 and Level 4 school examinations is 75%, a higher bar than the LTC written threshold. The shooting is friendlier territory: the firearms proficiency exam is close to identical in format to the Texas LTC proficiency exam, and under §35.145 the qualification may use the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course. §35.146 separately sets out a shotgun course of fire for commissioned officers, so qualifying with a shotgun as well as a handgun is available if you want it on your record.

Armed Work in the Brazos Valley

College Station is a university and research town wrapped around a fast-growing medical and biotech corridor, and that mix shapes the armed posts available locally: hospital and medical district security, research and laboratory campuses, banking branches, event and stadium contracts on game weekends, and gated residential and corporate properties out toward Bryan. It is also a market where officers historically drove to Houston or Austin for classroom training, which is the main reason the online Part 1 lands well here. You keep the drive for the range day, where it actually has to happen.

Hold on to your paperwork when you finish. The certificate of completion is referred to as PSP 30, and under §35.147 an approved school issues the original to a qualifying student within seven days of qualifying and keeps training records for 24 months. Down the road, the armed security renewal course is what keeps a commission current. Our full class list shows the whole progression, and the text of 37 TAC Chapter 35 is public if you would rather read the rule yourself.