Clients around League City hire off a file, not a handshake. Before an officer gets assigned to an armed post, somebody is checking that the documents are in it: so it is worth knowing exactly which documents those are.

The Paper Trail, in Order

1. You complete Level 2 and receive a certificate of completion. Keep it. You will need it again.
2. You complete Level 3 Part 1 (online classroom and written exam) and Part 2 (defensive tactics, firearms handling, firearms proficiency exam).
3. The approved school issues your Level 3 certificate of completion. The form referred to as PSP 30.
4. You submit the application for a security officer commission with copies of both certificates attached.
5. DPS reviews it and issues the commission. That last step, and only that step, is what makes you commissioned.

Why the Rule Asks for Both Certificates

Step four is where applications get bounced. §35.81(a) requires the commission application to include copies of both the Level 2 and the Level 3 certificates of completion, plus the other items the department lists. Level 3 does not replace Level 2 or absorb it; the two sit side by side in your file. Officers who did Level 2 a few years ago through a company that has since closed, or who never got a copy in hand, should chase that down early rather than discovering the gap the week they are ready to apply.

And to say it plainly, because it costs people work: the certificate is not the commission. PSP 30 proves you completed approved training to standard. The commission is issued by the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau on application. Carrying on a post before that is a different problem entirely.

The School Has Deadlines Too

§35.147 puts obligations on the school, not just the student. The original certificate of completion goes to a qualifying student within seven days of qualifying, and the school retains training records for 24 months. Those two numbers are worth remembering. The first tells you when to expect your document. The second is your backstop. For two years after the fact, the training record still exists somewhere other than your own filing cabinet.

What Earns the Certificate

Under 37 TAC §35.141(a)(2), Level 3 is the required course for anyone seeking a security officer commission, the credential that allows an officer to carry a firearm on duty, and for personal protection officers. The material is prepared by and obtained from DPS, and the course can only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor. That is a real difference from Level 2: a licensed company may not put its own designee in front of a Level 3 class in-house.

Part 1 is the classroom half, the law governing armed security work, use of force, the duties that attach to a commission, and the written exam, and ETXSTA runs it 100% online. Part 2 happens in person and covers defensive tactics, firearms handling and the firearms proficiency exam. The online course price covers the online training only; the in-person firearms qualification is scheduled separately and is not included.

Seventy-Five Percent, and a Note on Level 4

§35.144(c) sets the minimum passing grade on Level 3 and Level 4 school examinations at 75%. If your mental benchmark is the Texas License to Carry written test, recalibrate. This threshold is higher. The range portion, on the other hand, will feel familiar: under §35.145 the qualification may use the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course, and the format is close to identical to the LTC proficiency exam. §35.146 additionally sets a shotgun course of fire for commissioned security officers, so shotgun qualification is an option alongside the handgun. The full text lives in 37 TAC Chapter 35.

While that rule names both courses in one line, they are not two tiers of the same thing. Level 3 is the commissioned security officer. Level 4 is the personal protection officer, the bodyguard credential, a separate course with a minimum of fifteen classroom hours under §35.141(a)(3).

Armed Work Around the Bay Area

League City sits in the middle of a dense stretch of Gulf Coast employment. Medical campuses and clinics, aerospace and technology facilities toward Clear Lake, the industrial and port-adjacent operations up the bay, and a heavy base of retail, banking and gated residential work along the I‑45 corridor. Those are exactly the contract types that specify a commissioned officer rather than an unarmed one, and the documentation gets checked before the assignment, not after.

Doing the classroom half online keeps it manageable around shift work. Once you are commissioned, the armed security renewal course keeps it current. If you are trying to work out where you sit in that progression, our FAQ page is the fastest place to start.