Before you enroll in anything, it helps to see the whole route. Here is what getting commissioned actually looks like from an Amarillo starting point: in order, with nothing skipped.

1. Part 1, online. The classroom material, the law governing armed security work, use of force, the duties that come with a commission, and the written exam that closes it.
2. Part 2, in person. Defensive tactics, firearms handling, and the firearms proficiency exam.
3. Certificate of completion (PSP 30), issued by the school.
4. Application to DPS for the security officer commission itself.

Everything below is the detail underneath those four steps, and the one point people miss most often is that step four is a separate act by a separate body. Finishing the course does not hand you the commission; DPS issues it when you apply.

Why It Is Split, and What That Means on a Rotating Schedule

ETXSTA delivers Part 1 100% online, and only Part 1. The online course price covers the online training only: the in-person firearms qualification is scheduled separately and is not included. Read that as a feature rather than a catch. It means the reading, the law and the written test are yours to do at 6 a.m. after a night shift or across three evenings, and the single thing that has to land on a calendar is the in-person day.

That matters more in the Panhandle than it does in a metro. Amarillo officers are a long way from most of the state’s training providers, and the armed work up here, the medical center district, feedyard and agribusiness operations, energy and pipeline sites, the freight and distribution traffic funneling through on I‑40, runs on rotations that do not clear a week for classroom time. Cutting the classroom portion loose from the range portion removes most of the travel and all of the consecutive-weekday problem.

The Rule Behind the Requirement

37 TAC §35.141(a)(2) requires the Level 3 training 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. Keep the two apart in your head: Level 3 is the commissioned security officer course. Level 4 is the personal protection officer course, the bodyguard credential, a distinct class with a minimum of fifteen classroom hours under §35.141(a)(3). Level 4 is not a senior version of Level 3, and taking one does not stand in for the other.

There is also a restriction on delivery that surprises people. The Level 3 course material is prepared by and obtained from DPS, and it may only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor. That is stricter than Level 2 training, where a licensed company is allowed to use its own designee in house. No employer can deliver your Level 3 internally.

75%, and Why That Number Deserves Attention

Under §35.144(c), the minimum passing grade on Level 3 and Level 4 school examinations is 75%. Officers who already hold a License to Carry tend to assume the written standard carries over, and it does not. 75% is the higher threshold. The range side is the closer parallel: the firearms proficiency exam is close to identical in format to the Texas LTC proficiency exam, and §35.145 allows the qualification to use the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course. If your post involves a long gun, note that §35.146 sets out a shotgun course of fire for commissioned security officers, giving you the option to qualify with a shotgun as well as a handgun.

Paperwork, and What You Hold Onto

• Under §35.81(a), the application for a security officer commission requires copies of both the Level 2 and the Level 3 certificates of completion, plus the other items DPS lists. Your old Level 2 certificate is live paperwork, not history.
• Under §35.147, an approved school issues the original certificate of completion to a qualifying student within seven days of qualifying and retains training records for 24 months.
• Once you are commissioned, staying commissioned runs through the armed security renewal course. The third step in a progression that starts unarmed and ends with a current commission.

If you want to verify any of the above rather than take our word for it, the rules live at 37 TAC Chapter 35 and the licensing side with the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau. Common questions we get from officers in your position are answered on our FAQ page.