Level 3 Security Officer Class in Midland, Texas

“I already have my LTC, so the written part will be easy.” It is the most common thing Midland students say before starting Level 3, and the rule that sets the passing grade quietly disagrees.

§35.144(c) Sets the Bar at 75%

Under 37 TAC §35.144(c), the minimum passing grade on Level 3 and Level 4 school examinations is 75%. That is a state rule binding on every DPS-approved school, not a house policy you can shop around for, and it applies to the written exam in the classroom portion of the course. If you want to see it in its native habitat, it sits in 37 TAC Chapter 35, which also governs who may teach the course and how certificates are issued.

Crucially, 75% is higher than the Texas License to Carry written test threshold. That single fact is the source of most of the surprise in the course, and it is entirely avoidable if somebody tells you before you enrol rather than after you sit down.

Armed Posts in the Permian Basin

Midland is an unusually strong market for commissioned work, and the reason is the local industry mix. Energy and industrial sites, tank batteries and yards, gated corporate property, equipment and materials storage out on lease roads, plus the hospital, banking and retail contracts that any city of this size supports. A lot of those postings are written for an armed officer rather than an unarmed one. In a basin economy that runs around the clock, night-side gate and patrol posts are a real and steady part of the work.

That market also means most Midland officers are already comfortable around firearms long before they enrol. Comfort with a handgun and comfort with the law governing armed security work are two separate things, and only one of them is on the written exam.

Where the LTC Assumption Comes From, and Where It Breaks

The assumption has a legitimate root. On the range, the two really are neighbors: the firearms proficiency exam for a commission is close to identical in format to the LTC proficiency exam, and §35.145 allows the qualification to use the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course. An LTC holder is not walking into anything alien at Part 2. §35.146 additionally lays out a shotgun course of fire for commissioned security officers, giving students the option to qualify with a shotgun in addition to a handgun.

The break happens in the classroom. An LTC is a private citizen’s carry permit. A security officer commission is the credential that allows an officer to carry a firearm on duty, and under §35.141(a)(2) the Level 3 course is what the state requires of anyone seeking one, and of personal protection officers. The material covers the law governing armed security work, use of force, and the duties that attach to the commission. It is regulatory and occupational, and it is examined to a higher standard than a citizen’s permit test for exactly that reason.

What This Means for the Online Portion

The course is delivered in two parts: Part 1 is the classroom material and the written exam, Part 2 is in person and covers defensive tactics, firearms handling and the firearms proficiency exam. ETXSTA teaches Part 1 100% online, which matters in West Texas, where the alternative has often been a long drive to a metro classroom.

The practical takeaway is simple: the online half is the graded half. Give the use-of-force and scope-of-authority sections proper attention instead of treating them as the reading you get through on the way to the range. Officers who do that clear 75% comfortably; officers who skim are the ones who find out the hard way what the threshold means.

One more scope note. The online course price covers the online training only; the in-person firearms qualification is scheduled separately and is not included, and there is no firearms work in the online portion.

Don’t Let the Rule’s Wording Confuse the Two Courses

§35.144(c) mentions Level 3 and Level 4 in one breath, which leads people to describe Level 4 as the “advanced” version of a commission. That is wrong. Level 4 is the personal protection officer course, the bodyguard credential, a separate course with a minimum of fifteen classroom hours under §35.141(a)(3). Level 3 is the commissioned security officer course. They share an exam standard and nothing else structurally.

After You Pass

1. Under §35.147, the approved school issues your original certificate of completion, the PSP 30, within seven days of qualifying, and keeps training records for 24 months.
2. Passing does not make you commissioned. DPS issues the commission on application through the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau.
3. §35.81(a) requires that application to include copies of both your Level 2 and Level 3 certificates, plus the other items DPS lists, so keep the paperwork from your Level 2 course.
4. Later, the armed security renewal course is what keeps the commission current.

Finally, a structural point specific to this course: Level 3 may only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor, with material prepared by and obtained from DPS. Unlike Level 2, a licensed company cannot have its own designee deliver it in-house, so if an employer offers to “take care of your Level 3” internally, ask which approved school is behind it. Our class list shows the full progression if you are working out where you sit.