Search “six hours security continuing education” and you will find providers happy to sell you a certificate today. For a College Station officer holding a commission, almost none of them satisfy the requirement: and the rule says so in as many words.

Where the “Any Provider” Idea Falls Apart

The relevant line is §35.162(f): continuing education credits earned through outside entities may not be used to satisfy the continuing education requirement for commissioned security officers or personal protection officers. Not “are discouraged” and not “count partially”. May not be used. A generic online CE certificate from a provider that is not a department-approved Texas training school does nothing for an armed license, however professional the course looked.

The other route people reach for is closed too. §35.162(d) makes clear that the in-house continuing education exemption available to companies with ten or more licensed employees does not apply to commissioned security officers or personal protection officers. Between those two provisions there is exactly one path left, and §35.161(g) describes it directly: the continuing education must be taught by department-approved training schools and instructors.

What a Compliant Renewal Actually Looks Like

1. Six hours of continuing education. §35.161(g) sets the number for commissioned security officers and personal protection officers.
2. Earned the right way. The same subsection says you satisfy it by completing the renewal portions of the Level III or IV training course, as applicable. Through an approved school and approved instructors.
3. Inside the validity window. §35.161(n) makes continuing education valid only if completed within the two-year period preceding the license’s current expiration date.
4. Before you apply, not after. §35.161(a) bars submitting a renewal application until the required minimum hours have been earned.
5. Firearms proficiency on file. §35.161(g) requires a commissioned security officer to submit a firearms proficiency certificate with the renewal application.

Step three trips more people than any of the others, because it is usually repeated as “you renew every two years.” That is not what the rule states. It describes a window of validity measured backward from your expiration date, which means hours completed too early are wasted hours. A real risk for anyone who takes a class the moment a reminder lands rather than checking the date on the license.

One Course, Two Different Licenses

§35.161(g) covers commissioned security officers and personal protection officers together, which is why one renewal course serves both, but they are not two grades of the same thing. Level 3 is the commissioned security officer, armed on post. Level 4 is the personal protection officer, the bodyguard credential, earned through its own separate course. Each renews through the renewal portion of the course that belongs to it. Keeping the distinction straight matters when you are reading a job posting that uses the terms loosely.

Worth saying for completeness: if you work unarmed, §35.161(b) exempts noncommissioned security officers from continuing education entirely. Officers on a Level 2 license sometimes buy a renewal course they never needed.

Fitting Six Hours Into a Brazos Valley Schedule

College Station’s security work has a rhythm that other Texas markets do not. A large university, the research and medical facilities that cluster around it, event venues that swing from quiet to capacity crowds, and the retail and residential build-out spreading toward Bryan all produce armed posts, but staffing swells and contracts with the academic calendar. Officers here often work heavy stretches then lighter ones, which makes a fixed classroom date genuinely hard to commit to, and the nearest approved schools have historically meant a drive toward Houston or the Metroplex.

Our renewal course removes the drive: the classroom portion is delivered 100% online. Be clear on what enrollment includes, though. It covers the online training only. The in-person firearms qualification is not included and must be scheduled separately after you complete the online course. On finishing you receive a certificate of completion, listed on our site as PSP 31.

The certificate, and who keeps it

Under §35.162(b)(3), the certificate of attendance shows your name and license number, the date of attendance, the number of hours and the courses attended, signed and dated by the school director, and the school keeps its records two years. Your own duty is separate: §35.161(m) requires you to retain your certificate for two years and furnish copies to the department on request, while §35.161(a) puts proof in your employer’s personnel file and asks you to indicate completion on the renewal application. Three copies, three holders, and yours is the one you control if you change employers.

Situations Where Renewal Is Not the Answer

A long gap changes the calculus. §35.141(d) provides that a person inactive or expired who has not been employed in the industry for three years or more must submit current training certificates to the department. In which case the full Level 3 commissioned officer course is the better purchase. Service members get real accommodation: §35.182 grants two additional years to complete a continuing education or other renewal-related requirement, and §35.181 waives late-renewal penalty fees for military service members. Given how many people in this region move through military service, that is worth knowing before you assume a lapse is final.

Verify any of this against the source: 37 TAC Chapter 35 is published in full, and licensing runs through the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau. Our complete class list shows every course we offer if renewal turns out not to be the one you need.