Ask five Allen officers what Level 3 is and at least one will tell you it is the bodyguard course. It is not, and the mix-up costs people money in the wrong class.

Clearing Up the Level 3 / Level 4 Confusion First

Level 3 is the commissioned security officer course. Under 37 TAC §35.141(a)(2) it is required for anyone seeking a security officer commission, the credential that lets you carry a firearm on duty, and for personal protection officers as well. Level 4 is something different: it is the personal protection officer course, the bodyguard credential, with a minimum of fifteen classroom hours under §35.141(a)(3). Level 4 is not a higher grade of commission and Level 3 is not a warm-up for it. If what you want is to work an armed post, Level 3 is your course.

The Course Comes in Two Pieces

Part 1 is the classroom half and it is delivered online: the law governing armed security work, use of force, the duties a commission puts on you, and the written exam. Part 2 is in person and covers defensive tactics, firearms handling and a firearms proficiency exam. ETXSTA runs Part 1 100% online, and it is worth being clear about what that price covers. The online training only. The in-person firearms qualification is scheduled separately and is not included, and no part of the online half involves handling a firearm.

For anyone already working posts, that split is the practical win. Allen sits in the thick of the north DFW corridor, corporate campuses and office parks, the retail and event venues along the tollway, distribution and light-industrial buildings pushing north toward McKinney, and the armed contracts attached to those sites run on rotations, not semesters. Getting the classroom half done between shifts means the only date you actually have to negotiate with a supervisor is the range day.

Who Is Allowed to Teach It

This one trips up officers who came through the Level 2 class in house at a previous employer. Level 3 course material is prepared by and obtained from DPS, and the course may only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor. Unlike Level 2, a licensed company cannot put its own designee in front of the room and call it done. If a company offers to knock out your Level 3 internally, that is not how the rule works.

What You Have to Pass

The minimum passing grade on a Level 3 school examination is 75% under §35.144(c). Officers who have taken a License to Carry course sometimes assume the written standard is the same. It is not; 75% is the higher bar. The shooting side is a closer match: the firearms proficiency exam is close to identical in format to the Texas License to Carry proficiency exam, and under §35.145 the qualification may use either the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course. §35.146 also lays out a shotgun course of fire for commissioned officers, so qualifying with a shotgun in addition to a handgun is an option worth taking if your post ever involves one.

From Finished Course to Actual Commission

1. Finish Part 1 online and pass the written exam at 75% or better.
2. Schedule and complete Part 2 in person. Defensive tactics, firearms handling, and the proficiency exam.
3. Receive your certificate of completion, referred to here as PSP 30. 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.
4. Apply to DPS. Under §35.81(a) the application for a security officer commission requires copies of both your Level 2 and Level 3 certificates of completion, plus the other items the department lists. The school does not issue the commission. DPS does, on application.

After that, the commission has to be kept current, which is what the armed security renewal course exists for. The whole arc reads Level 2, then Level 3, then renewal, and you can see every class we run on the class list. For the rules themselves, go to 37 TAC Chapter 35, and for licensing to the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau.