The updated regulations, which form part of the kingdom’s broader push to enhance safety and standardise private security practices, restrict the duties of private security personnel during business hours to eight specific categories of facilities
Saudi Arabia has revised its private security regulations, placing new limits on the scope of work for security guards while extending requirements for 24-hour protection across key sectors. The amendments to the Executive Regulations of the Law of Private Security Services were confirmed by the Ministry of Interior and approved by Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif.
The updated regulations, which form part of the kingdom’s broader push to enhance safety and standardise private security practices, restrict the duties of private security personnel during business hours to eight specific categories of facilities. Simultaneously, they expand the mandate for continuous, round-the-clock guard presence across 15 types of commercial and residential establishments deemed vital.
Under the revised Article 2, facilities now required to deploy private security staff during operational hours include:
- Private and international schools, as well as training centres
- Wedding halls and event venues
- Private clinics and medical complexes
- Sites hosting licensed events under the General Entertainment Authority or the Saudi Conventions and Exhibitions General Authority
- Restaurants with a commercial footprint exceeding 1,000 square metres
- Women’s fitness centres
- Hypermarkets and grocery outlets larger than 2,000 square metres
- Designated Hajj camps during the first 15 days of Dhul Hijjah
In a further move, factories and warehouses may be required to provide 24-hour private security, subject to approval from regional police authorities. This decision will follow a feasibility study, which must be submitted by a licensed security consultant within two months of notification.
Officials said the updated rules are designed to better safeguard private and public properties and to strengthen the regulation of Saudi Arabia’s growing private security industry. The measures reflect an increasing emphasis on proactive security management, particularly in sectors with high footfall or critical infrastructure.
The Ministry of Interior has indicated that implementation will be closely monitored, with enforcement guided by the findings of risk assessments and regulatory oversight.