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Application for Designation as a Certified Security Consultant - for non-members of the IAPSC

DESIGNATION AS A CERTIFIED SECURITY CONSULTANT (CSC)

The International Association of Professional Security Consultants has created the Certified Security Consultant designation for professional, independent security consultants. The CSC reflects a high level of professionalism, knowledge, and integrity and is the recognized standard for Security Consultants.

The CSC demonstrates your depth of knowledge, professional objectivity, skills as a security consultant, and level of integrity. In keeping with the professionalism of the IAPSC, the CSC qualifications are designed to screen out product-affiliated salespeople who call themselves security consultants. The CSC requires a combination of experience and education, as well as independence (professional objectivity) and adherence to a Professional Code of Ethics. No grandfathering of CSCs will occur. The CSC is a professional designation that separates you from the competition. Business professionals recognize the value of certification, especially one that has the backing and credibility of the premier security consulting association.

Earning your certification consists of meeting the qualification and an internet-based 100-question multiple choice examination which includes consulting practices, security management, and business ethics. The objective exam is hosted on a secure internet server and your score will not be shared with anyone outside the IAPSC ’s management company or the Professional Certification Committee . A formal plan for re-certification has been developed and is consistent with other professional certifications. Re-certification will be required every three years for a nominal re-certification fee.

CSC Eligibility Requirements

Experience

Each candidate for certification shall have at least three years of documented security consulting experience. Functioning in a verifiable internal consultant capacity shall be acceptable in meeting the three year security consulting experience requirement. Internal Consultants, as defined by the IAPSC, are eligible for the CSC if they meet the other qualifications.

Verification of experience will be submitted in the form of validated references.

If security consulting experience is unverifiable, applicants may submit evidence of work product in the form of deliverables (survey report, written opinions or schematics/drawings) from five (5) projects/clients. Client names and other identifying information may be redacted from each sample prior to submitting to the Professional Certification Committee for consideration. Work product will be accepted at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.

EDUCATION

Each candidate for certification shall submit documentation of an earned baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university.

8 years of direct, broad security management experience may be accepted at the discretion of the Certification Committee as the equivalent of a degree.

The degree requirement may also be replaced with a combination of experience and certification at the discretion of the Certification Committee. For example, a CPP or CISSP and 4 additional years of experience or a PSP and 6 additional years of experience may replace the degree requirement. Educational replacement is at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.

INDEPENDENCE

Certified Security Consultant candidates shall be characterized by professional objectivity and accept no compensation or financial benefit other than their fees or salary, directly or indirectly, as a result of their recommendations to clients. Certified Security Consultants are independent and not affiliated with any manufacturer or vendor of security equipment, nor do they profit in any way from a client’s selection of vendors or contractors. Certified Security Consultants may not sell security equipment or provide any services such as, but not limited to sales and/or installation of: alarms systems, access controls, closed circuit television systems, contract security officers, undercover agents, bodyguards, or protection forces. Certified Security Consultants may not have any form of affiliation with a product or service that could be construed as a possible conflict of interest. Certified Security Consultant’s advice and recommendations are based solely on the needs of their clients. Any person who pays or accepts a fee, a commission, or other valuable consideration from an individual or organization whose equipment, supplies, or services that person might recommend in the course of his or her services to a client shall not become certified or continue as a Certified Security Consultant.

Persons engaged in or providing investigative services, criminal or civil, are not eligible for certification. Certified Security Consultants shall not be known as investigators and will not advertise themselves as such. They will not engage in any of the following activities: divorce, domestic investigations, surveillance, skip tracing, repossession of property, or stand alone civil or criminal record checks. They will not provide undercover or bodyguard personnel. Nothing contained herein prohibits any member from complying with any law or regulation, by any governmental or regulatory body, which requires that Security consultants be licensed as Investigators or any other related license. Certified Security Consultants may "investigate" within broad parameters of the definition of the word, in order to determine the needs of their client. Certified Security Consultants investigate only for the purpose of developing information to complete their surveys, design, or testimony, contracting out traditional investigative work to private investigators or similar practitioners. It is understood that a greater level of investigation may be required of those who specialize in fields of financial fraud, art theft, corporate internal theft and fraud, securities fraud, terrorism-extortion, or similar environments, requiring specialized knowledge and experience outside the scope of the routine private investigator. Certified Security Consultants may not engage in detection of deception by providing polygraph services, pencil and paper honesty testing, voice stress analysis, handwriting or grapho-analysis, or by any other means. If a client requests these types of services, they are to be contracted out to qualified vendors.

Independence shall also include any other requirements as defined by IAPSC By-Laws.

CHARACTER

Any person who has been convicted of any felony, or who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, or who has engaged in any act which constitutes moral turpitude, shall not become certified or continue as a CSC.

CODE OF ETHICS

Certified Security Consultant Candidates shall adhere to the IAPSC Code of Conduct and Ethics.

The purpose of this Application is to enable the Professional Certification Committee to make a determination relative to an applicant’s eligibility for certification. The applicant may be asked to provide additional information. Final determination of eligibility will be made by the Professional Certification Committee based on the information furnished and any oral interviews.

For additional information, please visit https://iapsc.org/about/about-csc/. 

Note that every field marked with an asterisk * in the form below is required to submit your application. 

Total Amount
Application Form
Please describe your security consulting experience as a sole practitioner or otherwise self-employed - including those who have established their own corporate entity. Please include the name of the practice, business, or corporation, the date the practice or business was founded, and the total years you have spent as a sole practitioner or self-employed as a security consultant.
Verification of experience shall be submitted in the form of three (3) validated references from clients, employers, or other consultants with whom you’ve partnered:
Please enter your security consulting experience in a consulting business in which you had no proprietary interest, but served as a consulting employee such as functioning in a verifiable internal consultant capacity, as defined by the IAPSC.
If security consulting experience is unverifiable, applicants may submit evidence of work product in the form of deliverables (survey report, written opinions or schematics/drawings) from five (5) projects/clients and project completion date. Client names and other identifying information may be redacted from each sample prior to submitting to the Professional Certification Committee for consideration. Work product will be accepted at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.
Each candidate for certification shall submit documentation of an earned baccalaureate or Higher degree from an accredited college or university. For your highest degree only, please provide the name and address of the college or university attended, the years of attendance, the major field of study, and the degree awarded.
Please upload a true copy of your college or university transcript, or a copy of your degree.
Eight (8) years of direct, broad security management experience (eg security director, manager, etc.) may be accepted at the discretion of the Certification Committee as the equivalent of a degree. The degree requirement may also be replaced with a combination of experience and certification at the discretion of the Certification Committee. For example, a CPP or CISSP and four (4) additional years of experience or a PSP and six (6) additional years of experience may replace the degree requirement. Educational replacement is at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.
Each candidate for certification will demonstrate significant and measurable contribution to the security industry. Examples of contributions include, but are not limited to security-related presentations or public speaking; publishing; teaching; serving in a responsible charge position for a security industry association (officer, board member, committee chairperson). Each contribution must be security-related and verifiable (with evidence provided as an attachment to this application). Other contributions may also be accepted at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee. A minimum of three Significant and Measurable contributions must be demonstrated in the five (5) year period prior to application and attached as evidence of contribution.
In consideration for the IAPSC reviewing and acting upon my membership application, I fully release the IAPSC, its officers, members and employees from any and all claims arising out of the processing, review and action on this application.
By clicking "I Accept" below, I hereby certify that all information on this application and any attached supporting materials is/are true and correct. I further affirm that I am an independent, non-product affiliated security consultant (or an internal consultant) and am not currently engaged in any activity contrary to the rules, Code of Ethics and Bylaws of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) nor, if accepted, will I do so during the time I am certified as a CSC.
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