Game day in Arlington puts tens of thousands of people into a few square miles — stadium gates, parking plazas, concourses, the entertainment district spilling over afterward. Behind all of it is a staffing problem solved by licensed security officers, most of them unarmed, most of them working under a Level 2 non-commissioned license.

Level 2, in One Paragraph

It is the state’s entry-level training course for private security. 37 TAC §35.141(a)(1) requires it of anyone applying for a non-commissioned security officer license, and of anyone applying for a security officer commission. The material is prepared or approved by Texas DPS, it must be taught by an approved school and instructor, and finishing it earns you a certificate of completion that goes to the state with your license application.

Three Things People Get Wrong

• “It is a weapons class.” It is not. Level 2 has no firearms component whatsoever. Armed work means Level 3 and a commission, which Level 2 comes before.
• “Event work is casual, so I do not need a license.” Regulated security services require a license regardless of whether the gig is one weekend or full time.
• “Any certificate will do.” The school and the instructor both have to be DPS-approved. A certificate from an unapproved provider will not get an application through.

What You Cover

Texas private security law, professional responsibilities and ethics, emergency procedures, and the scope and limits of an unarmed officer’s authority. For anyone headed toward crowd work in Arlington, the emergency-procedures and authority sections are the ones to actually absorb rather than skim — venue nights are exactly where both get tested.

After the Course

Your PSP 36 certificate goes with your license application to the DPS Regulatory Services Division. Once you are licensed, carry your pocket card on duty, wear a uniform that displays your company’s name, the word “Security,” and your last name, and keep an eye on your expiration date — individual licenses run two years from issuance.

Get It Done Before the Next Hiring Wave

Venue and event contractors staff up in bursts, and the applicants who already hold a certificate are the ones who get called. ETXSTA’s Level 2 course is online, self-paced, $29.99, and taught through a DPS-approved school — you can finish it this week and be ready when Arlington’s next round of hiring opens.