Private security: Undersecretariat defines the scope of the regulation's articles

The Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention established the meaning and scope of articles 49, 50, 51, 92, 97, and 101 of the Private Security Regulations and issued a general instruction regarding the deadline for attaching personnel lists and rosters and for signing insurance contracts. This was done through exempt resolution No. 3,493, of Santiago, September 9, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,553, on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pages 1 to 5 (CVE 2871861).

The regulatory framework being interpreted

The resolution is issued as part of the implementation process of Law No. 21,659, on Private Security, published on March 21, 2024, and Decree No. 209 of 2024, from the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security, which approves the Private Security Regulations and was published on May 27, 2025.

The administrative act invokes Law No. 21,730, which creates the Ministry of Public Security, and recalls that article 34 of Law No. 21,659 requires private security companies to have human, training, financial, material, and technical means, and to sign insurance contracts in favor of the corresponding personnel.

According to the recitals, a strictly literal reading of articles 49, 51, and 101 would lead to the impracticable result of requiring the prior hiring of security personnel without yet having the legal authorization to operate.

What changes for the first authorization

The interpretation distinguishes between a minimum installed capacity required when requesting authorization and the deployment of human and training means required once the status of a private security company has been obtained:

• The human and training means of article 50 are accredited after authorization, not when requesting it.
• Article 51 No. 2 is understood to refer to personnel already hired before the first authorization, whether administrative, private security, or other.
• The list of trainers in article 101 No. 2 is only attached if they are already hired; otherwise, it is not a requirement for authorization.
• Financial, material, and technical means must be provided when requesting authorization, as initial installed capacity.
• The interpretation applies only to the first authorization; for renewals, human and training means must be accredited.

Deadlines for rosters and insurance

The general instruction establishes that the rosters or lists of articles 49 No. 2 and 50 be attached when the interested party has personnel hired, either upon submitting the application or at least fifteen days before the personnel begin performing their duties. The same rule applies to accrediting the insurance contracts of article 49 No. 3, in cases where applicable.

Companies specializing in human resources for private security services fulfill this obligation by submitting their operating directive, in accordance with Article 92 of the regulation, and must attach an updated list of the locations where each person is deployed. Article 92 requires this directive to be submitted to the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention at least fifteen days prior to the start of service provision, individualizing those providing the service and indicating the defensive and protective equipment used.

Validity and Publicity

The resolution comes into effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette and orders its incorporation into the online section of administrative acts of the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention, in compliance with Law No. 20,285 on access to public information. The document is signed by Gonzalo Guerrero Valle, Undersecretary for Crime Prevention, and transcribed by Iván Alejandro Heredia Riquelme, Head of the Document Management Unit and Central Archive.

The scope of this interpretation is national and affects all legal entities requesting authorization as private security companies, companies specializing in human resources within the sector, and training institutions. For the sector, the practical effect is that the hiring of guards and the procurement of insurance cease to be an obstacle to obtaining the initial authorization, but become enforceable, within the fifteen-day period, as soon as the company begins to operate and upon each renewal.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,553, Thursday, September 17, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pp. 1-5 (official reference: CVE 2871861).