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Guide · Virginia · 7 min read

How to Win Government Security Services Contracts in Virginia

By the XL Eagle bid team · Updated November 2, 2026 · Built from our live bid database and USAspending.gov

Security services contracts in Virginia are won by companies that get the paperwork right first. The state licenses guard businesses, and it registers each officer. Buyers check both before they look at your price.

The demand is real. Virginia has major military installations, federal agencies near Washington, state buildings in Richmond and large public campuses. Many of them need guards at gates, front desks and after-hours posts.

Here is how the license works, who buys, and how to price a post so the numbers hold up. You will also see how XL Eagle can bid for you. Read it once, then use it as a checklist each time a new bid comes up.

Security Guard contracts in Virginia at a glance

  • 6 open security guard bids in Virginia on XL Eagle today. See them all.
  • 13 security guard solicitations in Virginia in the last 12 months that we tracked (7 federal, 6 state and local).
  • Federal agencies made 216 contract awards worth $314.2 million for work performed in Virginia under NAICS 561612 in FY2025 (Oct 2024 - Sep 2025).
  • Top federal buyers that year: Department of Homeland Security ($207.3 million); Department of Justice ($49.3 million); Department of Defense ($31.9 million).
  • Agencies posting this work most often in our data: Mvendor.cgieva.com, Department of State, Army, Navy.

Bid counts from the XL Eagle bid database as of November 2, 2026. Award totals from USAspending.gov.

Who buys security guard work in Virginia

  • Military installations such as Naval Station Norfolk, Joint Base Langley-Eustis and Marine Corps Base Quantico, which hold many offices and secure areas.
  • Fort Belvoir, home to defense agencies such as the Defense Logistics Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
  • Fort Lee, the Army post in the Richmond area, whose name went back from Fort Gregg-Adams in June 2025.
  • NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, which has a staff of more than 3,400 people.
  • State agencies and public colleges that post guard and campus security needs on eVA.

Open security guard bids in Virginia right now

All open security guard bids in Virginia →

Licenses you need in Virginia

In Virginia, no person may run a private security services business without a license from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). The business must name a compliance agent in writing, carry at least $1,000,000 of general liability insurance naming DCJS as certificate holder, and pick its license categories. Each unarmed officer must be at least 18, finish 18 hours of entry-level training, and register with DCJS. Armed officers need a valid registration plus the armed category, so do not bid armed posts unless your people qualify.

Register to bid in Virginia

State and local jobs in Virginia are posted on these sites:

  • eVA (Virginia's electronic procurement system): The Commonwealth's purchasing system, where suppliers register and where state agencies, colleges and many local governments buy.
  • Virginia Business Opportunities (VBO): The list inside eVA that shows open opportunities, with a separate Open Construction list for construction bids.
  • VDOT Business Opportunities and Bid Express: The Virginia Department of Transportation's page for contractor, goods and services, and snow contractor opportunities, with Bid Express listed as a bidding tool.
  • SAM.gov: The federal site where jobs at Virginia bases and federal offices are posted, and where a business registers to bid as a prime.
  1. Go to the eVA Register Now page and start the supplier registration.
  2. Read the New Supplier Registration Guide and look up your commodity codes with the NIGP code lookup tool.
  3. Finish the registration form with your business details and the codes for what you sell.
  4. Log in, then upload a signed Commonwealth of Virginia Substitute W-9 under Documents and Certs. eVA says registration is not complete without it.
  5. Apply for SWaM certification through the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity if you qualify. It is optional.
  6. Check VBO and the eVA construction list every week, and read each posting for the buyer's own rules.

The eVA registration page lists no sign-up fee, but eVA suppliers pay a 1 percent transaction fee on orders, capped at $500 per order for SBSD-certified small businesses and $1,500 for others, so confirm the current schedule on eVA's billing page.

Federal jobs in Virginia use SAM.gov, which is free. What SAM.gov is and how to register.

Small business certifications in Virginia

  • SWaM certification (small, women-owned, minority-owned): A business at least 51 percent owned by U.S. citizens or legal resident aliens who run it, with 250 or fewer employees or average yearly receipts of $10 million or less over three years for the small business category.
  • Micro business add-on: A certified small business with no more than 25 employees and no more than $3 million in average yearly revenue over the three years before certification.
  • Service-disabled veteran designation: A business certified as service-disabled veteran owned by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, which then shows in its SWaM profile.

Wage rules on public jobs

Virginia has a prevailing wage law for public works, Code of Virginia section 2.2-4321.3, in effect since May 1, 2021. It covers state public works contracts over $250,000, and a city, county or school division only if it has adopted its own ordinance. The 2026 General Assembly amended this law (Chapters 1014 and 1060 of the 2026 Acts), with some changes phasing in through July 2027, so read the wage terms in each bid. On federal jobs, Davis-Bacon covers construction over $2,000 and the Service Contract Act covers service contracts over $2,500.

What security guard jobs look like in Virginia

  • Check whether a post is armed or unarmed first. It changes the license category, the training and the price.
  • An unarmed officer can work up to 90 consecutive days while finishing training, but only if fingerprints went in by the hire date and the employer holds the authorization document. Do not count on this for a start date on a big site.
  • Federal guard contracts over $2,500 usually carry Service Contract Act wages. The Department of Labor sets those rates for each contract.
  • Base posts can need gate access, background checks and set uniforms. Ask how long approval takes.
  • Buyers want a post plan: who stands where, what the shift hours are, and who covers when someone calls out.
  • Know the 24 hour question. A round-the-clock post needs more than three people once you count days off.
  • Ask who handles incident reports. Many buyers want a short written report after every event, and a simple form saves time.

Pricing security guard work for Virginia public buyers

  • Price by post and hour. One 24 hour post needs 168 hours a week before you add relief coverage.
  • Start with the wage in the bid, then add payroll taxes, workers compensation, uniforms and training time.
  • Add the cost of your DCJS license, insurance, supervisor visits and radios or other equipment.
  • Add overtime for holidays and call-outs. Buyers expect posts to stay covered.
  • If the bid lists an armed post, price the extra training and insurance cost on its own line.
  • Include a rate for extra hours, such as special events or a surge in staffing, so surprise requests are paid at a price the buyer already saw.

Mistakes that lose these bids

  • Bidding without a DCJS business license, or without a compliance agent named.
  • Staffing a post with someone whose registration has not been filed.
  • Treating armed and unarmed posts as the same price.
  • Forgetting coverage for sick calls and days off, which leaves a post empty.
  • Sending a bid with a wage lower than the one listed in the federal wage sheet.

The fastest way to bid: send us your price

You can register and bid on your own using the steps above. If you would rather not, send XL Eagle your price on any security guard job in Virginia. We write and submit the bid as the prime contractor under our registrations. If it wins, you do the work and get paid. You do not need your own SAM.gov registration to work this way.

Pick a Virginia security guard job or read the national guide to government security guard contracts.

Frequently asked questions

Who licenses security companies in Virginia?

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. State law says a business may not provide private security services in Virginia without that license. The license is issued by business category, so pick the right one on the application.

What does an unarmed security officer need?

The officer must be 18 or older, complete 18 hours of entry-level training, submit fingerprints and register with DCJS. A short grace period of 90 days applies while training is finished. Your employer can show you the authorization document that covers the grace period.

What is a compliance agent?

It is a person who owns or works for the licensed business and makes sure it follows the rules. A business must name at least one in writing.

Can I win guard work at a Virginia base without my own SAM.gov account?

Not as the prime. If you send XL Eagle your price, it writes and submits the bid as the prime. If it wins, your licensed team does the work and gets paid.

Sources

Have a price for a government job?

Send it to us. XL Eagle writes and submits the bid under our registrations, free to you. If we win, you do the work at your price.

Find a job and send your price →