Frequently Asked Questions
Pepper Spray
How long is the pepper spray training course? –
About 4 hours — and you can start it right now. It is an online course you take at your own pace on a phone, tablet, or computer, so there is no class date to wait for and nothing to schedule.
$50. Start the Chemical Agents course in English or comience el curso de Agentes Químicos en español — same course, same price.
What you actually learn:
– How the different agents work — tear gas, pepper spray, and other airborne and waterborne chemicals — and how effective each one really is
– De-escalation, and recognising when a chemical agent is not the right answer
– Health effects and risks, including what happens to the person you spray
– Correct storage, carry, and deployment
– What to document afterward, and why that paperwork protects you
Nothing is sprayed on you. There is no spray-in-the-face component in this course.
California Penal Code section 22835 requires this training to come from a course approved by the Department of Consumer Affairs. Ours is. You do not need a guard card to take it, and it is open to anyone 18 or older whether or not you work in security.
When you finish, you receive a Valley Guard Training certificate of training showing the date and the instructor, which you can download or email straight to an employer. BSIS does not issue a pepper spray permit — this certificate is the documentation.
If you would rather take it in person, we can run it in-store at our Van Nuys location on request — call (818) 989-7825.
Can civilians take pepper spray training? +
Good call — that’s probably the most compelling part of the course for a civilian, and it’s currently invisible.
Heading:
Can civilians take pepper spray training?
Answer:
Yes. The course is open to anyone 18 or older, whether or not you work in security.
The material is written primarily for security officers, but the course is the same course for everyone and no guard card is required to take it.
It is online, $50, and takes about 4 hours. Start it in English or en español. Start any time, on any device, at your own pace — there is no class to attend and no date to wait for.
The part most civilians find worth the money is not the spray at all. A good chunk of the course is about dealing with aggressive people: how to read a situation that is escalating, how to use your voice and your positioning to take the heat out of it, and how to create distance before anything else is necessary. Carrying pepper spray and never needing it is the goal. That only happens if you know how to handle the moments before.
The rest covers how the different agents actually work and how effective each one is, the health effects on the person sprayed, correct storage and carry, and what to do immediately afterward — including what to write down and why that matters if anyone questions your account later.
Nothing is sprayed on you during the course.
We are not able to advise you on what you may personally carry or use — rules on possession and use vary, and that is a question for an attorney or your local law enforcement agency. What we can tell you is that our course is approved by the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is what California Penal Code section 22835 requires of a chemical agents training course.
You receive a Valley Guard Training certificate of training on completion, showing the date and the instructor.
Is there a BSIS pepper spray permit? +
No. BSIS does not issue a pepper spray permit, so there is nothing to wait for and no card coming in the mail.
People ask about this because California used to have a Department of Justice certificate for chemical agents. That program no longer exists. What the law requires now is that your training comes from a course approved by the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is what California Penal Code section 22835 sets out. Ours is approved.
What you receive is a Valley Guard Training certificate of training, showing the date you trained and the instructor. That certificate is the documentation — it is not a permit, and there is no permit it leads to.
You get it as soon as you complete the course. If you took it online, it appears under Completed in your GuardBoss account, where you can download it or email it straight to an employer.
If an employer is asking you for a pepper spray permit, this certificate is what they are actually looking for. An employer’s own obligations around chemical agents training are set out in Business and Professions Code section 7583.36.
