Bodyguard Hire

Hiring a bodyguard in a high-risk city is not the same as hiring one in London or New York. The operator needs to know the local threat landscape, speak the language (or work with someone who does), understand local law enforcement dynamics, and hold valid in-country credentials.

When you need a bodyguard

Not every trip requires close protection. But if you are travelling to a city with elevated kidnapping risk, high rates of armed robbery, or political instability that could shift quickly, a trained operator on the ground changes your risk profile substantially.

Corporate travellers, journalists, NGO workers, and high-net-worth individuals are the most common clients. The common thread is that they are operating in environments where their profile, nationality, or movements make them a potential target.

How we select operators

Every bodyguard in our network goes through a multi-stage vetting process. We verify their close protection licence, confirm their employment history, run background checks, and assess their operational experience in the specific city where they will deploy.

We do not subcontract to agencies we have not vetted. You receive named operators with documented track records, not whoever happens to be available.

What happens on assignment

Before you arrive, your operator conducts advance reconnaissance: surveying routes between your hotel, meeting locations, and the airport. They identify safe havens, map the locations of hospitals and police stations, and establish communication protocols.

During the assignment, your operator remains within immediate response distance. They manage ground movements, screen approaches, monitor the local security situation in real time, and maintain communication with our operations desk.

See also: bodyguard hire in Lagos | Lagos security assessment

Why local vetting matters

A bodyguard licence from a Western country does not automatically authorise someone to carry a weapon or provide security services in Nigeria, Colombia, India, or most other jurisdictions. Each country has its own regulatory body. Every operator in our network holds the valid in-country licence for their operating market. We verify this before deployment, not after.

This matters for clients because an unlicensed operator in the destination country is operating illegally. Any incident that occurs creates legal exposure not just for the operator, but potentially for the client company that arranged the engagement without due diligence.

What to ask any bodyguard provider

Before engaging any provider, confirm: the licence held by each named operator in your destination country; the insurance position (minimum public liability of the equivalent of GBP 5 million); the vetting process applied to operators; and the provider’s process if an operator becomes unavailable during your assignment. A provider who cannot answer each of these questions directly should not be contracted.

For country-specific licensing requirements, see our security regulation guides. For rates by city and risk level, see our bodyguard cost guide.

Briefing your operator

The quality of protection is partly a function of the quality of the briefing. Before deployment, your operator needs to understand your principal profile (why you may be a potential target), your full itinerary with address detail, your communication preferences, what level of visible security you are comfortable with, and any known threat indicators relevant to you or your organisation.

Operators deployed without a proper briefing work with incomplete information. That gap creates avoidable risk. Allocate a 30-minute call before every assignment. The operator will operate more effectively, and you will have a clearer picture of what to expect on the ground. For principals with a documented threat, share any relevant intelligence with the operator before arrival, not after.

For hotel security protocols that complement a close protection deployment, see our hotel security guide for business travellers. For verifying the credentials of the operator you are contracting, see our security vetting and background checks guide. For the corporate programme structure that an individual bodyguard hire deployment sits within, see our corporate security programme design guide. For celebrity, athlete, and entertainer principals whose security requirements differ from standard corporate deployments, see our security for celebrities and entertainers guide.