IAPSC membership is open to full- and part-time security consultants who meet qualifications that include:

Education

Applicants must have at least one of the following:

• A baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university
• Eight years of direct, broad security experience
• One of the following certifications
          - Certified Protection Professional
          - Physical Security Professional
          - Certified Security Consultant
          - Certified Information Security Systems Professionals
          - Other certifications (at the discretion of the Membership Committee)

Experience

Applicants must have at least five years of broad security experience in paid positions¹, demonstrating increasing responsibilites², with at least three years at management³ for higher levels. Time submitted in fulfillment of this requirement may not be used to substitute for the educational requirement above.  In no case will the five-year security experience requirement be waived.

Consideration will also be given to the following cases:

1 An otherwise qualified Security Consultant, who in some rare instance, has no prior qualifying experience, but who has fulfilled the criteria of an independent Security Consultant, as defined elsewhere in the By-Laws, for five or more years, prior to date of application.

2  In the event an applicant was hired directly into a top security management position of an enterprise or institution, and served at least five years as such, the requirement of this section is considered fulfilled, without the necessity of demonstrating increasing responsibilities.

3  Those practitioners/applicants whose sole expertise has been in the development of specialized technological aspects of architectural or engineering security design, access control, or specialized electronic or computer security application, not necessarily in management positions, but who otherwise meet the five-year criteria.