Operating in Bangladesh? Speak with a security consultant.
Bangladesh’s corporate security picture is shaped by scale rather than a single dominant threat. Dhaka’s ready-made garment sector, which drives roughly 84 percent of the country’s export earnings and around 4.2 million jobs, brings a constant flow of international buyers and brand auditors into a city of close to 12 million people with genuinely difficult road safety statistics: national road deaths reached a record 5,490 in 2025, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority data. Chittagong, handling around 80 percent of the country’s imports and exports through its port and export processing zone, adds a distinct industrial and logistics-sector visitor profile.
A licensing framework set by the 2006 Act
Bangladesh licenses the sector under the Private Security Services Act 2006 (Act No. 11 of 2006). Nobody may set up or run a private security service without a licence under section 5, issued by the Police Commissioner in a metropolitan area and the District Magistrate elsewhere. A licence is still only a starting point, so a security provider’s actual track record and client references matter as much as the licence number.
Private security is unarmed by law
Section 12 of the Private Security Services Act 2006 bars licensing private security companies for firearms, weapons or ammunition. Executive protection here is unarmed, built on route planning, local liaison, and experienced ground teams rather than a firearm.
Two cities, two distinct risk pictures
Dhaka’s risk profile centres on road safety, periodic political demonstrations, and the general national terrorism assessment that OSAC’s country security reporting tracks through named groups, alongside the FCDO’s specific essential-travel-only advisory for the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a different region entirely from Chittagong city itself. Chittagong city’s own profile is more industrial: port access protocols, export-zone security, and the logistics of moving between the port, the export processing zone, and the city centre are the operational realities for most visitors here, rather than the garment-buying office circuit that defines a Dhaka trip.
Source: US State Department Bangladesh Travel Advisory, Level 3 (20 January 2026). FCDO Bangladesh travel advice (15 July 2026). OSAC Bangladesh Country Security Report (reissued 20 October 2025). Bangladesh Road Transport Authority road-safety data (2025). Private Security Services Act 2006 (Act No. 11 of 2006).
Vetted operators across Bangladesh provide bodyguard hire and executive protection, selected for verified track record and a licence under the Private Security Services Act 2006. For a city-level threat and regulatory briefing, see our Dhaka close protection guide or the Chittagong security briefing.
Cities We Cover
Dhaka
High riskThe capital and Bangladesh's commercial centre, driven by the ready-made garment export sector that accounts for roughly 84 percent of national export earnings. Road safety, periodic political demonstrations, and the FCDO's essential-travel-only advisory for the Chittagong Hill Tracts are the standing planning factors, alongside a US State Department Level 3 advisory for the country overall.
View city guide →Chittagong
High riskOfficially Chattogram, Bangladesh's principal seaport handling roughly 80 percent of the country's imports and exports, and home to the Chittagong Export Processing Zone. Port and industrial-sector visitors form the core of corporate travel here, distinct from Dhaka's garment-buying office traffic.
View city guide →Security Regulations
Firearms
Section 12 of the Private Security Services Act 2006 says no person or private security service establishment may be licensed for firearms, weapons or ammunition under it. The one exception is armed Ansar and Village Defence personnel deployed for cash transport with the Ansar director's authorisation.
Licensing
Private security services in Bangladesh are licensed under the Private Security Services Act 2006 (Act No. 11 of 2006). Nobody may set up or run a private security service establishment without a licence under section 5. The licensing authority is the District Magistrate in a district and the Police Commissioner in a metropolitan area (section 6).
Foreign Operators
Section 7 of the Act limits licences to Bangladeshi citizens and to companies registered in Bangladesh, and section 9 requires security guards to be Bangladeshi nationals. A foreign company therefore works through a licensed Bangladeshi provider. Take local legal advice before a foreign team carries out protective duties.
Sources, checked : Laws of Bangladesh (Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division), Private Security Services Act 2006; Prothom Alo, challenges and prospects of Bangladesh's private security services industry (24 July 2025).