Attending Art Basel or the Miami Grand Prix? Request Florida-licensed EP before your South Florida visit.
Executive protection in Miami is a programme, not a single officer. It is the discipline a company applies to protect a travelling executive against HNWI targeting, maritime risk, and event-driven crowding: advance work on venues and routes, a written risk assessment, an operations controller, and Class D/G-licensed armed secure transport integrated with the corporate itinerary. This page is for security managers designing protection around a C-suite visit, where the need is layered, documented risk management rather than ad-hoc cover.
Florida Chapter 493 compliance
Miami CPOs hold Class D (and Class G if armed) licences from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Operating companies hold Class B security agency licences. All licences are confirmed before deployment.
Miami EP operational environment
Advance work covers hotel and venue assessments at Brickell and Miami Beach principal locations, Art Basel event period planning, maritime-integrated transfer logistics for yacht-based principals, and MIA and FLL airport transfer management. Counter-surveillance awareness and low-profile vehicle selection address HNWI targeting risk.
For the broader Miami security overview, see our Miami city page and our security drivers in Miami and bodyguard hire in Miami pages.
For short-term, single-principal cover tied to one visit, see bodyguard hire in Miami. For the operators who staff the programme and how they are vetted, see close protection officers in Miami.
What does this cover in Miami?
Florida Chapter 493 EP Licensing
Executive protection CPOs in Florida operate under Florida Statutes Chapter 493, administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Class D Security Officer licences cover unarmed security personnel; Class G firearm licences are required for armed CPOs. EP companies operating in Florida must hold a Class B security agency licence, and a Class BB licence for each branch office. Licensed private investigators (Class C or CC) may also perform bodyguard services without a Class D licence. Clients should confirm the operating company's Class B agency licence and the individual CPO's Class D (and Class G if armed) licence with FDACS.
HNWI and Luxury Sector Threat Context
Miami's concentration of visible wealth creates a specific EP threat environment centred on HNWI targeting rather than general population crime. FCDO USA travel advice (2024) and FBI Miami Field Office crime data document targeted robbery of high-net-worth individuals as an organised activity in South Florida. Luxury watch and jewellery theft from HNWI individuals is a documented and rising concern in the Miami area. Miami-Dade County's carjacking statistics have risen in recent years. For EP purposes, the Miami threat picture is defined by organised criminal activity targeting predictable HNWI behaviour patterns: visible luxury display, known hotel and venue attendance, and predictable transfer timing for seasonal resident and event-period visitor principals.
Art Basel and Major Event EP Planning
Art Basel Miami Beach (December) is South Florida's highest-profile HNWI event, concentrating international collectors, gallery principals, studio owners, and high-value asset movement. EP planning for Art Basel covers: principal protection during gallery walk-throughs and VIP preview events at the Miami Beach Convention Center, secure transport co-ordination for art acquisition movements, personal protection at private collector dinners in South Beach and Brickell, and awareness of the specific robbery and fraud targeting that follows Art Basel's public concentration of HNWI individuals. The Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix (May, Hard Rock Stadium) and major entertainment events create secondary demand peaks with similar HNWI protection requirements.
Advance Work and Miami Venue Assessment
Miami EP advance work covers the principal's hotel, event venues, private residences for extended-stay principals, and yacht and marina access locations. The Four Seasons Hotel Miami and Mandarin Oriental Miami in Brickell, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and Faena Hotel Miami Beach on Miami Beach, and the COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach are the primary venues for senior corporate and HNWI arrivals. Advance work at Miami Beach venues requires specific attention to the pedestrianised areas and vehicle-restriction zones on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue during Art Basel and other major event periods. For principals with Coconut Grove or Coral Gables residential addresses, advance work covers route planning on the Palmetto Expressway and US-1 corridor.
Maritime EP Integration
Miami's significant HNWI maritime activity creates EP requirements that integrate land-based close protection with yacht and marina security logistics. Principals arriving by private yacht to Coconut Grove Marina, Island Gardens on Watson Island, or the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove marina facilities require CPO vessel-to-vehicle transition management. Vessel-board security, crew vetting, and marina approach awareness are relevant components for HNWI principals with South Florida yacht operations. EP teams accompanying principals on day trips to the Bahamas via private or charter aviation from Opa-locka Executive Airport or Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport manage the multi-modal transition logistics in both departure and return movements.
Sources for this page
Licensing, firearms and foreign-operator rules for Miami, checked : Florida Statutes section 493.6101, definitions; Florida Statutes section 493.6106, licence requirements; Florida Statutes section 493.6115, weapons and firearms; Florida Statutes section 493.6301, classes of licences. The full rules are on our Miami security overview.
Travel advice quoted on this page: FCDO travel advice: USA. Advice changes; read the current version before travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Florida Chapter 493 licensing applies to Miami EP CPOs?
What are the primary EP threat considerations for Miami HNWI principals?
Does Miami EP require armed CPOs?
What does executive protection cost per day in Miami?
This page is published by CloseProtectionHire.com and written to editorial standards overseen by James Calloway, Senior Security Consultant (regulation, licensing, vetting and risk frameworks) and Marcus Webb, Security Operations Adviser (operational close protection, secure transport and city-specific safety).
Threat, regulatory and emergency information is sourced to named, dated authorities such as the FCDO, the US State Department and national licensing bodies. Last updated . See how we verify.