CSO Center Membership Qualifications

To qualify for CSO Center membership, applicants must meet the following:

• Be the highest-level staff member with security as their main role, or that person’s direct high-level security focused deputy.
  
  
• Work for a company/organization that falls within the following categories and meets all the requirements within:
  
  • Company: Must work for a company with at least US$100M or foreign currency equivalent in gross annual revenue (GAR), or at a subsidiary of a corporation that is a separate, distinct legal entity with US$100M or foreign currency equivalent in GAR OR have total net assets of at least US$750M.
  • Security Services Company/Consultancy: Must work for a company that provides security services (including security consulting) as its principal business and has at least US$300M or foreign currency equivalent in GAR. Applicant’s position must be dedicated and designated with the role of security and focused upon the security functions of the company and not in a sales or business development role.
  • Non-Profit/Not-for-Profit/NGO
    
    • Organization must be officially registered as a non-profit, not-for-profit, association, NGO or similar where security is tantamount to the mission and purpose of the organization.
    • Must have a dedicated full-time security professional that is a direct employee of the organization (not a contracted position).
    • Must have a GAR of US$100M or foreign currency equivalent OR must have operations in at least 15 countries with at least one full time paid employee in each respective country OR US$100M or foreign currency equivalent in organizational value of assets.
  • Government/Public Sector (National/Regional/Local – non-law enforcement): Employer must have an organizational budget of USD $300M or foreign currency equivalent OR employ 250 or more full-time staff. Organizations with under 500 staff are only eligible for one CSO membership. Please note: Those in regional or local offices of a national entity may be considered a CSO Deputy with endorsement from the national CSO. For national government organizations, the head of the agency is not necessarily considered the CSO if there is a specific department head that oversees that organization’s security function.
• Law Enforcement/Public Safety/Justice: Must work for a public safety, justice, or law enforcement agency with an organizational budget of US$300M or foreign currency equivalent OR employs 250 or more full-time staff. Organizations with under 500 staff are only eligible for one CSO membership. Please note: For national government organizations, the head of the agency is not necessarily considered the CSO if there is a specific department head that oversees that organization’s security function.
• Membership will be limited to no more than five (5) individuals from any one individual company, organization, or entity.
  
  
• If an applicant that has been accepted as a member for at least one year changes their employer and/or industry and no longer meets the above membership criteria, they may continue their membership if they are still employed and actively participating to the CSO Center and security communities. If the individual’s membership has lapsed for over 12 months, they must reapply and meet the CSO Center membership qualifications.

• Every organizational hierarchy is unique, with the security function residing in and across various departments, divisions, etc. Therefore, the Membership Committee and/or CSO Center Board reserves the right to make rare exceptions to the criteria above as necessary and appropriate.