Event security briefing worksheet

Event basics

• Date, and whether setup or teardown falls on a different day
• Guest arrival time, program start, and end time
• Venue name and address, and the rooms, floors, or outdoor areas you are using
• Expected guest count, and the most people on site at one time if guests come and go
• Event type: gala, fundraiser, corporate meeting, awards dinner, launch, reception, or private party
• Whether the event is invitation-only, ticketed, or open to the public

Venue contacts and house security

Many venues have their own security or building staff. Knowing what they already cover avoids paying twice for the same post or leaving a gap between two teams.

• Venue event manager: name, phone, and email
• Venue security or building management contact, if different
• What house security covers on the night, and where its responsibility ends
• Venue rules for outside security vendors, including any rules on armed personnel
• Which entrances, elevators, and stairwells will be in use, and which stay closed
• Floor plans or a site map, if the venue can share them

Entry, guest list, and credentials

• How guests get in: open door, guest list check, tickets, wristbands, or badges
• Who holds the guest list, in what format, and when the final version will be ready
• Who on your team decides about a guest who isn’t on the list
• Whether bags will be checked, and whether the venue requires it
• How staff, vendors, and press are identified
• Coat check location, and whether anything of value is held there

VIPs and arrivals

If an elected or government official is attending, see hosting a public official as a speaker for what the host organization is usually responsible for.

• Guests with a public profile, and whether any bring their own security
• Where and how VIPs arrive, and whether a separate entrance or holding room is available
• Officials attending, and any staff or security traveling with them
• VIP arrival and departure times, if different from general guests

Run of show

• The run of show or timeline, even in draft
• Moments when the crowd moves: doors, seating, program, auction, dancing, departure
• Speeches, awards, or performances on a stage, and who has access to it
• Room changes or resets planned during the event

Back of house and loading

• Loading dock or service entrance location, and the hours it is in use
• Vendors on site: catering, AV, florals, entertainment, rentals
• Vendor load-in and load-out times, and who checks vendor staff in
• Areas closed to guests: kitchens, green rooms, storage, offices

Alcohol service

The venue or caterer and its bartenders are responsible for alcohol service. Security supports them.

• Who is serving, and whether it is an open bar, a cash bar, or both
• Service start time and last call
• How the bar team wants security to help with a guest who has had too much, and who on your team should be told

Gifts, valuables, and auction items

• Silent or live auction items on display, and their rough value
• Donation envelopes, checks, or cash collected during the event
• Gift bags, awards, or other items of value for guests
• Where valuables are kept during the event, and where they go at the end of the night

Press and photography

• Whether press is invited, and where they are allowed to go
• Photographers and video crews, and the areas they need access to
• Guests who have asked not to be photographed
• How you want uninvited press or photographers outside the venue handled

Known concerns

If any of these are sensitive, raise them on a call rather than in writing.

• Protests, disputes, or public controversy connected to the event, the host, or a guest
• Anyone who should not attend, with a photo if you have one, and how you want it handled
• Past incidents at this event or venue
• Anything the host or a guest has asked security to know

Attire and visibility

• Dress for security staff: suits, event black, or business casual
• A visible presence at the door, a low profile inside the room, or both
• Anything staff should avoid, such as standing in the photographs

Communication plan

• The one person on your team who makes decisions about security on the night, and a backup
• How the security lead reaches them: phone, text, or radio
• Whether the venue uses radios, and whether security will share a channel
• How schedule changes reach the security lead during the event

Emergency contacts and procedures

For a medical emergency, a fire, or anything that needs police, call 911. Security staff call for help and direct responders to the right entrance. They do not replace emergency services.

• The venue’s emergency procedures, evacuation routes, and assembly point
• Where first aid supplies and AEDs are kept
• Any medical staff hired for the event
• Emergency contacts for your team, the venue, and the host
• Where emergency vehicles should pull up, and which entrance responders will use

Documentation the venue requires from vendors

• Certificate of insurance, with the limits and additional insureds the venue asks for
• A staff roster or names in advance, if the venue asks for one
• Deadlines for vendor paperwork

After you fill it in

Bring the worksheet, with its gaps, to a scoping call. From it, a provider should be able to propose staffing, post assignments, and hours, and tell you which open items need an answer before the event. Our event security page explains how we approach events with your venue and planner, locally, nationally, and internationally.