Security daily activity report template: free Word and Excel downloads and a filled-in example

A security daily activity report, or DAR, is the running record of one shift: when the guard came on, every patrol and check, every visitor and delivery, every call, and what was handed over at the end. Clients read it to see what they pay for and supervisors read it to see what happened overnight. Months later, an insurer or a lawyer may read it to find out when a door was last checked.

This guide gives you a daily activity report template written for guard companies, the same template as Word and Excel files, a printable log book page, a filled-in night shift, and the habits that make a guard log worth reading.

What a daily activity report is

A daily activity report, often shortened to DAR and sometimes called a guard's daily log, is the guard's record of one shift at one post, written as the shift goes. Each entry is a time and a line or two: what the guard did, saw or was told, and what they did about it. At the end of the shift the guard signs it, and a supervisor reviews it before it goes to the client.

It sits next to three other documents that are easy to mix up:

• The incident report covers one event in full: a trespasser, an injury, damage. The DAR gets a one-line entry with the incident report number, and the detail goes in the incident report. Our guide to the security guard incident report has a template and three filled-in examples.
• The log book is the paper version of the same record: a bound book kept at the post, filled in by hand. Many companies keep both, or let the log book stand in for the DAR at small sites.
• The pass-down log is the short list of open items one guard leaves for the next: a door that will not latch, a contractor still in the building, a delivery expected at 07:00. In the template below it is the last part of the DAR.
• Post orders say what the guard should do at the post. The DAR says what the guard did. Our guide to security post orders has a template for those.

What every daily activity report needs

Companies format their DARs differently, but the ones clients trust have the same parts. The table is the checklist; the template puts it in order.

The daily activity report template

Copy the template below, put your company name on it and replace everything in [brackets]. Start a new DAR for every shift, even when nothing happens: a night with six patrols and nothing found is still worth a record, because it shows the patrols were done.

Filling it in

Number every DAR, keep the pages of one shift together, and write "none" rather than leaving a line blank. The Excel version has the same parts, a sheet with this guide's filled-in night shift for reference, and room for 40 entries; add rows if a busy post needs more.

How to write good entries

A DAR is read quickly, often by someone checking one thing. These habits make that easy.

1. Write as you goMake the entry when it happens, or as soon as you can, not from memory at the end of the shift. A log written at 05:45 for the whole night reads that way.
2. 24-hour clock"02:14", not "around 2". A reader can line it up with camera footage, alarm logs, checkpoint scans and phone records.
3. Time orderOne entry per line, in order. If you remember something later, add it with the time you are writing it and the time it happened: "03:40 (late entry for 01:15) ...".
4. Specific, not "all secure""Patrol 1, 22:10 to 22:48: lobby, levels 1 to 4, both stairwells, loading dock, P1. All exterior doors locked. Loading dock door 2 slow to close; pushed it shut and checked the lock." tells the client what was checked. "Patrol done, all secure" does not.
5. Names and companiesVisitors, contractors, delivery drivers, the client contact you spoke to: full name where you have it, and the company.
6. Point to the incident reportFor anything that needs an incident report, write one or two short lines in the DAR with the time and the report number. Do not tell the whole story twice.
7. What you sawWrite what you saw and did. Separate what you were told from what you saw yourself, and leave out guesses about why something happened.
8. Who was toldEvery call and message to the client, the office or maintenance: who, when and how.
9. Hand over in writingBefore you leave, write what the next guard needs to know and get their name on the handover of keys and equipment.

A filled-in example: one night shift

This is the template filled in for a night shift at an office building. It is the same night as the trespass in the first example of our incident report guide, so you can see how the DAR points to the incident report. Every name, place, license number and case number in it is made up.

Notice what the example does. Every patrol has a start and end time and says what was checked. The one incident gets a few short lines and a report number, not a page. Each maintenance problem says who was told and when. And the next guard knows about the east door before the first patrol, which is the point of a pass-down.

Keeping a paper log book

Some posts still keep a paper log book, often because the client or the site requires one, or because phones are not allowed at the post. A paper log is only as good as the way it is kept. Most of the rules below come from police and enforcement notebook policies, because a guard's log book can end up in front of the same people.

• A bound book with numbered pages, not loose sheets, so a missing page is noticed.
• Ink, never pencil.
• Start every shift on a new line with the date, site, post and the guard's name, and end it with a signature and the time.
• No gaps. Draw a line through the rest of a line or page you will not use, so nothing can be added later.
• Mistakes are crossed out with a single line and initialed, never erased, covered with correction fluid or written over. Pages are never torn out.
• The book stays where the post orders say: at the post, or handed to the office at the end of the shift. A full book goes to the office, not home with the guard.

Ink, numbered pages, no gaps, single-line corrections and no removed pages come from the notebook policies of Metro Vancouver Transit Police and New Brunswick's justice and public safety officers (see what the rules say, below); the rest is how we suggest running a log at a post. North Carolina's guard training puts the reason simply: "Your field notes can become a form of evidence."

Our printable log book page follows the same layout as the template: shift details at the top, numbered lines for timed entries, and a pass-down and sign-off block at the bottom. Print it double-sided and bind the pages in order, or use it as the page layout for a bound book.

Reviewing, sending and keeping DARs

A supervisor reads every DAR before it goes to the client, ideally the same morning. The check takes a minute: shift details complete; entries in time order with no long gaps; patrol times that match the checkpoint scans and the clock-in record; every incident line has a report number and the report exists; every maintenance item says who was told; the handover is signed. Send it back to the guard for anything missing, and send the client the reviewed version on the schedule your contract sets.

Never rewrite a DAR after it is approved. If something needs adding, add a dated, signed note that says what was added and why, and leave the original as it was.

Keep DARs as long as you may need them: for at least as long as the law where you operate requires (see the next section), and long enough to answer an insurance claim or a lawsuit, which can come years after the shift. Visitor and contractor names in a DAR are personal information, so limit who can open old reports and give copies only to people with a reason to have them.

What the rules in the US and Canada say

No law we found sets the format of a daily activity report, and none of the regulations we read uses the words "daily activity report". What the rules do set is what guards are taught about notes and logs, which records the company must keep, and for how long. Here is what we found in the official sources.

Guard training teaches notes and logs

• Florida. The state's security officer curriculum lists "Shift Logs or Daily Logs" and visitor and contractor logs among the types of reports taught in its four-hour Observation and Incident Reporting subject, next to note taking.
• North Carolina. The guard lesson on field notes tells guards to "Take notes during all of your activities", including their arrival and departure times, says "Your field notes can be used as a log", and warns that they "can become a form of evidence".
• Ontario. Section 4 of the training syllabus for security guards covers "the importance of using a notebook and the rules and format for taking accurate notes", and says reports can be "necessary for audits or evidence in court".
• California. Report writing is part of "Observation & Documentation", one of the mandatory four-hour courses on the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services training list.

Records the company must keep

• Ontario: guards' notes and reports, two years. Under the record-keeping regulation for licensed agencies (O. Reg. 434/07), an agency must keep all notes and reports its guards prepare; each failure carries a $250 set fine. The ministry's requirements page says to keep the records for two years, or longer, until resolved, if they are part of an ongoing investigation, inspection, complaint or legal case.
• British Columbia: hours and type of work for every shift. The Security Services Regulation requires a business to keep, for each security worker, the "dates and hours of work" and the "type of security work engaged in during each shift", for at least 2 calendar years (section 7). A DAR is one practical way to keep that record; the regulation does not set a format.
• Alberta: business records, two years. The province's Security Services and Investigators Act policy manual (version 4.0, amended 2015) has businesses keep their records, including incident reports, for at least two years, and until any proceedings and appeals have ended. It sets no notebook or daily log rule for guards; only investigator and loss prevention licensees must keep notes.
• Ohio: days worked, current year plus two. Licensees keep a record of the days each security guard worked and payroll records showing dates and hours, for the current calendar year plus the two previous ones, and nobody may falsify or alter them (Ohio Administrative Code 4501:7-1-11).
• Texas: proof the service was delivered, two years. Licensees keep documentation "reflecting the actual provision of the regulated service", and copies of any timesheets, invoices or scheduling records showing their licensed employees' dates of employment, for two years (37 Texas Administrative Code 35.112). The rule does not name DARs, but in our reading a signed DAR for every shift is strong proof that a post was covered.

Notebook rules come from policing

The habits in our log book section (ink, numbered pages, no gaps, single-line corrections, no pages removed) are written into police and enforcement notebook policies, not into security regulations. Metro Vancouver Transit Police's notebook policy (OD040) and New Brunswick's notebook policy for its justice and public safety officers both require ink, single-line corrections with initials, no erasing and no removed pages; New Brunswick adds bound books with pre-numbered pages, and Transit Police adds no unnecessary blank spaces. They do not bind guards, but a guard's log can end up in front of the same courts and lawyers. In a case about police notes, the Supreme Court of Canada called for "accurate, detailed, and comprehensive notes" (Wood v. Schaeffer, 2013 SCC 71).

DARs as evidence, and the personal information in them

A DAR written as the shift goes, the same way every shift, is also more useful as evidence. The US federal rule on business records looks at whether a record was made "at or near the time" by someone with knowledge, as "a regular practice" of the activity (Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6)). Under the Canada Evidence Act (section 30), a record made in the usual and ordinary course of business is admissible where oral evidence of the same matter would be.

DARs and visitor logs carry names and sometimes phone numbers and plates. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada recommends minimum and maximum retention periods, and destroying or anonymizing personal information once it is no longer needed. The federal, Alberta and British Columbia privacy commissioners also advise, in a joint guide, that "many business purposes can be satisfied by simply examining identification", and to "collect the least amount of personal information possible". So log a visitor's name, company, host and times, and check ID instead of writing down its number unless the client's rules require it.

Daily activity reports in GuardChek

In GuardChek, guards file daily activity reports from the GuardChek app on their own iPhone or Android, on every plan, with the time and GPS location recorded on the report. The DAR sits next to the rest of the shift record, so a supervisor can check it against the guard's GPS clock-in and clock-out, the NFC checkpoint scans on each patrol (guard tours come with Growth and up), and any incident reports filed during the shift. Pass-down notes carry open items from one shift to the next.

Reports go to the office for review, can be emailed to clients, and on Growth and up clients can see them in their own client portal. Reports can also be exported to Excel or CSV. See our published pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a daily activity report in security?

A daily activity report (DAR) is the guard's record of one shift at one post: the time and a short description of every patrol, check, visitor, delivery, call and incident, plus what was handed over at the end. The guard signs it and a supervisor reviews it before it goes to the client.

What should a security guard write in a daily activity report?

The shift details (site, post, guard, license number, start and end), what was handed over at the start, every patrol with its start and end time and what was found, visitors, contractors and deliveries, calls with the office and the client, one line per incident with the incident report number, maintenance problems and who was told, what was passed down to the next guard, and a signature.

What is the difference between a daily activity report and an incident report?

The DAR covers the whole shift, a line or two per entry. An incident report covers one event in full. When something happens, the DAR gets one line with the time and the incident report number, and the detail goes in the incident report.

Is a security guard log book the same as a daily activity report?

They record the same thing. The log book is a bound paper book kept at the post and filled in by hand; the DAR is a report per shift that goes to a supervisor and the client. Some companies keep both, some use only one.

How often should a guard write in the DAR?

Every time something happens, and at least at the start and end of every patrol, so there are no long unexplained gaps. If a post's orders or the client's contract set a schedule, such as an entry every hour, follow it.

Should a DAR say "all secure"?

Not on its own. Write what was checked and what was found: which areas, which doors were locked, anything open, broken or out of place. "All exterior doors locked" after a list of the areas checked is useful; "all secure" alone is not.

How long should a security company keep daily activity reports?

At least as long as the rules where you operate require, and long enough to answer an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Ontario has agencies keep guards' notes and reports for two years; British Columbia has businesses keep each guard's hours and type of work per shift for at least two calendar years; Ohio licensees keep records of days worked for the current calendar year plus the two before it; Texas licensees keep proof the service was delivered for two years. Set your own period with your insurer and lawyer.

What is a pass-down log?

The list of open items one guard leaves for the next: a door that will not latch, a contractor still in the building, a delivery expected in the morning. It can be a separate book or, as in our template, the last part of the DAR.

Is there a free daily activity report template in Word or Excel?

Yes. The template on this page is free to copy, and the same template is in the Word and Excel files linked above it, ready to edit. There is also a printable PDF log book page for posts that keep a paper log.

Sources

Checked on October 26 and 27, 2026. Rules change, so check the current rules where your guards work.

• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Security Officer Training Curriculum Guide (FDACS-P-01878, rev. 11/18): section 5, Observation and Incident Reporting, items 5.5 note taking, 5.7.1 "Shift Logs or Daily Logs" and 5.7.3 visitor and contractor logs.
• North Carolina Private Protective Services, Field Note Taking and Report Writing lesson (rev. August 2019).
• Ontario, training syllabus for security guards, section 4: report writing.
• California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, security guard training courses: "Observation & Documentation", mandatory, four hours.
• Ontario, requirements for security guard and private investigator agencies: record keeping, two years.
• Ontario Court of Justice, set fines under O. Reg. 434/07: notes and reports prepared by security guards.
• British Columbia, Security Services Regulation (B.C. Reg. 207/2008), section 7: records, at least 2 calendar years.
• Alberta, Security Services and Investigators Act policy manual, version 4.0 (amended 2015): section 6.2, record keeping.
• Ohio Administrative Code 4501:7-1-11, records (effective March 1, 2021).
• 37 Texas Administrative Code 35.112, business records (text as published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute; current through the amendment effective January 10, 2022).
• Metro Vancouver Transit Police, notebook policy OD040: pen, no unnecessary blank spaces, single-line corrections initialed, no erasing, no removed pages.
• New Brunswick Department of Justice and Public Safety, notebooks policy 1.1.8 (April 14, 2023): bound notebooks with pre-numbered pages, ink, single-line corrections, no erasing, no removed pages.
• Supreme Court of Canada, Wood v. Schaeffer, 2013 SCC 71.
• US Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 803(6), records of a regularly conducted activity.
• Canada Evidence Act, section 30, business records.
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, personal information retention and disposal.
• Privacy commissioners of Canada, Alberta and British Columbia, guidance on collecting driver's license information.