Federal Law No. 427-FZ Sets New Mandatory Terms for NDPS Storage Security Contracts in Russia from 2026
Companies that store narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) are usually confident: the contract with the security agency is signed, so the matter is settled. In practice, inspectors from Rosgvardia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) scrutinize the actual content of the document. Does the chosen provider even have the right to guard a facility of this category? What did the parties state regarding compensation for damages? Does the mobile response team manage to reach the warehouse within the time frame specified in the text of the agreement, rather than the one verbally promised by the security sales manager?
Loopholes in these clauses typically surface after a theft occurs, when money and reputation are on the line, rather than during a routine inspection. On September 1, 2026, Federal Law No. 427-FZ dated November 30, 2024, «On Private Security Activity» (hereinafter — the Private Security Activity Law) comes into force. For the first time, it explicitly lists what a contract with a private security company (known as a CHOP) must contain. Companies currently renewing or entering into such agreements should cross-check them against this list in advance, well before their first inspection.
Who Has the Right to Guard an NDPS Warehouse
The right to conclude an agreement with a private security company (CHOP) is determined by the category of the premises according to the Rules for the Storage of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Their Precursors, approved by Government Decree No. 809 dated April 30, 2022 (hereinafter — Decree No. 809), rather than by the client’s preferences.
Appendix No. 1 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 587 dated August 14, 1992, «Matters of Private Detective (Investigative) and Private Security Activity» (hereinafter — Decree No. 587), explicitly identifies storage premises for NDPS of the 1st and 2nd categories as facilities to which private security activity does not apply. For the 1st category (production, manufacturing, wholesale supplies), there are no exceptions: security may only be provided by units of Rosgvardia or departmental security agencies (vedomstvennaya okhrana).
For the 2nd category (pharmacy organizations with a three-month or six-month supply), the law makes a single caveat. If there is neither a Rosgvardia unit nor a departmental security organization of the federal agency under whose jurisdiction the warehouse falls in the locality or remote area, the client is entitled to hire a CHOP. Without this condition, selecting private security for a 2nd-category facility constitutes a direct violation of licensing requirements by the provider and serves as grounds for claims against the client during an inspection.
For the 3rd through 5th categories (medical and veterinary organizations with a 15-day supply, temporary storage sites, rural paramedic-midwife stations known as FAPs), the client is free to choose between Rosgvardia and a CHOP. For the 5th category, mandatory assignment to a security agency is not required. Connection to the emergency services dispatch system «112» or the installation of a standalone alarm system with light and sound notification is required in accordance with the joint order of Rosgvardia and the MVD of Russia No. 335/677 dated September 15, 2021 (hereinafter — Order No. 335/677).
| Facility Category | Who Has the Right to Guard | Is Assignment to a Security Agency Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Only Rosgvardia or departmental security | Yes |
| 2nd | Rosgvardia or departmental security. CHOP — only if state security is absent in the locality | Yes |
| 3rd and 4th | Rosgvardia or CHOP at the client’s choice | Yes |
| 5th | Mandatory security requirements are not established | No. Connection to «112» or a standalone alarm is required |
Mixing these regimes is prohibited. If a warehouse combines premises of different categories, each of them is inspected according to its own rules. A contract with a CHOP covering the entire facility as a whole, including a 1st-category room, will not prevent a fine, even if physical security there is actually provided by a Rosgvardia unit under a separate agreement.
What Must Be Included in the Agreement Starting September 2026
Law of the Russian Federation No. 2487-I dated March 11, 1992, «On Private Detective and Security Activity in the Russian Federation» (hereinafter — Law No. 2487-I), currently regulates the content of a contract with a CHOP only in general terms. The parties used to decide for themselves how detailed the subject matter of the contract should be, or whether to limit it to a vague phrasing like «facility security.»
The Private Security Activity Law changes this rule. Article 8 of the law establishes a checklist of conditions without which a security services agreement will fail to comply with legal requirements:
the registration number of the private security organization’s license and its date of issuance
the subject matter of the contract: the type and scope of each service provided, itemized separately rather than as a single generic line item
the duration of the security service provision
the cost of the service or the procedure for determining it
a condition on the mandatory use of weapons, if required by the anti-terrorist protection category established for the facility
the procedure for indemnifying damages
Certified copies of the title documents for the facility, such as an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate (EGRN) or another legal basis for possession, must be attached to the agreement by the client. The private security organization is required to forward a copy of the signed contract to the territorial body at the location of the facility within five working days. The contract itself and the service acceptance acts must be retained by the parties for five years from the date the security services terminate.
For NDPS warehouses, this is not a mere formality. An agreement with a generic description of the service subject matter, lacking a breakdown into specific types of work (alarm system monitoring, deployment of the mobile response team, technical maintenance), will not comply with the law after September 1, 2026. The inspecting authority has the right to treat this as a violation of licensing requirements by the provider, and the client will have to explain why they accepted such a contract.
The Private Security Activity Law provides for a transitional period. If a contract with a client is concluded before September 1, 2026, the provider is entitled to render services under it, as specified in the license obtained under the old rules, for one additional year after that date. Any new contract or extension is best drafted immediately in accordance with the requirements of Article 8, so as to avoid rewriting the document twice within a single year.
Procedure for Indemnifying Damages — A Clause That Cannot Be Left Vague
Part 6 of Article 8 of the Private Security Activity Law explicitly requires including the procedure for indemnifying damages in the contract, and also allows the parties to agree on a liability cap for the security organization in the event that damages arise during the proper performance of its obligations. These are two distinct conditions. The procedure for indemnifying damages is always mandatory. The liability cap is negotiated by the parties at their own discretion.
In practice, the financial liability of the provider to the client arises only when three conditions are simultaneously met. These are the fact of direct damage (the value of the stolen medications based on purchase prices, not retail prices), the fault of the provider in improper execution of the contract, and a causal relationship between the actions of the security staff and the ensuing consequences. The burden of proving all three elements falls on the client. The contract must therefore record not just the fact of liability itself, but also the specific documents the parties will use to verify the arrival time of the team, the status of the alarm system at the moment of the incident, and the actions of the personnel when handing over the premises under security guard.
The liability of rank-and-file security guards to their employer is regulated by labor legislation, not by the contract with the client. Their positions, as a rule, do not fall into the list of jobs that grant the right to full financial liability. A guard is therefore liable to the CHOP only within the limits of their average monthly earnings, except in cases of intentional damage. Compensation must be claimed from the provider organization, not from the specific employee stationed at the post.
Response Time — Record a Specific Figure, Not General Phrasing
There is no single federal standard for the arrival time of a mobile response team differentiated by the type of locality. Territorial units of the extra-departmental security of Rosgvardia publish their own metrics: in Moscow, the stated arrival time of a detention group is 5 minutes, while in the Irkutsk Region it is 15 minutes. The variance is explained by the density of posts and the congestion of patrol routes in a specific region.
A practical conclusion follows from this: you cannot rely on generic phrases such as «timely response» or «within the shortest possible time» in the contract. You need a specific figure in minutes applicable to your facility, and preferably an indication of the source of this figure, such as an internal regulation of the territorial unit or the rules of the CHOP. Without a fixed standard, proving a violation of timeframes when an incident occurs is nearly impossible: a court cannot compare the actual arrival time with something that was never written down.
Requirements for Security Guards at an NDPS Warehouse
The requirement for security personnel is maintained after September 1, 2026: private security guards are required to undergo a medical examination at least once a year, which includes a psychiatric evaluation and a chemical-toxicological examination for the presence of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the body. The Private Security Activity Law adds digital document management to this: the medical conclusion is issued in the form of an electronic document and transmitted to the federal register, and the private security guard is obliged to immediately surrender their guard certificate upon the detection of contraindications.
Additionally, a person under 18 years of age, an individual with an unspent or unexpunged criminal record for an intentional crime, or a citizen repeatedly subjected within a year to administrative liability for offenses in the field of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances cannot be hired for a private security guard position involving the provision of security services. For a facility where these very substances are stored, checking the background and medical status of the guard is part of the control system on par with the engineering reinforcement of the warehouse.
The client should request confirmation from the security organization that the personnel deployed to the post have undergone an up-to-date medical examination, rather than relying solely on the fact that the CHOP holds a license. The license confirms the organization’s right to provide services. It does not guarantee that a specific individual at a specific post passed their check-up on time.
Action Plan
Determine the category of each secured room under Decree No. 809 and cross-check it with your current provider. If a 1st or 2nd-category room is guarded by a CHOP without documentary evidence confirming the absence of state security in the locality, this constitutes grounds for the immediate replacement of the contractor.
Cross-check your active agreement against the checklist in Article 8 of the Private Security Activity Law. Verify whether the subject matter of the contract is itemized by types of services separately, whether the license number and date are specified, and whether there is a clause on the procedure for indemnifying damages. When extending the contract after September 1, 2026, any missing clauses must be added.
Fix the response time in minutes as a distinct condition of the contract, rather than a general phrasing. Request from the provider a written confirmation of the standard applicable to your facility.
Prescribe the procedure for confirming damages. Indicate in the contract which documents the parties will use to record the arrival time of the team, the status of the alarm system, and the actions of the personnel when turning over the facility for security at the moment of the incident.
Request confirmation of the medical examination of the personnel deployed to the post, including the date of the last examination and its validity at the time of signing or extending the contract.
An agreement for the security of an NDPS warehouse ceases to be a mere formality the moment specific details are built into it: the room category, the breakdown of services, the procedure for indemnifying damages, and the response standard in minutes. Companies that bring their contracts into line with Article 8 of the Private Security Activity Law before it becomes a mandatory requirement during inspections will save themselves from having to rewrite documents urgently in the middle of licensing checks in the autumn of 2026.
Regulatory Framework:
1. Federal Law No. 3-FZ dated January 8, 1998, «On Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances»
2. Federal Law No. 427-FZ dated November 30, 2024, «On Private Security Activity» (enters into force on September 1, 2026)
3. Law of the Russian Federation No. 2487-I dated March 11, 1992, «On Private Detective and Security Activity in the Russian Federation»
4. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 587 dated August 14, 1992, «Matters of Private Detective (Investigative) and Private Security Activity»
5. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 809 dated April 30, 2022, «On the Storage of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Their Precursors»
6. Order of Rosgvardia No. 335, MVD of Russia No. 677, dated September 15, 2021, «On the Approval of Requirements for Equipping Facilities and Premises with Engineering and Technical Security Means…»