In this guide
To hire a security company in Obligado, first ask for its National Police licence resolution, and only then talk about price. Next, decide what you are protecting (a house in town, a shop on Route PY06, or a farm and its shed) and get two written quotes with the same scope. If the company is based in Encarnación, about 40 km away (La Nación, 2025 (opens in a new tab)), ask how long a patrol takes to reach your address.
How do you check a company is licensed?
Private security in Paraguay falls under Law 5424, and a specialised National Police department licenses companies and issues guards' ID cards (Hoy (opens in a new tab)). The licence is granted by a resolution of the Police command. To get it, a firm must be a registered company with its own premises, put staff through psychological and firearms tests, insure its guards' lives, and run marked vehicles and uniforms (La Nación, 2023 (opens in a new tab)).
- Ask for the resolution and check it is in the same company name that will invoice you.
- Ask to see the ID card of every guard or technician who will enter your property.
- Do not hire a freelance "guard": the Police say anyone not working for a licensed company is not a security guard (La Nación, 2023 (opens in a new tab)).
- If in doubt, ask at the police station or the Police department that oversees these firms (Hoy (opens in a new tab)). In late 2023 a deputy minister warned that many firms fail the minimum requirements (ABC Color (opens in a new tab)).
What do reported crimes in Obligado show?
- Shop with a glass window: in September 2025, in the Paisajes del Sur neighbourhood, someone forced a shop's glass window and took goods and cash. The owner recognised the suspect on camera and police found him with that footage (Última Hora (opens in a new tab)).
- Service station on PY06: in December 2025, at 8:30 a.m., two men on a motorbike walked into the office and took cash and phones; police were reviewing the CCTV (Última Hora (opens in a new tab)).
- Cash on the road: that same month, near the Palmito bridge, two motorcyclists shot at a delivery truck in the early afternoon and took cash (Última Hora (opens in a new tab)). In 2021 a resident was stopped on a rural road in Pastoreo and robbed of G. 31 million (Última Hora, 2021 (opens in a new tab)).
- A farmer's home: in 2021, in the San Miguel neighbourhood, five men held a family and stayed inside for almost five hours (Última Hora, 2021 (opens in a new tab)).
The lesson: cameras help identify people afterwards, but they do not stop a break-in. That takes door and window sensors, someone who reacts when the alarm goes off and, above all, less cash kept or carried. QR codes already account for 60% of payments in Paraguayan supermarkets, service stations and pharmacies (La Nación, 2025 (opens in a new tab)), so paying and getting paid that way cuts the cash you have to move.
Cameras, monitored alarm or a guard?
- House in town left empty during the day: an alarm with door and window sensors plus monitoring. Get in writing what the control room does when it triggers: call you, alert the Police or send a patrol.
- Shop on the highway or in the centre: a monitored alarm, cameras covering the pavement and the till, and a daily cash pick-up. Large glass windows are a weak spot, as the Paisajes del Sur case showed.
- Farm, shed or silo: many rural roads are still dirt (Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)), so a patrol may take longer after rain. Ask for the real response time to your area and whether the alarm has a panic button.
- Guard: worth it for shops handling a lot of cash or warehouses with valuable stock, always from a licensed company.
Alarms and cameras: the installer must be licensed too
Article 33 of Law 5424/15 says security systems are supplied exclusively by security companies and licensed independent installers (DNCP file (opens in a new tab)). With an unlicensed technician there is no guarantee the alarm will trigger during a break-in, and an unvetted person may get access to your cameras (Hoy (opens in a new tab)).
Also ask:
- How many hours the system runs without power, and how it sends alerts if the internet drops.
- How outdoor cameras cope with the weather: summer highs reach about 38 °C and October is the wettest month (Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)).
- Who can access the recordings, and how passwords are changed when the contract ends.
A company from Encarnación or from the Colonias Unidas?
Obligado sits at km 38 of PY06, between Hohenau (km 35) and Bella Vista (km 48) (Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)). A firm based in the colonies usually arrives sooner; one from Encarnación may have more vehicles but a longer drive. Ask both for the same things: committed arrival time to your address, the cost of each technician visit, and who answers after hours.
Before signing, put in writing the scope, response time, term and cancellation terms, who owns the installed equipment and the total price in guaraníes. Ask for an invoice for every payment (ABC Color (opens in a new tab)) and do not pay in full before installation is finished. In an emergency, call 911 (ITU (opens in a new tab)). If you also run a shop in Encarnación, see our guide to security companies in Encarnación.
FAQ
Who licenses security companies in Paraguay?
The National Police, through a specialised department applying Law 5424, licenses firms by resolution of the Police command and issues guards' ID cards.
Can a company from Encarnación cover a house in Obligado?
It can, but Encarnación is about 40 km away. Get its committed arrival time to your address and the cost of each technician visit in writing, and compare it with a firm from the Colonias Unidas.
Are cameras enough to protect a shop?
Not on their own. In robberies reported in Obligado, cameras helped identify suspects but did not stop the break-in; add a monitored alarm and remove cash every day.
Can any technician install alarms or cameras?
No. Article 33 of Law 5424/15 reserves the supply of security systems to security companies and licensed independent installers.
