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Step 1: Licensing

In the United States private investigator licensing and regulation is controlled by state statute.   No federal license is available to allow an investigator to be licensed throughout the entire United States. For aspiring investigators, It is very important to thoroughly familiarize yourself with your state’s laws and other jurisdictions where your investigation may lead. If you work near the state border and an investigation continues into an adjoining state, where you are unlicensed, you must know the intricacies of the laws in both states prior to the investigation.  Working without a license could expose you to criminal, civil and regulatory actions for operating without a license.

Example:  You are a licensed private investigator in Chicago, Illinois.  You specialize in Insurance fraud and are conducting a surveillance near the Illinois/Indiana border.  Your claimant drives into Indiana where you are unlicensed.  You videotape the claimant in Indiana committing physical actions contrary to the claim they filed.  Is the video evidence you obtained in Indiana admissible?  Will opposing counsel challenge the evidence? You need to know what the licensing requirements are prior entering the state of Indiana or your evidence could be inadmissible. Several states have limited reciprocity agreements which allow a PI licensed in one state to continue an investigation into another state without obtaining a license in that state. Prior to conducting an investigation in another state, where you are unlicensed, you need to know how to proceed so your evidence isn’t inadmissible and/or face the repercussions of operating without a valid license.

Tip:  Many licensed investigators subcontract work to other PI’s when the investigation goes into a state where they have no license or no reciprocity agreement so there are no evidentiary or legal issues.  Cases that lead overseas also require you to have a working knowledge of the countries laws where the investigation leads.  Hiring a local licensed investigator to assist is a popular technique when the investigation goes beyond the US borders.  See World Association of Detectives.

Q: Do all states require private investigators to be licensed?

To date, (2013) just 5 states do not require private investigators to be licensed at the state level:

• Alaska (local only)
• Idaho
• Mississippi
• South Dakota
• Wyoming (local only)

Requirements to Become a Private Investigator by State

Requirements to become an investigator vary by state. Some states have a variety of eligibility requirements that you must meet to serve as a private eye while other states do not require anything. Click on a state below to see the applicable requirements, licensing agencies, and helpful links to become a private investigator in that state. Report dead links here

Step 2. Qualification

Review the state law and familiarize yourself with the qualifications and definitions in each state.  Call the licensing bureau direct to get an answer if there is a question with your qualifications.  Most states require a background check and bonding for licensing.  The barrier to entry varies widely from state to state.

For example, A 25 year veteran patrol officer from a major city found out he did not meet the state PI requirements of his state’s licensing because “patrol” work was not accepted as “investigation” experience.

There are also a lot of specializations that private investigators may engage in but do not require a license to perform. Some states do not require a license for executive protection, computer forensics, pre-employment background screening, skip tracing and more. Most states also have different requirements for business owners and/or their employees. If you currently do not meet the qualifications for either you have several options.  While most of the readers of this mini-course will easily meet the their states requirements for becoming a PI or PI Agency owner some of the readers do not want to be PI agency owners, only a W-2 employee. For most states there is a clear distinction between PI agency owner and PI employee.

So the question is “How can I get the experience and meet the qualifications as a PI when I can’t get a license to be a PI”. There are several options available for  candidates that have no desire to be a agency owner. There is no reason for you to be intimidated by the fact you need a license. The licensing bureaus in the states were created for two reasons:

1. Generate revenue
2. Regulate the industry

REMEMBER, YOU WILL BE DOING A DISSERVICE TO YOURSELF AND YOUR CLIENTS IF YOU DO NOT GET THE PROPER TRAINING IN THE AREA YOU SPECIALIZE IN.

Option 1:

Some law firms employ full-time and part-time staff investigators. A state PI license is not required.  This means you may work exclusively for the law firm and investigate their cases. The upside is you will be gaining experience in the field, however you will only be able to investigate cases that are related the law firms specialty. For example, if you’re a staff investigator for a divorce attorney your cases will be limited to those types of cases. You cannot offer your services to the general public as a law firm staff investigator unless you are licensed.

Option 2:

Obtain a position from a job that will give you the amount of investigative experience you need. Not all states require police investigative experience, in fact most require “investigative experience” which may be interpreted broadly by your state’s law. Some people have used what most seasoned investigators would consider “soft” credentials in order to qualify for a license.  If you have “soft credentials” it is not recommended to go into business for yourself immediately.  Obtain the necessary experience prior to opening an Agency.

Option 3:

Find a qualified experienced individual that you feel will be a good fit and have them qualify for the license. You may be able to work under that person’s license until you have the qualifications. This agreement should be in writing and for a minimum of three years or until you have the qualifications. As a partnership, if you are inexperienced it would be wise to allow the qualified partner to run everything before you go solo on your own cases. Again, you will be doing a disservice to your clients and yourself if you are unsure on how to proceed with a case.

Finding a qualified individual to partner with is not easy. The partner should have the skills that you don’t have and you should have developed skills in another area. Suppose you ran a financial services franchise for the past five years and are looking to get into the PI business. You should seek out a partner that has been in the business for several years and their strengths will compensate for your weaknesses. Partnerships can work as long as there is a clear written agreement and business plan in place. There are many qualified PIs looking to partner with people whose business skills are much better than theirs.

States PI licensing requirements vary widely.  For example, in Arizona to be a qualified manager (PI Agency Owner) you need 3 years verifiable investigative experience to qualify. There are no requirements for a PI employee to work under that agency license. This is for one state. Others have strict requirements for being a PI employee or PI agency owner and may not apply. This scenario may not be possible in other states, as employee of agencies need verifiable investigative experience.

DIVERSE COMMUNITY

Not all PIs are former law enforcement. You might be surprised to find out that some very capable PIs that never worked in law enforcement. Being a PI is about gathering information for your client and presenting it to the in a way that answers their questions or suspicions. Partnerships can be found outside the traditional avenues.