Step 1 Licensing-Qualifications to be a P.I.

Do you have the qualifications to become a Private Investigator? PI licensing in the United States in governed by state statute, not federal law.

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

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

Alaska
Idaho
Mississippi
South Dakota
Wyoming

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.

Private Investigator Licensing by State ~ Laws/Requirements Constantly Change (Date of Publish 2014)

STATE	Must Meet Minimum Requirements	Higher Education Requirements?	Work Experience Requirements	License Required?	Additional Requirements
Alabama	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Alaska	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Arizona	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Arkansas	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
California	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Colorado	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Connecticut	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Delaware	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
District of Columbia	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Florida	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Georgia	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Hawaii	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Idaho	︎			✘	︎
Ilinois	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Indiana	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Iowa	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Kansas	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Kentucky	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Louisiana	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Maine	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Maryland	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Massachusetts	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Michigan	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Minnesota	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Mississippi	︎			✘	︎
Missouri	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Montana	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Nebraska	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Nevada	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
New Hampshire	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
New Jersey	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
New Mexico	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
New York	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
North Carolina	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
North Dakota	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Ohio	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Oklahoma	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Oregon	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Pennsylvania	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Rhode Island	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
South Carolina	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
South Dakota	︎			✘	︎
Tennessee	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Texas	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Utah	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Vermont	︎	✘	︎	︎	︎
Virginia	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Washington	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
West Virginia	︎	︎	︎	︎	︎
Wisconsin	︎	✘	✘	︎	︎
Wyoming	︎			✘

Step 2. Qualification

What if I don’t meet the state requirements?

Review the state law and familiarize yourself with qualifications and definitions in each state. Call the licensing bureau direct or write them to get an answer if there is a question with your qualifications. For example, A 25 year veteran patrol officer from a major city found out he did not meet the PI requirements of his states licensing because “patrol” work was not accepted as investigation experience.

There are 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 many 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 meet the state 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 agency owner and PI employee.

So the question is “How can I get the experience as a PI when I can’t get a license to be a PI”. There are several options available for currently unqualified candidates or 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:

Generate revenue
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.

Obtain a position from a job that will give you the amount of 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 2.

Find a qualified 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. PItrainingHQ.com has a database of individuals who are interested in partnering with others in the business.

If this interests click the link below and we will add you to the database.

States PI licensing requirements vary widely. For example, in Arizona to be a qualified manager (PI 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.

Option 3

Larger law firms employ full-time and part-time staff investigators. A PI license may not be 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.

DIVERSE COMMUNITY

Not all PIs are ex-police. 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.

We will keep your name and information should a match be found. If we find a match we will put you in contact with the individual.

Example 1:

John Smith is an executive in management consulting and is nearing retirement from his Fortune 500 Company. He has a MBA and has been very successful as a corporate executive. He is exploring opportunities in the PI field but does not meet the state qualifications for licensure. He submits his information and a licensed PI in his area is considering restructuring his business in John Smith’s prospective niche. The two individuals are notified for possible negotiations.

Example 2:

Adam Murphy is retiring from the FBI after 30 years. He wants to start his own agency and would like to partner with someone who has an expertise in business start-up, development and acquisition. He knows his weaknesses are in business development and would like to have a seasoned business veteran as a partner. He submits his information and a possible match is found in his state.