Becoming a Private Investigator

A private investigator may work for a licensed private investigations company or form his or her own licensed company.

Before a person can work as a private investigator, he must first meet the licensing requirements of his state. Each state has different licensing requirements regarding background, training, and experience. Requirements may include attending a state-approved training course, other pre-licensing education, exams, a specified number of years of work experience, and a professional liability insurance policy with coverage for errors and omissions. In addition, some cities require that state-licensed private investigators register with the city or obtain a municipal license as well.

If you want to be a private investigator, training specific to private investigation is the single most important investment you can make in yourself! Owners of established agencies get resumes all the time; the first thing they look at is training. Don’t expect a private investigations company to invest in you before you invest in yourself. Since most new PIs don’t have the business skills and knowledge to start their own company, they seek employment with an established company first. You can be at the top of the list of candidates by first obtaining training.

On the other hand, you may want to start your own company. What if you don’t have the minimum experience required by your state to obtain your own company license? Fortunately, every state that requires experience also offers a program to enable new investigators to obtain their own business license. For example, in Texas new investigators must work for an established company until they have the required number of hours to apply for their own license. The State of Florida provides internship licenses. The requirements are a little different in every state. You’ll have to find out what the specific requirements are for your state.

Your background and employment-related experience may also count towards your application requirements for a license. Loss prevention agents, accountants, security guards, teachers, firemen, bail bondsmen, alarm installers, and even a librarian have been known to use their previous employment experiences in applying for their agency license.

 

Information resource  | Contacting us | Security | Home surveillance | Legal issues

Detective resource guide