Obtaining a Private Investigator’s License

Guidelines for obtaining a private investigator’s license, however, vary from state to state.

In order to become a private investigator, every state except Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming require obtaining a private investigator’s license in order to practice as a private investigator. In all other states, practicing without a license in is against the law and subject to jail time.

But, what exactly is private investigation? Thirty one of the states requiring a private investigator’s license define private investigation as “the investigation by a person or persons for the purpose of obtaining information with reference to any of the following matters: The causes and origin of, or responsibility for, fires, libels, slanders, losses, accidents, damage or injuries to real or personal property. The business of securing evidence to be used before investigating committees or boards of award or arbitration or in the trial of civil or criminal cases and the preparation thereof."

Guidelines for obtaining a private investigator’s license, however, vary from state to state. In addition, individual counties and cities may have additional guidelines. For example the city of Fairbanks in Alaska and the cities of Joplin, Kansas City, St. Joseph, St. Louis, and Springfield in Missouri have private investigator license requirement, despite there being no state requirements in these states. Therefore, when looking to get a private investigator’s license, it is important to check on both the state and local level to ensure all requirements are met.