CA P.I. License (insurance, crime, employment)

[Matt518]

Did a search but nothing addressed my question. Even the BSIS website is unclear.



In California, are all private investigators required to be licensed, or only those that own an agency/business or are working for themselves? In other words, are you required to have a license if you employed by a p.i./agency as a private investigator?

[joosoon]

Sounds like everyone is according to their information. What's not clear? There doesn't seem to be a distinction in the licensing requirement between "qualified manager" and "PI" itself.
Why not just call? You'd be surprised some of these state agencies can be really helpful. Not everything is the DMV.

[1200RT]

Yes, you must be licensed regardelss.

7521.
A private investigator within the meaning of this chapter is a person, other than an insurance adjuster subject to the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) of Division 5 of the Insurance Code, who, for any consideration whatsoever engages in business or accepts employment to furnish or agrees to furnish any person to protect persons pursuant to Section 7521.5, or engages in business or accepts employment to furnish, or agrees to make, or makes, any investigation for the purpose of obtaining, information with reference to:

(a) Crime or wrongs done or threatened against the United States of America or any state or territory of the United States of America.

(b) The identity, habits, conduct, business, occupation, honesty, integrity, credibility, knowledge, trustworthiness, efficiency, loyalty, activity, movement, whereabouts, affiliations, associations, transactions, acts, reputation, or character of any person.

(c) The location, disposition, or recovery of lost or stolen property.

(d) The cause or responsibility for fires, libels, losses, accidents, or damage or injury to persons or to property.

(e) Securing evidence to be used before any court, board, officer, or investigating committee.

For the purposes of this section, a private investigator is any person, as defined in Section 7512.3, acting for the purpose of investigating, obtaining, and reporting to any employer, or an agent designated by the employer, information concerning the employer’s employees involving questions of integrity, honesty, breach of rules, or other standards of performance of job duties.

This section does not apply to a public utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, or its employees.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 92, Sec. 6. (SB 1289) Effective January 1, 2019.)

[NORTY FLATZ]

I was going to say....

In California, you need a license to breathe.

Oh sure, they'll let you inhale without a permit, but just you try to exhale without a permit, and CARB comes unglued!

[TheGoodUsernamesWereTaken]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

I was going to say....

In California, you need a license to breathe.

Oh sure, they'll let you inhale without a permit, but just you try to exhale without a permit, and CARB comes unglued!

That exhale will be taxed, sir. In brackets.

[JGC97]

In CA, you need a license for everything so being a PI would require the same. That's not to say you can't do investigative work yourself or on behalf of someone else. In that case, you aren't really a PI. You're a snoop.

[MechAndy]

You would also need to be properly insured as well.
Litigation is no joke in California and the costs of going there are not cheap.

Any business that would hire you will demand to see your certificate of insurance because if the don’t they will be liable for you.

Being a PI is probably like being a general or a sub contractor in the building trades.
In fact you would be considered a contractor selling a service or services.

No insurance company will issue insurance without you being properly licensed for the scope of work you are involved with.
Being bondable is a prerequisite too.

This also means that even if you are insured you might be denied coverage after the fact if you step out of the scope of work that you have represented to preform.
You may also be denied coverage after the fact due to an audit.
Audits for some reason always seem to hurt because none of us are perfect.

I know you didn’t ask about insurance but if you do business in California this is at least as important as a license.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by TheGoodUsernamesWereTaken

That exhale will be taxed, sir. In brackets.

LOL. Even worse, you'll need a EIR. Cheap EIR's are $50,000 and 18 months to generate.

[Losfrisco]

Originally Posted by Matt518

Did a search but nothing addressed my question. Even the BSIS website is unclear.



In California, are all private investigators required to be licensed, or only those that own an agency/business or are working for themselves? In other words, are you required to have a license if you employed by a p.i./agency as a private investigator?

The way I understand this is, at the time you pass the California P.I. exam, you incorporate with a business name as part of the certification process.

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by Losfrisco

The way I understand this is, at the time you pass the California P.I. exam, you incorporate with a business name as part of the certification process.

I don't know about that. Business tax permits aka licenses are issued at a city/county level as are fictitious business names and the latter is optional anyway.