Alberta PI License study plan
Alberta PI License · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Relevant Alberta legislation and regulations governing private investigation
Map the structure of Alberta's private investigation licensing framework, listing which statute creates the licence, which body administers it, and which regulation sets conduct rules
Define at least 15 core statutory terms in your own words and record the exact section where each term is defined
Outline the licence classes, eligibility conditions, and application or renewal steps in a one-page flowchart
Identify the penalties and enforcement mechanisms attached to unlicensed investigation activity
Your checkpoint
A 2-page legislation map plus a 15-term glossary, each entry citing a section number
Relevant Alberta legislation and regulations governing private investigation
Compare the duties owed by licensees to clients, to the regulator, and to the public, and tabulate where they conflict
Summarize record-keeping, insurance, and reporting obligations imposed on licensees
Explain how complaints and disciplinary proceedings unfold from complaint to decision
Distinguish the roles of provincial law, municipal bylaws, and federal law in shaping an investigator's daily work
Your checkpoint
A comparison table of licensee duties with a 300-word written analysis of one conflict scenario
Investigative techniques, evidence handling and documentation
Sequence the stages of a typical investigation from intake to final report and note the decision point at each stage
Draft a client intake checklist that captures scope, authority, budget, and conflicts of interest
Build a surveillance log template recording date, time, location, subject description, observations, and continuity notes
Practice writing objective, fact-only observation notes by converting five opinion-laden sentences into neutral records
Your checkpoint
A reusable investigation file kit containing an intake checklist, surveillance log, and evidence continuity form
Investigative techniques, evidence handling and documentation & Privacy, records and professional responsibility
Explain chain-of-custody principles and design a custody form that survives scrutiny
Describe correct handling and storage practices for physical, photographic, and digital evidence
Identify the privacy rules that constrain how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed during an investigation
Apply minimization and consent concepts to three hypothetical collection scenarios
Your checkpoint
A custody form plus three written scenario analyses applying privacy rules to evidence collection
Legal powers, limits and ethical conduct of private investigators
Delineate what a private investigator may and may not do compared with a peace officer, covering detention, search, and arrest
Explain trespass, surveillance, and recording limits as they apply to private property and public places
Analyze entrapment and inducement risks in undercover or pretext work
Draft a short decision framework for refusing an unlawful client instruction
Your checkpoint
A two-column powers-and-limits reference sheet with at least 12 entries and a cited basis for each
Legal powers, limits and ethical conduct of private investigators & Privacy, records and professional responsibility
Apply a professional code of conduct to five realistic ethical dilemmas and justify each resolution
Identify conflict-of-interest, confidentiality, and competence issues that require withdrawal or referral
Explain how bias and unreliable identification practices can corrupt an investigation and describe countermeasures
Write a client-facing engagement letter that sets scope, limits, and confidentiality expectations
Your checkpoint
A 600-word ethics casebook with five dilemmas, resolutions, and the principle relied on for each
Privacy, records and professional responsibility
Design a records retention and destruction schedule consistent with privacy obligations
Describe breach response steps including containment, assessment, notification, and documentation
Explain an individual's rights to access and correct personal information held by an investigator
Audit a sample case file for privacy and documentation deficiencies and list corrective actions
Your checkpoint
A retention schedule plus a completed audit of a self-made sample file with at least 8 findings
Relevant Alberta legislation and regulations governing private investigation & Investigative techniques, evidence handling and documentation & Legal powers, limits and ethical conduct of private investigators & Privacy, records and professional responsibility
Consolidate all four domains into a single condensed review sheet of no more than four pages
Complete 120 practice questions under timed conditions and categorize every error by domain
Re-study only the two weakest sub-areas identified by the error log
Rehearse explaining three core legal limits aloud in under two minutes each
Your checkpoint
A timed practice score report with an error log and a written remediation summary
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80% on a self-made 25-question quiz drawn only from Domain 1 material, with every wrong answer traced to a specific section
Week 4: Produce a complete mock case file for a hypothetical matter, from intake through evidence custody, that a reviewer judges internally consistent and privacy-compliant
Week 6: Resolve all five ethics dilemmas in writing with a cited principle for each, and defend two of them aloud without notes
Week 8: Achieve at least 75% overall on the timed 120-question practice set, with no single domain below 65%