Business Practices, Licensing Requirements, and Records Management
Business and licensing controls
This domain tests the business side of licensed practice: entity and individual licensing, employee registration, contracts, advertising, renewal, and records. A licensee must keep the correct category and agency license current, ensure regulated employees hold required registrations before work, and notify IDFPR of required changes. Advertising must be truthful, identify the licensed service accurately, and must not imply law-enforcement affiliation. Use a written client agreement covering scope, fees, confidentiality, deliverables, and termination.
Records management
Maintain license and registration records, employee rosters, training, client contracts, case files, evidence logs, complaints, and correspondence. Keep records secure and confidential; release only as authorized or legally required. Retain records under a written schedule that satisfies the Act and rules and preserves items subject to a pending case, claim, or litigation hold. Dispose of expired records by secure means.
Worked example
An agency moves its office and hires a new investigator. Before the investigator performs regulated work, the agency verifies the required employee registration is issued, updates the roster, and documents training and supervision. It also updates its IDFPR address information within the required time and revises client notices. The reasoning: licensing compliance is event-driven, not just renewal-driven. A late notification or unregistered employee can create discipline even if the underlying investigation was good.
Traps
Do not assume a license can be sold with the business, that an oral contract is enough, or that records may be destroyed whenever storage is tight. Do not let an employee “start now, register later,” and do not advertise a service category the agency is not licensed to perform. Keep renewal dates and change notifications in a compliance calendar.