Licensing requirements, application procedures, and qualifications for agencies and investigators
Investigator qualifications
Applicants must satisfy the statute's age, character, experience, examination, and background requirements. The usual package includes a minimum age, a high school diploma or equivalent, documented investigative experience or an allowed degree substitution, fingerprints and a criminal-history check, no disqualifying conviction, a passing examination score, and the required fee. Experience must be proved, not merely asserted: employer affidavits, tax records, case logs, and detailed descriptions of investigative duties are typical evidence. Vague claims such as worked in security are usually insufficient.
Agency qualifications
An agency applicant must identify a licensed investigator as its qualifier, maintain a business office, and meet bond, insurance, and entity-registration requirements. The agency must report changes in ownership, officers, qualifier, or location. An agency may not operate through unlicensed branch managers or independent contractors who are not properly licensed or affiliated.
Application procedure
Submit the correct CLEET forms completely and honestly. Disclose required criminal-history information, provide fingerprints and photographs, pay the fee, and attach experience documentation. Incomplete applications are commonly returned or denied. A false statement on an application is an independent ground for denial or discipline, even if the applicant is otherwise qualified.
Worked example
An applicant spent ten years as an insurance claims adjuster investigating suspected fraud. That work may qualify only if it meets the statutory definition of investigative experience and is documented by the employer. General customer-service or sales duties do not count. If the applicant is short of the experience threshold, a degree substitution may help only to the extent the statute and rules allow. The applicant should submit detailed affidavits rather than a one-line job title.
Traps
Counting unrelated employment as investigative experience is a common error. Omitting an arrest or charge is another. Do not assume a felony conviction is always an automatic bar without reviewing the statute's disqualification language. Do not let an agency license lapse while the business continues to operate.