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Our Mission
Private investigations is a regulated profession, and the path to licensure looks different in every state. Some states require hundreds of hours of supervised field experience. Others accept a criminal justice degree in place of work history. A few have no licensing requirement at all. PrivateInvestigatorEDU.org exists to make sense of all of it.
We built this site as a comprehensive, state-by-state resource for people who are serious about entering the field — career changers from law enforcement and military, recent criminal justice graduates, and anyone who wants a clear picture of what it actually takes to get licensed and working as a PI.
The industry has expanded well beyond traditional surveillance work. Corporate fraud, computer forensics, insurance investigations, missing persons, family law — the field covers a lot of ground today, and so does the regulatory environment around it. Our guides cover the licensing process from start to finish: the experience and education requirements, the exams, the background checks, the surety bonds, the insurance, and the continuing education you’ll need to keep your license in good standing.
Everything here is free. No paywalls, no gated content — just straightforward information for people who want to do this right.
Written and Reviewed by a Working PI
The content on PrivateInvestigatorEDU.org is written and reviewed by David M. Harlan, a licensed private investigator with over 12 years of hands-on experience in the field. David started his career conducting background checks and surveillance for a regional investigations firm before moving into corporate fraud, insurance claims, and family law matters — including child custody and marital investigations.
He holds a California Private Investigator license and has worked both as an in-house investigator for agencies and on independent contract assignments for insurance companies, HR departments, and attorneys. When he writes about what licensing requires, what the work actually looks like, and what it takes to build a career in investigations, he’s speaking from experience — not pulling from a textbook.