How to Become a Private Investigator

Private investigators find facts that other people can’t, or won’t, find themselves. They follow insurance claimants to see whether an injury is real, locate witnesses for attorneys, check out job applicants, search public records, document infidelity, trace assets and serve as the eyes and ears of businesses and families. The work can be fascinating. It’s also tightly regulated, often lonely, and far more about patience and paperwork than the movies suggest.

Part of our Private Investigators hub. When you are ready to buy gear, start with our PI equipment list: 20 essentials.

This guide explains how to become a private investigator in the United States: what the job involves, what it pays, the licensing rules most states use, the skills and gear you’ll need and the legal lines you can’t cross. For the exact rules where you live, see our private investigator license requirements by state. It’s part of our security careers guide.

What private investigators actually do

• Surveillance: watching and documenting a person’s activities, usually for insurance, legal or domestic cases.
• Background checks: verifying identity, employment, education, criminal and civil records.
• Locating people (skip tracing): finding witnesses, heirs, debtors and missing persons.
• Legal support: interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence for attorneys in civil and criminal cases.
• Corporate investigations: employee misconduct, fraud, theft and due diligence.
• Asset searches: finding property and business interests for judgments or divorces.
• Online research: open-source intelligence (OSINT), social media and public records.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the biggest employers of private detectives and investigators are retail trade (34%), administrative and support services (18%), finance and insurance (11%), and government (8%). Many investigators are also self-employed, which the BLS wage figures don’t include.

Private investigator pay and job outlook

The BLS reports about 39,500 private detective and investigator jobs in 2025 and a median pay of $51,220 a year ($24.62 an hour) in May 2025. It projects 5% growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than average, with about 3,200 openings a year. Pay depends heavily on specialty and whether you work for an agency or for yourself: experienced investigators with an established client base, particularly in legal, insurance and corporate work, often charge hourly rates well above employee wages, but they also carry the costs of running a business.

For a full breakdown by state, industry and experience level, see our private investigator salary guide.

How PI licensing works

Each state sets its own rules, and they differ more than security guard rules do. A 2024 comparison prepared for the Nebraska Legislature lists Idaho, Mississippi and South Dakota as having no statewide license requirement, and notes that in Alaska and Wyoming licensing happens at the city level. Everywhere else, you need a state license before you can investigate for hire. Most states use some combination of these requirements:

• Minimum age: usually 18 or 21; New York requires 25.
• Background check: fingerprints and a criminal history review. Some convictions disqualify you; see our criminal record guide.
• Experience: documented investigative work, often for a licensed agency, law enforcement, insurance company or attorney.
• Exam: many states test knowledge of the PI law, privacy rules and investigative practice.
• Bond or insurance: often required for agency owners.
• Training: some states require pre-license or continuing education.

Examples from the biggest states

State	Key requirements (summary)
California	Age 18+; 6,000 hours (three years) of compensated investigative experience, reduced to 4,000 or 5,000 hours with certain degrees; two-hour multiple-choice exam; DOJ and FBI background check.
New York	Age 25+; three years of experience (or 20 years as a police officer or fire marshal); exam ($15); $10,000 surety bond; $400 individual license fee.
Texas	Investigations company license requires three consecutive years of investigative experience as an employee or owner of an investigations company, or other requirements set by the commission.
Florida	Class C license requires two years of full-time investigative or related experience (which can include time as a Class CC intern) and an exam on Chapter 493; Class CC interns need 40 hours of approved training.

Every detail above is summarized from state sources linked below, and each state has more rules than fit in a table. Use our PI license requirements by state for a full guide to your state.

How to become a private investigator: step by step

1. Check your state’s rules. Find out whether you need a license, the minimum age, experience, exam and fees.
2. Check your record. Get a copy of your own criminal history and driving record. Be completely honest on every application.
3. Build qualifying experience. Common routes are working for a licensed PI agency, insurance claims or special investigations, loss prevention, law enforcement or military police. Some states offer an intern or apprentice license.
4. Get education or training. A criminal justice degree can reduce experience requirements in some states, and pre-license courses prepare you for the exam.
5. Pass the exam where required, covering your state’s PI law, privacy rules and investigative practice.
6. Apply and get fingerprinted. Submit the application, fees and documents to your state regulator.
7. Arrange bond or insurance if you’ll run your own agency.
8. Choose a niche. Insurance surveillance, legal support, background screening, corporate, domestic or OSINT research.
9. Keep learning and renew on time. Many states require renewal every one to three years, some with continuing education.

Skills that make a good investigator

• Patience: surveillance can mean hours of waiting for a few minutes of activity.
• Attention to detail: times, addresses, plate numbers and descriptions make or break a case.
• Report writing: your report is the product the client pays for. Our DAR guide and AI report-writing guide help.
• Research: public records, court files, social media and databases.
• Interviewing: getting people to talk, and listening carefully.
• Discretion and ethics: clients trust you with sensitive matters.
• Camera and technology skills: clear, time-stamped video is often the key evidence.

Legal lines a private investigator cannot cross

A PI license doesn’t give you police powers. In general, private investigators cannot:

• Impersonate police or other government officials.
• Trespass on private property to get evidence.
• Obtain someone’s bank or phone records by lying (pretexting). Federal law, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, prohibits this.
• Record conversations they’re not part of, or record without consent where state law requires it.
• Put a GPS tracker on someone else’s vehicle where state law forbids it; California, for example, restricts electronic tracking devices without consent.
• Hack accounts, access email or install spyware.

Rules vary by state, and violations can cost you your license and expose you to criminal charges. When in doubt, ask the attorney you’re working for, or don’t do it.

Gear and books for new investigators

You don’t need a van full of equipment to start. A few quality tools cover most surveillance and research work. Each button shows the current price.

For long surveillance days, add a power bank, a car charger and a notebook; see our tech gear guide. For recording laws and devices, read our voice recorder guide.

Working for an agency vs. starting your own

Most new investigators start at an established agency. You get steady cases, supervision and, in many states, the documented experience you need for your own license. Starting your own agency means more freedom and higher rates, but also bonding and insurance, marketing, accounting, and the pressure of finding clients. Many investigators work for others for years first, build a specialty and a reputation with a few attorneys or insurers, and then go independent.

If you hire investigators yourself one day, check every applicant carefully. As the story above shows, a background check tells you not only what’s in someone’s past but whether they’re honest about it.