How to Become a Private Eye by Home Study

A detective course gives you skills to work as a private eye .

If you have a background in police work, the military, government investigations, security or intelligence or if you simply enjoy the action and excitement of investigations, channel your expertise into a career as a private eye. Whether or not your state or municipality requires that you take a private eye course for licensing, a home study course will provide you with the skills that you need to start a successful career as a private detective.

Instructions

1. Locate the relevant state or local governmental office that regulates and oversees private investigators in your area. State offices that bear responsibility for their state's private investigators include, in various states, the State Police, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Consumer Affairs.

2. Ascertain your locale's laws and regulations regarding the steps necessary to obtain a license as a private investigator (see resources). Each state has different requirements regarding private investigators. These laws include requirements to successfully complete a state-approved training course, pass a state exam, demonstrate previous work experience in a related field, obtain insurance coverage and undergo a background check. In some areas, the municipality or county regulates private investigators.

3. Select an online course of study that will provide you with the knowledge that you need to work as a private detective. Ascertain that the course carries accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education. Some states require that candidates for private detective licensing pass an accredited course. Everest University grants an Associate Degree in Online Criminal Investigations, accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. Grantham University confers a Certificate of Learning in Criminal Investigation, accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council. Penn Foster College operates a Private Investigator course, recognized by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education and accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council.

4. Complete the course and all course requirements, including the final exam. Finalize all other demands that your state requires of you to obtain your private detective license. You may need to pass a state exam in addition to obtaining a firearm license, proper insurance and possibly a bond.

References

• Be a Private Eye: Do you Want to Become a Private Investigator?
• Global School of Investigation: Detective Training
• Ermunro: Bonds

Resources

• Pursuit Magazine: Investigator Licensing
• Everest University Online: Criminal Investigations
• Grantham University: Certificate of Learning Criminal Investigation
• Penn Foster College: Private Investigator