How to Get a Private Investigator License in Georgia

To get a private investigator license in Georgia, you apply through the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies under the Secretary of State’s office, and the path you take depends on whether you want to work for a licensed agency or run your own. Employees register under an existing firm after completing 70 hours of board-approved training and clearing a state and federal background check. Company owners meet an additional experience or education requirement, pass a board-administered exam, and post financial security before they can hire anyone else.¹

Getting the distinction right at the start matters. A registered employee cannot carry their registration from one agency to another; it is tied to the company listed on the application.² A company license is what lets you own and operate your own firm. Most people start as registered employees and move to a company license later if they want to go independent.

Baseline Qualifications

Every applicant, whether registering as an employee or applying for a company license, must meet the threshold rules in O.C.G.A. § 43-38-7. You have to be at least 18 years old and either a U.S. citizen or registered resident alien. The board also evaluates your character, looking at personal and professional history for evidence of dishonesty or fraud.³

A felony conviction does not automatically disqualify you. The statute gives the board discretion to weigh the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and the surrounding circumstances. That discretion extends to applicants who entered a nolo contendere plea or received first offender treatment. Approval is never guaranteed, but a prior record is not an absolute bar.

Fingerprinting runs through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS), which contracts with IDEMIA for electronic prints at IdentoGO enrollment centers around the state.⁴ You schedule a live scan, and your prints are checked against GBI and FBI records. Applicants outside the country who cannot visit an enrollment center can arrange ink-on-card submission by contacting IDEMIA directly.

The 70-Hour Training Requirement

All private detective employees and licensees must complete at least 70 hours of classroom instruction through a board-approved training program before the board will act on an application.⁵ The curriculum covers criminal procedure and Georgia criminal law, Georgia rules of evidence, interviewing techniques, documentation and report writing, an overview of the U.S. legal system, courtroom testimony, sources of information, surveillance and observation, undercover operations, and crime scene analysis and investigation.⁶

Proof of completion goes in with your application. There is no exemption from the training requirement based on prior law enforcement or military background at the employee registration stage.

Registering as an Employee

If you are joining an existing agency, your employer initiates the registration through the Secretary of State’s GOALS online portal and submits the paperwork on your behalf.⁷ The board no longer accepts paper applications. The required documents include your completed application form, an affidavit of employment, proof you finished the 70-hour training, and the background check documentation from your fingerprinting appointment.

Misrepresenting information on any application can lead to suspension without a prior hearing, and the board can permanently disqualify applicants who submit false statements.² Once the board approves you, it issues a license card. You must carry it while on post, at your place of employment, or any time you are in uniform during investigative work.³

Opening Your Own Agency

A company license requires everything above plus one of three qualifying backgrounds:

Two years of full-time experience as a registered private detective employee with a licensed Georgia company
Two years of full-time experience in law enforcement with a federal, state, county, or municipal police department
A four-year degree in criminal justice or a related field from an accredited college or university

Meeting one of those makes you eligible to sit for the board’s licensing examination.⁸ After you pass the exam, you must post one of three forms of financial security before the license is issued:

A $25,000 surety bond with the company name exactly matching your application⁹
A $1,000,000 general liability insurance certificate naming the board as certificate holder
A certified audited financial statement showing net worth above $50,000, which requires separate board review

Company applicants file their own paperwork through GOALS, including proof of qualifying experience, exam results, and the financial security documentation. Company licenses run for up to two years and expire on June 30 of odd-numbered years.

Fees

Company license applicants pay a $100 application fee plus a license fee that depends on scope: $300 for a private detective-only company or $700 for a dual private detective and security company. Every GOALS submission adds a $5 online processing fee. The GAPS fingerprinting cost is paid directly to IDEMIA when you book your live scan and is separate from any board fee. Check the current fee schedule on the GOALS portal before you file, because amounts can change between renewal cycles.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Keeping an employee registration active requires 16 hours of continuing education before each renewal, broken into set categories:

Two hours in homeland security, covering indicators of terrorism and cooperation with homeland security agencies
Two hours in ethics
Twelve hours of industry-related training, which may include up to four hours of firearms-related instruction

If you miss the continuing education before your renewal date, you cannot renew, and working on a lapsed registration is treated the same as working without authorization. Company license renewals are due before June 30 of odd-numbered years, and late renewals cost more than timely ones.

Firearms Permit

A Georgia PI license or employee registration by itself does not authorize you to carry a firearm on the job. If being armed is part of your work, you need a separate weapons permit from the board under O.C.G.A. § 43-38-10.¹⁰

You must demonstrate proficiency on a firearms range under the pistol and shotgun qualifications the board sets and complete any additional firearms training required by rule. The board can order periodic recertification and will refuse to renew the permit if proficiency is not maintained. The weapons permit is tied to the underlying license or registration: if the board suspends your PI credentials, your carry authorization goes with them.

Pulling Background Reports: FCRA Compliance

A Georgia license lets you investigate, but it does not override federal rules on consumer data. Investigators who pull consumer reports, credit histories, or background checks during an investigation must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, anyone obtaining a consumer report needs a legally recognized permissible purpose, such as written authorization from the consumer, a court order, or a legitimate business need connected to a transaction the consumer initiated.¹¹

Vague or overly broad client authorizations do not satisfy the statute. If background work is a regular part of your practice, having your authorization forms reviewed by an attorney who knows FCRA is worth the cost, because violations carry civil liability and potential federal enforcement.

Penalties for Working Without Authorization

Working as a private investigator without a valid license or registration, or letting an employee do so, gives the board grounds to act under O.C.G.A. § 43-38-11. After a hearing, the board can impose a public reprimand, suspend or revoke the license or registration, fine the licensee up to $500 for each separate violation, or place the licensee on probation with conditions.¹²

The board can also suspend a registration without a prior hearing if it finds the applicant made false statements on the application or has an undisclosed felony conviction without restored civil rights. A hearing follows the suspension, but by then the professional damage is already done. For agency owners the exposure is greater, because unlicensed activity by any employee falls on the licensee.

1
Georgia Secretary of State. Private Detective and Security Agency About the Board
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia State Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies Employee Registration Application
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Justia. Georgia Code 43-38-7 – Licensing of Armed Employees, Qualifications, Continuing Education, Fingerprints, License Card, Suspension
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Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS)
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Administrative Code Chapter 509-3 – Instructors and Training Program Requirements
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Cornell Law Institute. Georgia Comp R and Regs R 509-3-.06 – Basic Training Requirements for Private Detectives
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Georgia Secretary of State. How to Guide – Apply to Be a Private Detective Employee
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia State Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies Agency (Company) License Application
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Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies Bond Form
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Justia. Georgia Code 43-38-10 – Permits to Carry Firearms, Proficiency Requirement, Exemption From Specified Laws, Denial, Refusal to Renew, and Suspension of Permits, Effect of License Suspension and Restoration
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
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Justia. Georgia Code 43-38-11 – Denial, Revocation, or Sanction of Licenses and Registrations