William, I have been in a debate on another forum concerning this exact issue. I am not a PI in Virginia, however, I am a licensed bail bondsman and have operated under DCJS since they took over this industry. I may be able to shed some light on this subject for you. I will have to say that IPIU does offer a very concise and factual description of exactly what is needed in this state to operate as a PI. I think it is a bit overpowering to a novice who is trying to figure out exactly what he needs to do to operate as a "legal" PI in the state. Here is my condensed version as I see it... I am fairly sure that someone from this site will jump in and 'correct' me if I get it wrong... but anyway...
It is my understanding that you can basically operate unlicensed if you are in the 'stable' of a licensed company doing their work or associated with an organization that is licensed and working under their apron. (Not necessarily a PI company, it could be a company doing investigating for its own processes).
I think the simplest way to understand the law in Virginia is to realize that if you want to "hang a shingle", advertise in the yellow pages or operate as an
independent PI not associated with anyone else... you need to take an accredited course through one of the training schools "on the DCJS website", fill out the required application and pay the required fee and obtain a license, period. If you are already licensed in one of the states that has reciprocity with Virginia, then you are ok as far as I can tell.
One of the first questions I saw you ask if IPIU was an accredited school with Virginia DCJS and I did not see a 'direct answer' so... according to the website I do not see anything directly associated with IPIU. Before I get pounced upon by IPIU, I will say that your courses may be great and fill a much needed nitch in the PI training regiment... but, as far as I can tell, you are not an accredited school in the state of Virginia.
As an add on here... I would like to ask IPIU why they do not register with Virginia DCJS and become an accredited school and become a member of that list. I would certainly think that would be a tremendous feather in your cap and add to the professionalism that you certainly strive for on your site. I would also like to ask if IPIU is an accredited school in any of the regulated states as I am only involved in Virginia. I was told yesterday that Virginia has reciprocity with 6 other states related to many issues, PI being one.
Virginia DCJS:
http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/pss/tra...Level=9&mID=33
I hope this answers your question. I called DCJS yesterday and spoke to at least 3 people in the regulatory office including the lady that is just below the director... I specifically ask these questions and these answers were provided by the agency.