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Thread: PI Licensing: New York

  1. #1
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    PI Licensing: New York

    NO LICENSE IS REQUIRED
    IF you fall into the following:


    The following exemptions are listed in the New York Private Investigators Licensing Law:

    §83. Application of article. (Exceptions from article of licensing)

    1. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator is regularly employed as special agent, detective, or private investigator exclusively by one employer in connection with the affairs of that employer only;

    2. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator's business does not embrace other regulated cases and activities described in section seventy-one of this chapter;

    3. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator belonging to the police force of the state, or any county, city, town or village thereof, appointed or elected by due authority of law, or to any person in the employ of any police force or police department of the state, or of any county, city, town or village thereof while engaged in the performance of their official duties;

    4. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer is exclusively furnishing information as to the business and financial standing;

    5. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer is exclusively furnishing information as to the credit responsibility of persons, firms, or corporation;

    6. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer is exclusively furnishing information as to the personal habits and financial responsibility of applicants for insurance, indemnity bonds or commercial credit or of claimants under insurance policies;

    7. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer does not embrace other activities described in section seventy-one of this chapter; or whose business is licensed by the industrial commissioner under the provisions of section twenty-four-a or subdivision three-b of section fifty of the workmen’s compensation law or whose business is representing employers or groups of employers insured under the workmen’s compensation law in the state insurance fund;

    8. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer is a corporation duly authorized by the state to operate a central burglar or fire alarm protection business;

    9. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator engaged in the business of adjuster for an insurance company;

    10. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator whose employer is any charitable or philanthropic society or association duly incorporated under the laws of the state and which is organized and maintained for the public good and not for private profit;

    11. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator employed by an attorney for the attorney's cases;

    12. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator who is also a licensed attorney or counselor at law in the regular practice of their profession, but such exemption shall not enure to the benefit of any employee or representative of such attorney or counselor at law who is not employed solely, exclusively and regularly by such attorney or counselor at law.

    13. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator chooses to become affiliated with or to continue as a member of any union, association, society or organization of his own choosing.

    14. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator who is an end user for their own cases.

    15. NO LICENSE NEEDED IF: A private investigator who (i) exclusively contracts directly with an agency of the federal government to conduct background investigations and (ii) possesses credentials issued by such agency authorizing such person, subcontractor or employee to conduct background investigations;


      SOURCE: http://www.dos.ny.gov/licensing/lawb...lWtchGuard.pdf



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    Comments are not intended to be and should absolutely not be taken as legal advice. If you should require legal, tax, or financial advice, you must first enter into a written agreement with only a licensed professional for legal, tax, or financial services, signed by both you and the licensed professional, and paid a retainer in good funds. Members and Guests accessing comments are required to be bound by their Terms of Use Agreement regarding the use of this web site.

  2. #2
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    Originally posted by Lynne D. Perry
    I have read and re-read the 15-page NYS DOS Licensing laws, and can't find any mention of exempt P.I.'s... Do you happen to know where one would find the legalese on exempt PI's?
    Answer:
    You were on the right web page, but you need to be an attorney sometimes to understand what the language means. The exemptions are there, but the State of New York decided NOT to list them separately for easier reading. Instead, they placed all of the exemptions in one long paragraph, and under an obscure title!

    Review Post #1 above for a more organized quote, which matches up with the statutes.

    Originally posted by Lynne D. Perry
    Also, I found it interesting that in Article 84 (unlawful acts), it is illegal for a PI or a PI's employee "to own, have or possess or in any manner to wear, exhibit or display, a shield or badge of any material, kind, nature or description, in the performance of any of the activites as private investgator."
    For Badge Licensing Laws & Exemptions: Click here

    The badge resatiction is ONLY if you are performing the duties of a licensed PI under their authority. It does NOT apply to the exemptions. Many times licensed PI's carry badges when they are not performing investigations under the authority of the state that issued them their license. Again, a license is a license to advertised yourself as a licensed private investigator in New York.

    Originally posted by Lynne D. Perry
    ... not allowed to base service fees on contingencies or a percent of a recovery of goods...
    Not exactly. Read the exemption that is covered within the Unlawful Acts section.

    Originally posted by Lynne D. Perry
    NY is tough! $400 to renew your license every 2 years, $15.00 to take the required exam, 3 years experience required to be licensed, no shield or badge allowed,
    You have three (3) choices:

    1) Become a trainee under the license of another agency or within the lawful exemptions as provided;

    2) Wait three years to obtain your own independent license;

    3) Start your own New York agency without any prior experience by requesting a sponsor through the IPIU Lifetime Corporate Membership benefit. The average completion time of all documents is 4-5 weeks. This option will permit you to advertise and bill out your services from $75-$250/hr, depending on the case.

    Comments are not intended to be and should absolutely not be taken as legal advice. If you should require legal, tax, or financial advice, you must first enter into a written agreement with only a licensed professional for legal, tax, or financial services, signed by both you and the licensed professional, and paid a retainer in good funds. Members and Guests accessing comments are required to be bound by their Terms of Use Agreement regarding the use of this web site.
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  3. #3
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    Thumbs up Outstanding Response!

    Hey, Admin!

    That was an amazing response, thank you so much!

    I've printed that response off and stapled it to my copy of "the law".

    I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into that explanation, it got me str8 on some other confusions, too.

    High Fives to you!

  4. #4
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    Thumbs up Thank you legal affairs and admin

    As always very good job! Please keep up the good work...
    O.A.C.V. Sr.

  5. #5
    Its good news that IPIU helps PI establish their own agencies. Living in NY seems to have quite a few heavy restrictions getting started though. I hope that wont be a drawback to doing this line of work.

  6. #6
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    PI Liscense

    Hello eveyone,

    I am a new member to IPIU. I am no where near at this point for liscensing. "Wow" This is great information.
    Once I start training, I will remember the advice from this forum.

    Thanx every one

  7. #7
    Mr Robert J Hutchinson Guest

    This is kind of why...

    I got discouraged when I was doing class for PI through a school. NY state is very tough in their licensing, but I am sure that the union has some very good and reachable ways for us New Yorkers to get licensed with less pain. It is just that wee need to get to level 4 access and then we can really hammer away at this. A fleeting thought might be if NY State keeps making everything so difficult for us state citizens and we start "dropping out" and the officials income level, then, starts "dropping down", that they just might loosen up on their stronghold

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Kazmirski
    sooo.....what you're saying, is you can work as a PI without getting a State license, unless you want to work independantly?
    Yes, for certain types of investigation areas. Read the exemptions list on Page 1.

  9. #9
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    this is what i want to know too...

  10. #10
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    Smile Thank you for the information!

    I am so glad that this information has been provided through the forum. Reading through the explanations are so beneficial to all the newcomers. Thanks for your time and providing links to the laws.
    ~Jessie Marie

  11. #11
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    Thumbs up Chonita Ganswith

    I am a Newcomer, and I am finally learning how to navigate this site. This information is very helpful. Thanks again to everyone that makes this site successful.

  12. #12
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York (Badge or ID)

    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Villar View Post
    ----------------------

    I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand this: May or may not a non licensed PI in the State of NY wear a Badge, ID or a business card?

    Thank you very much!
    Yes they can, provided they follow the guidelines.

    For Badge Licensing Laws & Exemptions: Click here

    The badge resatiction is ONLY if you are performing the duties of a licensed PI under their authority. It does NOT apply to the exemptions. Many times licensed PI's carry badges when they are not performing investigations under the authority of the state that issued them their license. Again, a license is a license to advertised yourself as a licensed private investigator in New York.

  13. #13
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    Re: Investigation in another State

    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Villar View Post
    Hello all.

    I don't know if this was already asked somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I also hope this is the right place to ask this question, if not, please forgive me!!
    Just take your time looking at the other established title topics in this forum. Your state, New York, has it's own titled licensing topic:

    http://www.ipiu.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7849

    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Villar View Post
    - I live in NYS. I am NOT licensed as a PI. A Lawyer I know wants to give me a Surveillance case in NY but he is in Florida and so is his client. Can I accept it? Am I allowed to do it?

    Thank you all in advance.
    Daniel
    The answer is yes and no.

    Surveillance is a regulated task by New York. A licensed PI needs to be in the car. You could pal along with a licensed PI and receive a referral commission of the retainer of 10% to 20% of what the Florida attorney pays through your licensed PI pal.

    Or, you could set up your own "national" PI Agency Corporation License in Denver, Colorado (which IPIU can help you with), then charge your attorney (through the Colorado office) the full rate, and then sub-contract a licensed PI in New York at a wholesale rate (which allows you to keep 50% to 75% of the full retainer. You could still pal along, but would do so as the owner of the Colorado PI Agency. If you and the licensed PI end up making a good team, the licensed PI at a later date could sponsor your Colorado PI Agency to do business officially in New York State.

    To set up your own PI Agency Corporation License, go here:
    http://www.privateinvestigators.cc/p...oducts_id=1584

    Or, call Jean or Tim at 406-534-0251

  14. #14
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    Re: Investigation in another State

    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Villar View Post
    But if i'm employed by a Licensed investigator in NYS I CAN do surveillance by myself, right?
    If you are employed (as a wage earner and not an independent contractor) by a licensed PI agency, then it is their responsibility to make sure you have the proper authority to perform an undercover surveillance. At the very least, if you were in the same car with a licensed PI and a law enforcement officer would ask for ID, then the licensed PI would be able to provide that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Villar View Post
    I read the exceptions, I didn't read anything about surveillance and I freaked out!
    Not all investigations require a PI License. That is why there are exemptions (known as unregulated cases), and sometimes you need examples of what is exempted. Other times you need example of what is not exempted (which are regulated cases).

    Example: One of the exemptions is for a company to perform their own internal surveillances on their own employees. That's different than surveillance on a third party for a client as an advertised private investigator.

    Yes, you could try and work around the surveillance laws, but we are here to help you protect yourself. That is why I posted the upgrade links for you to incorporate your activity so as to protect yourself for the long run.

  15. #15
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Frye View Post
    So basically unless you are a licensed PI or working on the books for one it is illegal to do anything, everything is considered regulated.
    Not so. Look at Post #1 of this topic. There are multiple exemptions in the statutes posted where you do not need a PI License to perform investigations. This is the same for all regulated states.


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  16. #16
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Frye View Post
    With all due respect, everyone of those items excluded are either law enforcement, dealing with financial disclosures for very specific reasons, work done for not-for-profits, or exclusive employees of PI's or attorneys. The above quote was the part of section 83 that was left out reiterated thats any for profit investigation work has to been done by a licensee as stated in section 71.
    The main exemption is:

    1. Any person regularly employed as special agent, detective or investigator exclusively by one employer in connection with the affairs of that employer only;

    If you check with your attorney, he/she will concur that the "affairs of" the employer can be the employer's lawful clients, who can retain a non-pi agency for background checks, missing persons, court records, integrity cases, neighborhood checks, and a whole host of cases that do not need a state PI License. (This is the same exemption that all mystery shopping companies use for their investigative types of "shops")

    The employer than hires an internal private investigator to handle the case. But that internal PI cannot overly advertise on their own for independent clients as a "PI"> They can, however, advertised as a "case examiner" or "intelligence officer" or "intelligence agent".

    And yes, if an unlicensed PI has a business card that says "John Smith, Private Investigator" with the office name as "Law Offices of Perry Mason", then he does not need a state PI License. The same thing if his office name says "ABC Insurance", or "Wal-Mart".

    That is not to say we recommend anyone to advertise for regulated cases, such as surveillance, but if a company has a generic name such as IBM, Inc, and they advertise in Colorado as a PI Agency (with no state PI Agency License in New York), then they can easily sub-contract out the Colorado case portion of the case that requires a NY licensed PI.

    Example:
    Colorado Agency advertises for:
    Locate Lost Loved One.

    Client pays retainer to Colorado agency of $500.00

    Colorado Agency does not need PI License anywhere to locate loved one, and find loved ones in New York.

    But then Client then asks for background check and surveillance.

    Colorado Agency receives $4000 retainer, and uses NY case examiner (non-licensed PI) to perform background check (an unregulated assignment), and sub-contracts surveillance to licensed PI agency in NY.

    ***********
    Or better,

    Colorado PI agency uses the IPIU Lifetime Corporate Membership to obtain a sponsor in New York to obtain their own NY Agency License without having to wait 3 years. That way they could openly advertise for both unregulated and regulated cases in NY without the need to subcontract portions of a regulated cases.

  17. #17
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    David,
    Thank you, I think that helped me out. I am going to change over to John's level 4 chat.

  18. #18
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Douglass View Post
    For the last 6 years I have owned (sole proprietor) and operated a business as a Process Server. I have 6 current law firms and 1 County office under contract. In my duties as a Process Server I have conducted investigations into the whereabouts of the people I am attempting to serve, both traditional methods (knock and talks, form requests, Postal searches) and internet searches. In my duties as a Process Server I have conducted surveillance, and done limited skip tracing, especially for transient's and "County Jumpers". I have verified witness' and other actions under "acting in the capacity of" and investigator for the Law firm of paper origin.

    Does this time count as documentable time towards P.I. licensing requirements?
    According to the New York statutes, the licensing board needs to be shown the number of years and hours for "investigative experience". In the typical sense, they would probably look at your experience as a process server (where you are given an address to stop by, and drop off a piece of paper).

    On the other hand, if you have been employed for many years by a licensed PI Agency, and your primary full-time duties were to be given an address to stop by, and drop off a piece of paper to serve papers for your employer (the PI Agency), then the same thing would happen. The board would mail a letter to your PI Agency and ask what your duties have been. And if they respond that you have been employed by them as a process server, then you are back at square one.

    The same is true in many states where a retired police officer applies for his PI License, and is told he is disqualified because he was a traffic cop and not an investigator.

    Solutions:
    1. Upgrade your Economy IPIU Membership to a Professional Plan, and then request IPIU to setup your own PI Agency Corporation, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Once set up, then inquire of IPIU how you can combine all of your past 6 years of investigative experience into a employment record that would be accepted by the state for your earned hours and years. The process takes a few months, and we have seen many successes from it. But the details are not posted on the public site.

      To purchase the upgrade, go here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...oducts_id=1565

      To purchase the PI Agency Corporation License, go here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...oducts_id=1584

    2. Once you have your PI Agency Corporation setup (which only takes 48 hours), then you can upgrade your membership to a Lifetime Plan for Corporations. That will entitle you to request IPIU to locate licensed private investigators in New York to sponsor your own license. The process only takes a week or two for IPIU to complete. This will save you an enormous amount of time, and you will no longer be calling the state for 3-5 different answers. Our program is based on the state statutes, and bypasses all of the lower level entry staff at the licensing board. To purchase, got here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...roducts_id=998

    3. Once we aid you in getting a sponsor and your license, then you can manage your agency for the whole state from your distant location, with the help of the IPIU members serving on your state and national team.

    4. An unsolicited testimonial of a nearly Pennsylvania member posted his results in the following public topic:

      Link: New Member gets PI License Approved within 6 Days
    Legal Affairs comments are not intended to be and should absolutely not be taken as legal advice. If you should require legal, tax, or financial advice, you must first enter into a written agreement with only a licensed professional for legal, tax, or financial services, signed by both you and the licensed professional, and paid a retainer in good funds. Legal Affairs is not, nor intends to be, nor solicits to be your licensed professional. Members accessing comments by Legal Affairs are required to be bound by their Terms of Use Agreement regarding Legal Affairs.

  19. #19
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Affronti View Post
    ... according to the first post with the exceptions that are listed, not being licensed in NYS means the only investgations that you can perform are Credit checks, Background Checks, and Mystery shopping style assignments?
    Some of the exceptions in Post #1 of this topic do allow you to perform any and all types of investigations if you are employed in a certain area.

    There is no law in New York which prohibits anyone from performing a private investigation on anyone (including your parents, friends, or strangers), because you would be the "end user", which is another exemption listed. There may be certain stalking laws which can hinder surveillance without a PI License, but if you are educated and academically trained, you should not have any problem as an end user.

    The issue is not the task, but the method of advertising for hire.

    The exceptions include performing all aspects for a firm or organization regarding their internal affairs. You can work as a private investigator for AT&T investigating their vendors and employees for potential wrong doing or theft without being required to obtain a state license.

    You can work as a private investigator for an attorney.

    You may also wish to consider the tips here:
    http://www.ipiu.org/forums/forumdisp...rado-PI-Office
    Legal Affairs comments are not intended to be and should absolutely not be taken as legal advice. If you should require legal, tax, or financial advice, you must first enter into a written agreement with only a licensed professional for legal, tax, or financial services, signed by both you and the licensed professional, and paid a retainer in good funds. Legal Affairs is not, nor intends to be, nor solicits to be your licensed professional. Members accessing comments by Legal Affairs are required to be bound by their Terms of Use Agreement regarding Legal Affairs.

  20. #20
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    Quote Originally Posted by Legal Affairs View Post

    Solutions:
    1. Upgrade your Economy IPIU Membership to a Professional Plan, and then request IPIU to setup your own PI Agency Corporation, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Once set up, then inquire of IPIU how you can combine all of your past 6 years of investigative experience into a employment record that would be accepted by the state for your earned hours and years. The process takes a few months, and we have seen many successes from it. But the details are not posted on the public site.

      To purchase the upgrade, go here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...oducts_id=1565

      To purchase the PI Agency Corporation License, go here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...oducts_id=1584

    2. Once you have your PI Agency Corporation setup (which only takes 48 hours), then you can upgrade your membership to a Lifetime Plan for Corporations. That will entitle you to request IPIU to locate licensed private investigators in New York to sponsor your own license. The process only takes a week or two for IPIU to complete. This will save you an enormous amount of time, and you will no longer be calling the state for 3-5 different answers. Our program is based on the state statutes, and bypasses all of the lower level entry staff at the licensing board. To purchase, got here:
      http://www.privateinvestigator.cc/pr...roducts_id=998


      [/URL]
    A Couple of those links don't work anymore, but I think this is the updated link for all of the one's that no longer work: http://www.ipiu.org/forums/showthrea...emberships!&s=

    - - - Updated - - -

    Great Thread.

  21. #21
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    Re: PI Licensing: New York

    these laws make sense because if you are working for a lawyer or something of that nature they would know and assume you are a credible source. This is a helpful piece of information.

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