You agree to be bound by all the Terms and Conditions set forth in this document, in addition to the Terms of Use in the following portal link:
www.ipiu.org/forums/showthread.php?2914
DEFINITIONS
Part 5 of Terms of Use Agreement
Definitions:
- Association: The International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) is a non-labor trade association of professionals. The association does not conduct investigations as a private detective agency, nor hires private investigators to work for the association as a private investigator or similar profession.
- Union: An association and union formed for mutual benefit between members of an organization. a) A non-labor union association, b) An incorporated or unincorporated union association of members within a profession.
- Forums: The Private Investigator Forums is an interactive website containing over 400 sub forums and 0over 500,000 discussions dating back to February, 2000. It is does not contain any first party financial or legal advice, nor does it solicit any legal or financial clients. Licensed attorneys and licensed financial advisers, and licensed tax professionals are available on a referral basis only. Unless you have retained a licensed attorney, adviser, or tax professional, you agree not to rely on any opinions expressed on this site, and further agree to review the statutory government authority sites before acting upon personal opinions.
- Agencies - Employers: Neither the Private Investigator Forums nor the International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) acts as an Agency Employer. The names of the Agencies and Employers who are hiring are listed in the member's Level 4 area of this site. Each employer provides whether the member will be a waged employee working for the agency employer, or an independent contractor working as an outside vendor for the agency employer. Your rights are determined by the written agreement between you and the agency employer, and not by the elements presented on this web site or Agreement.
- Membership: A free membership is available by registering for a guest User Name and Password Level 1 access account. A paid membership is available for those who wish to pay their annual dues in order to gain a higher access of benefits made available to paid members.
- Intern Private Investigator Trainee Plan: A paid membership, comprising of the Professional Plan, PI Union License, Online Training Manual and Examination, Award Diploma, On-the-job assignment access to IPIU's job bank. "Internship" is defined as a complete training package, with forum members serving as mentors. Spare and Part time job assignments with selected national firms who provide undercover work are available to the member once they have passed their test and submitted the documents required for their PI Union License (membership card).
- Private Investigator Photo Credentials: The International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) offers a membership identification card, also known as a Private Investigator Photo Credentials" and/or a "PI Union License" hereafter referred to as "card". The card grants the bearer permission to use the card as a membership identification card for a specific period of time, as portrayed on the front of the card, and licenses the holder permission to use all applicable membership materials and benefits, including advertising they are a Member-in-Good-Standing. The bearer of the card is granted a license to use the good name of IPIU and its benefits for the term specified, under the conditions that the bearer remains a member in good standing. Customers who purchase the card acknowledge it is not a government issued license. Customers and members agree to indemnify, defend, and hold the International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) harmless in the event of a claim attributable to the misuse or misrepresentation of the member identification card.
Disclaimer on Private Investigator Photo Credentials: This identity card is issued by the Department of Registration of the International Private Investigators Union (IPIU), a non-labor trade association of professional private investigators, case examiners, attorneys, and other related professionals, for the sole purpose of internally identifying the person designated hereon, and is based on the member's confidential identification file. Further, IPIU is not responsible for the misuse of this identity card, nor certifies any supplementary representation than what is stated herein. To verify the bearer is a member in good standing, contact IPIU at www.ipiu.org
- PI Union License: The International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) offers a membership identification card, also known as a Private Investigator Photo Credentials" and/or a "PI Union License" hereafter referred to as "card". The card grants the bearer permission to use the card as a membership identification card for a specific period of time, as portrayed on the front of the card, and licenses the holder permission to use all applicable membership materials and benefits, including advertising they are a Member-in-Good-Standing. The bearer of the card is granted a license to use the good name of IPIU and its benefits for the term specified, under the conditions that the bearer remains a member in good standing. Customers who purchase the card acknowledge it is not a government issued license. Customers and members agree to indemnify, defend, and hold the International Private Investigators Union (IPIU) harmless in the event of a claim attributable to the misuse or misrepresentation of the member identification card.
Disclaimer on PI Union License: This identity card is issued by the Department of Registration of the International Private Investigators Union (IPIU), a non-labor trade association of professional private investigators, case examiners, attorneys, and other related professionals, for the sole purpose of internally identifying the person designated hereon, and is based on the member's confidential identification file. Further, IPIU is not responsible for the misuse of this identity card, nor certifies any supplementary representation than what is stated herein. To verify the bearer is a member in good standing, contact IPIU at www.ipiu.org
- Background Check: A background check, for potential unprofessional conduct, can be performed on any level of depth, including, but not limited to, a basic spot check of data at available websites. More thorough background checks can be purchased through recommended agencies. A signature of release is required on all submitted background checks.
- CRR: The Criminal Records Registration Form (CRR) is used to identity a potential member of IPIU before the PI Union License is approved for issue. The CRR grants IPIU the ability to check the applicant's public record for potential criminal records, if need arises.
Historical Note: Prior to 2002, before Homeland Security was created, the IPIU form titled Criminal Warrants Registration (CWR) at times used by to outsource a warrants check to the Dalton Police Department (DPD). DPD at that time charged $5 per warrants check to any non-government organization, including IPIU, who had written permission from the subject to run a warrants check, among other permissions granted by the subject. Although DPD is a local city police department in a state, the warrants database they used at the time was the NCIC Database of the FBI. Under this use, the DPD only had permission to supply organizations with an active warrants check. The DPD did not provide any other NCIC data or reports, except for the warrants check. This practice was discontinued after Homeland Security took control of the oversight of the database. Since then, many state government agencies provide a passive check of the NCIC warrants database when providing state criminal record checks on a subject. A passive warrants check is defined as a procedure whereby a lawful subscriber to the NCIC database, i.e Law Enforcement or State Criminal Records, passively enters a subject's name without requiring a return report to the subscriber. In this regard, when a subscriber submits 100 names of subjects as a batch to the NCIC, then the NCIC identifies the new submission of names. From the new data, if any of the subject's names are cross referenced to an active warrant or alert, the the NCIC will notify the original government agency responsible for the issuing of the warrant that a subscriber has information on a subject whose name was submitted passively. Under the passive rules, the issuing law enforcement agency has the option of sending personnel directly to the subscriber's location to manually review what may appear to be a subject with an active warrant. This safeguard prevents criminals from obtaining a "current warrant check" on their own identity through the prior policy of a standard active warrants check.
- Fingerprint Card: Until within the last few years, the CRR form required the applicant to have their fingerprints taken at a local police station on an FBI card titled PERSONAL FINGERPRINT CARD (PFC). The fingerprint card became an additional document in verifying the member's identity should the member ever run afoul using the IPIU identification card. In recent years, IPIU has discontinued the requirement of a personal fingerprint card because Homeland Security has put in place modern technological advances and fingerprints with the issue of state drivers licenses (which all states are now required to comply with). Therefore, the fingerprint card has not been required for many years.
- Personal Identification Card: This form (PIC) replaced the Personal Fingerprint Card (PFC). It requires the applicant to make a photocopy of both sides of their current drivers license, as well as other identification remarks. It must be notarized before mailing in.
- Tax Affairs, Financial Affairs, Legal Affairs, and Administrators, including the non-dēscriptus administrator User Names of Technical Support, Admin, and others may be used as collective cadre pseudonyms of professionals which may not bear any personal identifier as the individual specific author. Further, these collective groups of professionals posting under a non-dēscriptus administrator cadre pseudonym are free to express their own personal opinions without any personal identifier as the specific author representing themselves as a collective group name. However, they are prohibited from soliciting in areas of tax advice, financial advice, legal advice, or other areas outside the bounds of the Terms of User Agreement. These approved non-dēscriptus members who have a general background in relative areas, which may require a government professional license, may have an Assigned User Name, such as "Tax Affairs", "Financial Affairs", "Legal Affairs", or "Administrator", but they are prohibited from posting "advice" which may be construed as tax advice, financial advice, legal advice, professional advice, or any other consideration where either a government license is required, or advice which may exceed the author's permissions. They are, however, free to post excerpts from government authorities in order to aid the members in the resources available. As an addendum to this document, the following document Terms of Use item is to be considered additional terms of agreement:
http://www.ipiu.org/forums/showthread.php?39515
- PI Agency Corporation License: Members who wish to start their own private investigative agency may start by purchasing a corporation license to do business in selected states. The corporation license comprises of official Articles of Incorporation and a Certificate in Good Standing to operate as a corporation, which is issued each year by the Secretary of State. The PI Agency Corporation License is NOT a State PI Agency License to advertise in selected states.
- Bounty Hunter Agency Corporation License: Members who wish to start their own Bounty Hunter Agency may start by purchasing a corporation license to do business in selected states. The corporation license comprises of official Articles of Incorporation and a Certificate in Good Standing to operate as a corporation, which is issued each year by the Secretary of State. The Bounty Hunter Agency Corporation License is NOT a State Bounty Hunter Agency License to advertise in selected states.
- State PI Agency License: Members who wish to use their business entity, such as a corporation or LLC, may apply for an additional state PI Agency License which permits the corporation to advertise in the state as a private investigative agency. Qualifications vary from state to state, with some states having no additional requirement for a corporation to obtain a state PI License. The State PI Agency License is NOT a corporation license to conduct general business within the state.
- Colorado PI Agency Corporation License: Colorado offers a corporation license to do business throughout the state. Because there is no requirement for corporations to obtain a Volunteer Personal Private Investigators License, corporations are free to advertise as private investigative agencies without any other license. For those corporations who wish to request a Volunteer Personal Private Investigators License, this option is not currently available until both law and the new department are operational. Estimated date is Summer of 2013. Moreover, once the Volunteer Licensing for individuals is operational, business owners of corporations who are private investigative agencies will still be permitted to operate and advertise as a private investigative corporation. For more information, use the CONTACT US link at the bottom of this page.
*Changes to the Terms and Conditions.
www.ipiu.org and www.privateinvestigators.cc reserves the right to make any modification to the Definition Part 5 of our Terms of Use as we deem necessary or desirable without prior notification to you. We suggest, therefore, that you re-read this important notice containing our Terms of Use from time to time in order that you stay informed as to any such changes. If we make changes to our Terms of Use and you continue to use our Website, including, but not limited to, by logging into your account, you are agreeing to and accepting the Terms of Use and all Sections expressed herein, including any modifications. Please note any deletions or modifications to these Terms of Use shall be effective immediately upon www.ipiu.org and www.privateinvestigators.cc posting thereof.
ADDITIONAL TERMS FOR OTHER IPIU and this website Services may be subject to additional Terms of User at the following portal link:
http://www.ipiu.org/forums/showthread.php?2914