To become a Private Investigator in Missouri does not require PI education or investigative experience. All you need is a PI sponsor or employer.
You do not need to take a Private Investigator course or official state Private Investigator training to get this PI employee license.
This license is called AGENCY INVESTIGATOR EMPLOYEE.
PRIVATE DETECTIVE APTITUDE TEST
Missouri PI Sponsor
To become a Private Investigator in Missouri, you need to be hired by a local Private Investigator agency as well as meet the basic requirements. Getting hired as a PI in Missouri requires experience. If you do not have investigative experience, you should take a PI course that focuses on practical skills: Intro to a Career as a PI 100.
Full Missouri Private Investigator License
A full Missouri Private Investigator's license (work for yourself) is also not difficult to obtain. To become a Private Investigator in Missouri, the state will issue you a Missouri Private Investigator license if you meet the basic Private Investigator requirements and pass a PI test. You will take the PI test after you submit the application. When you get your Missouri PI license, you'll need to know how to perform investigations. After learning how to perform investigations, you can simply work as a Private Investigator in Missouri.
If you want to work for yourself, you'll need to get a Missouri PI agency license on top of having a full PI license.
It is recommended that you first learn how to perform investigations relevant to the PI industry. The fact that Missouri does not have education/ experience requirements does not mean that the quality of investigations is less in Missouri than in other states. In fact, due to poor state industry standards, having a PI license in general does not make you a qualified Investigator regardless of experience/ education requirements. The poor industry standard come from the non-relevant experience most, if not all, states require of you to become a licensed Private Investigator. This non-relevant experience can be education degrees and non-PI investigative experience.
Missouri Private Investigator License Requirements
Board of Private Investigator and Private Fire Investigator Examiners
AGENCY INVESTIGATOR EMPLOYEE
You must be 18yo or older.
You need a clean criminal and personal record.
You must be an American citizen.
You will need a Missouri PI employer.
You need to submit a release of information document.
To get hired in Missouri you need PI experience. If you don't have experience, you should take a PI SKILLS COURSE.
Private Investigator Salary Missouri
Private Detective Aptitude Test
Missouri PI License Application
FULL PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR License Requirements
You must be 21yo or older.
You need a clean criminal and personal record.
You must be an American citizen.
You need a high school diploma/ GED
You need $250 000 liability insurance.
You need to pass a PI test. You will be contacted regarding taking the test after you submit your application. You will not have to take the PI test if you have two years (full time average) of PI experience.
PI Experience in Missouri
An industry standard flaw most states have is regulations regarding law enforcement experience. Most states allow you to obtain a PI license if you have law enforcement experience. Some states also accept non-PI investigative experience to obtain a PI license.
The problem with states requiring previous investigative experience is that there is no such thing as equivalent Private Investigator experience.
Sure, a career in law enforcement will gain you some transferable skills to bring to the PI world. However, an investigative career outside of PI work will not provide you the skill-set to perform what we do the most: single person surveillance for insurance fraud investigations. Furthermore, PIs typically obtain all evidence via quality and litigious video. This is uncommon for most other investigative careers. Being a police officer will not make you a good PI the same way being a PI will not make you a good police officer.
Some states also require you to take an approved PI licensing course. However, these courses typically focus on what laws you need to be aware of. This is of course useful, but new Private Investigators still need to learn how to perform surveillance investigations. The required courses do not focus on what we do most:
single person mobile surveillance.
Often, these courses do not not even mention single person mobile surveillance. If you are becoming a PI, you need at least 100 hours of surveillance experience to be able to perform safely and meet client's high standards.
Another requirement issue is the acceptance of post-secondary degrees. These degrees that are accepted for PI licensing are typically in the criminal justice field. However, some states accept any post-secondary degree. The issue is, having an educational degree will offer almost no help to you in the Private Investigation industry.
Novel Data Investigative Learning offers the only Private Investigator education courses that focuses on mobile surveillance and understanding the PI industry. For more information on PI education, click here.
Thinking of Becoming a Missouri Private Investigator?
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