To become a Private Investigator in North Dakota is different from most other places. The difference is that North Dakota does not require much for you to work as a PI for a Private Investigator agency.
A Private Investigator course or Private Investigator training is not even needed.
You simply need to be employed and registered under a licensed North Dakota Private Investigator agency.
You will get a license for this:
North Dakota REGISTERED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
PRIVATE DETECTIVE APTITUDE TEST
You will need a North Dakota Private Investigator employer to get this license. However, you won’t have a North Dakota Private Investigator's license but you can work as a PI. This can be viewed as you being a Private Investigator under supervision.
North Dakota Private Investigator Sponsor
To become a Private Investigator in North Dakota, you need to be hired by a local Private Investigator agency as well as meet the basic requirements. Getting hired as a PI in North Dakota 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 North Dakota Private Investigator License
A full North Dakota PI license allows you to work for yourself with your own PI business. This requires you to have previous investigative experience:
2000hrs
Other than investigative experience, to become a Private Investigator in North Dakota, you need to meet basic Private Investigator requirements such as age, language proficiency, and other usual PI requirements of this nature. Furthermore, you do "not" need to take a government approved PI licensing course (most other places you do). But, you will need to take a government PI exam before applying for a full PI license.
ND PRIVATE INVESTIGATION AND SECURITY BOARD
In North Dakota, the government body that controls licensed Private Investigators is the PRIVATE INVESTIGATION AND SECURITY BOARD. Once you submit the proof of your ability to meet the requirements and experience/ exam to The Board, you will get your North Dakota PI license. Most jurisdictions will have a PI beginner’s license. In North Dakota, this license is the REGISTERED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR license. Getting this beginner's license is when your struggle will begin.
ND Private Investigator Beginner License
Your Private Investigator beginner’s license equivalent in North Dakota is just being support staff to a North Dakota PI agency with the REGISTERED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR license.
This will allow you to work for a North Dakota PI agency, but you will not be able to work for yourself (your own PI company).
This means you must work under the supervision of a fully licensed North Dakota PI agency. However, the term “under supervision” will be in namesake only. You will not be supervised or guided by an experienced North Dakota Private Investigator. In fact, PI agencies are not economically structured to have mentor/ student surveillance teams. Furthermore, a background in non-PI investigations will give you some transferable knowledge but it will not set you up to become a successful Private Investigator. New North Dakota Private Investigators still need to know how to be successful working surveillance operations. This is why practical Private Investigator education and training specifically for Private Investigators is necessary.
North Dakota Private Investigator License Requirements
You need to be 18yo or older.
You need to be an legally allowed to work in ND.
You cannot have a history of mental illness.
You must have a clean criminal and personal record.
You need a North Dakota PI employer.
To get hired in ND you need PI experience. If you don't have experience, you should take a PI SKILLS COURSE.
Private Detective Aptitude Test
North Dakota Private Investigator Employee Application
Private Investigator Salary North Dakota
This lack of guidance is why so many rookie North Dakota Private Investigators burn out and quit and why many experienced North Dakota Private Investigators are jaded. On top of this, PI clients with small budgets typically get the new unqualified Private Investigators, nobody wins in this situation. It is also not fair to small PI clients to use their files to haphazardly train new Private Investigators.

So, the time comes for you to work investigations in North Dakota with no Private Investigator experience or education. If you took a PI course or PI training, it most likely focused on legal matters with no real practical Private Investigator training or topics. You will always be told by North Dakota employers that “soon you will get some PI training,” which never happens. It took me over five years to figure out the industry and get good at a few specialized fields. During that time, I struggled and probably lost several hundred thousand dollars due to losing work opportunities from a lack of skill and education. What is sad is that this is a common story in the North Dakota PI industry. If you make it through this meat grinder of an industry and get 2000hrs of PI experience, you be qualified to work for yourself with your own North Dakota PI agency. Hopefully, when you are hiring new Private Investigators, you will appreciate the importance of proper PI education.
North Dakota Private Investigator Agency Requirements
You need to be 18yo or older.
You need to be legally allowed to work in North Dakota.
You need a high school diploma or GED.
You cannot have a history of mental illness.
You must have a clean criminal and personal record.
You need 2000hrs of PI experience.
You need to take the government PI exam before applying. You will have to contact The Board for exam information.
Thinking of Becoming a North Dakota Private Investigator?
“ICPI Level 100 online Private Investigator Training” is the ultimate blueprint to start your exciting and rewarding career as a real ND Private Investigator.
ICPI Level 100 will help you start successfully in this amazing new career, even if you know nothing about investigations.
Our team has vetted out the best training and investigative methods so that you can jump-start your journey towards having the meaningful career you’ve always wanted, immediately.
This training system will provide you, a successful detective, with all the templates that you need to succeed. A clear path on becoming a PI, understanding the PI business, becoming a successful PI, and thinking like a detective- all the tools you need to make six figures being an investigative Operative.
To date, this online training system consists of over 100 informational slides, videos, exercises and quizzes that provide a step-by-step path on how to achieve your dream job as a Private Investigator.
ICPI Level 100 takes about two weeks to complete with over 30 hours of high-quality training content that will make you a Private Investigator well on your way to becoming an expert in this fascinating career.
Certification
Get a certificate that "actually" matters. When you get certified by Novel Data in the 100 Level course, ND Private Investigator agencies will be aware that you understand the PI industry. This will give you a great competitive edge in the PI job market. Most PI applicants know very little about the PI job they are applying to. Not you. A PI hiring manager will not want to risk turnaround by hiring someone unfamiliar with the industry, they will choose an applicant who is familiar with what will be expected of them. With Novel Data's certification, that appli