SECTIONS 7540-7542.1 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 7540-7542.1

7540. For purposes of this article, "licensee" means a licensed
private investigator.

7541. Except as otherwise provided by this section, an applicant,
or his or her manager, for a license as a private investigator shall
have had at least three years' experience in investigation work.
A year's experience shall consist of not less than 2,000 hours of
actual compensated work performed by each applicant preceding the
filing of an application.
An applicant who holds a law degree or who has completed a
four-year course in police science, criminal justice, criminal law,
or the equivalent thereof shall be required to have had two years'
experience in investigation work.
An applicant shall substantiate the claimed years of qualifying
experience and the exact details as to the character and nature
thereof by written certifications from the employer, subject to
independent verification by the director as he or she may determine.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, only an employer or
his or her designated agent may certify experience for purposes of
this section. For purposes of this section, the term "employer" shall
mean only those persons, corporations, partnerships,
proprietorships, or other associations which, in the employ of the
designated individual, regularly and routinely withheld income taxes
and other payroll deductions for direct forwarding to governmental
taxing authorities.
An employer who is a licensee shall respond in writing within 30
days to an applicant's written request for certifications of the
applicant's work experience as an employee and either provide the
certifications or the reasons for denial. If the applicant notifies
the director in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the applicant
is unable to obtain the required written response from a licensee or
provides the licensee's written denial and states, under penalty of
perjury, that the licensee's reasons for denial are invalid or
insufficient and the director concurs, the director may require the
licensee to provide the bureau with all relevant employment records
maintained pursuant to Section 7531.5 regarding the applicant for
evaluation in substantiating the applicant's employment experience.

7541.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, experience
for purposes of taking the examination for licensure as a private
investigator shall be limited to those activities actually performed
in connection with investigations, as defined in Section 7521, and
only if those activities are performed by persons who are employed in
the following capacities:
(1) Sworn law enforcement officers possessing powers of arrest and
employed by agencies in the federal, state, or local government.
(2) Military police of the armed forces of the United States or
the national guard.
(3) An insurance adjuster or their employees subject to Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 14000) of Division 5 of the Insurance Code.
(4) Persons employed by a private investigator who are duly
licensed in accordance with this chapter.
(5) Persons employed by repossessors duly licensed in accordance
with Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500), only to the extent
that those persons are routinely and regularly engaged in the
location of debtors or the location of personal property utilizing
methods commonly known as "skip tracing." For purposes of this
section, only that experience acquired in that skip tracing shall be
credited toward qualification to take the examination.
(6) Persons duly trained and certified as an arson investigator
and employed by a public agency engaged in fire suppression.
(7) Persons trained as investigators and employed by a public
defender to conduct investigations.
(b) For purposes of Section 7541, persons possessing an associate
of arts degree in police science, criminal law or justice from an
accredited college shall be credited with 1,000 hours of experience
in investigative activities.
(c) The following activities shall not be deemed to constitute
acts of investigation for purposes of experience toward licensure:
(1) The serving of legal process or other documents.
(2) Activities relating to the search for heirs or similar
searches which involve only a search of public records or other
reference sources in the public domain.
(3) The transportation or custodial attendance of persons in the
physical custody of a law enforcement agency.
(4) The provision of bailiff or other security services to a court
of law.
(5) The collection or attempted collection of debts by telephone
or written solicitation after the debtor has been located.
(6) The repossession or attempted repossession of personal
property after that property has been located and identified.
(d) Where the activities of employment of an applicant include
those which qualify as bona fide experience as stated in this section
as well as those which do not qualify, the director may, by
delegation to the bureau, determine and apportion that percentage of
experience for which any applicant is entitled to credit.

7541.2. The bureau shall consider requiring, and may require, an
applicant for licensure to submit proof of satisfactory completion of
a course in professional ethics. If the bureau requires an applicant
to submit proof of satisfactory completion of a course in
professional ethics the bureau may specify which courses and course
providers satisfy the requirement.

7542. Every licensee and qualified manager who in the course of his
or her employment or business carries a deadly weapon shall complete
a course of training in the exercise of the powers to arrest as
specified in Section 7583.7 and a course of training in the carrying
and use of firearms as specified in Article 4 (commencing with
Section 7583) of Chapter 11.5. No licensee or qualified manager shall
carry or use a firearm unless he or she has met the requirements of
Sections 7583.23, 7583.28, and 7583.29 and has in his or her
possession a valid firearms qualification card as provided in Section
7583.30. A licensee or qualified manager who possesses a valid
firearms qualification card shall comply with and be subject to the
provisions of Sections 7583.31, 7583.32, and 7583.37.

7542.1. Every licensee and any person employed and compensated by a
licensee who in the course of such employment or business carries
tear gas or any other nonlethal chemical agent shall complete the
required course pursuant to Section 12403.5 of the Penal Code.

7542.1. Every licensee and any person employed and compensated by a
licensee who in the course of that employment or business carries
tear gas or any other nonlethal chemical agent shall complete the
required course pursuant to Section 22835 of the Penal Code.