Connecticut Private Investigator License Practice Test
Unofficial questions on Connecticut's private detective statutes, the law behind a license that has no written examination.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Bank checked October 14, 2026.
A Hartford woman is in the business of following people and reporting what they do. Under section 29-152u, what is she?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(4)
A man with no license advertises "investigating services" in Connecticut. What does section 29-153 require first?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-153
A New Haven firm is in the business of guarding individual clients in person. How does section 29-152u(4) class that business?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(4)
An engineer is hired to find the cause of a crane accident as a bona fide engineering service. Is the engineer a "private detective"?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(4)
How does section 29-152u(5) describe a "private detective agency"?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(5)
May a licensed private detective provide nonuniformed guard services for a client's property?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156h
Section 29-152u(6) gives "private investigator" a meaning of its own. What is it?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(6)
Which business does section 29-152u(4) place within "private detective"?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(4)
Which evidence work does section 29-152u(4) name as private detective business?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(4)
Who is "the commissioner" in chapter 534?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-152u(2)
Show all 78 questions (68 more)
Qualifications 23
A license is granted on the strength of experience as an investigator with a municipal fire department. What limit applies?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
A man ran an unlicensed detective business for three years. May that time count toward the experience requirement?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-161(a)
A person is found to have violated section 29-153 by working without a license. For how long is that person ineligible to apply?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-161(a)
A person who cannot meet the character standards holds 12 per cent of a corporation's stock. What may the commissioner do?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154b
A person with a criminal conviction wants to know, before applying, whether it disqualifies them. What does section 29-154a(e) allow?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(e)
A police officer with no investigator experience applies. How many years with a state or organized municipal police department qualify?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
A serving town police officer applies for a private detective license. What does section 29-154c say?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154c
An applicant completed a course of instruction pertinent to the license. How much experience may the commissioner substitute for it?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(b)
An applicant worked six years as a security officer. Does that count as investigator experience?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
An applicant's mother writes one of the character reference letters. What does the licensing page say?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
The commissioner denies a license. How long does the applicant have to appeal in writing to the commissioner?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(d)
Does Connecticut's licensing page list a written examination among the materials for a private detective license?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
For the misdemeanors listed in section 29-154a(c)(2), how far back does a conviction bar a license?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(c)
How many letters of character reference does the state's licensing page ask of an applicant?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
How much experience as a full-time investigator does section 29-154a require?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
How soon must the commissioner answer a determination request?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(e)
Section 29-154a sets a floor on the age of a license applicant. What is it?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
What is the most the commissioner may charge for a determination request under section 29-154a(e)?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(e)
What minimum education does the licensing page ask an applicant to document?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
When a corporation seeks an agency license under section 29-154a, which person has to satisfy the rules written for an individual?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(a)
Which conviction bars a private detective license whenever it occurred?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(c)
Which military discharge bars a license under section 29-154a(c)?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-154a(c)
Within how many days must everything requested for an application or renewal reach the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
Application, bond, license and fees 21
A client is aggrieved by a licensee's act in violation of the chapter. Against whom may the client proceed on the bond?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155a(a)
A license expired in January and renewal is sought in May, past the ninety days of section 29-155c. What is charged?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155c
A licensee lets a friend hold and show the licensee's identification card. What does section 29-156 say?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156
A licensee opens a branch office. How soon must the commissioner be advised in writing?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156e
A licensee's liability insurer cancels the policy. How soon must the commissioner be told in writing?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155a(c)
A partnership is licensed under section 29-155b. What is its license called?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155b
A partnership pays for its first license under section 29-155c. How much?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155c
How many complete sets of fingerprints does an applicant submit under section 29-155?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155(b)
How many years of residences and employment must the application state?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155(a)
Section 29-155(a) fixes the form of a license application. What is it?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155(a)
Section 29-156 says the pocket identification card stays on the person. During what?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156
Section 29-155b fixes the term of a license. How long?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155b
Under section 29-155d, in which places is the license certificate, or a copy, kept on view?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155d
What bond does an applicant for a Connecticut private detective license post?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155a(a)
What certificate of general liability insurance must an applicant provide before a license is issued?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155a(b)
What does an individual private detective pay to renew every two years?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155c
What does the commissioner issue to each licensee once a license is granted?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156
What is the fee for an original license as an individual private detective?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155c
What must each licensee let the department do with records that regulation requires it to keep?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155b
Which proposed trade name does section 29-155 rule out?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155(c)
Who must approve a licensee's trade name?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-155(c)
Registered private investigators 14
A former employee of a licensed private detective is asked about an old case by a reporter. What does section 29-156g require?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156g
A private investigator is let go and keeps the agency identification card. What does section 29-156b say?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156b
A registered private investigator leaves the agency. How soon must the licensee notify the commissioner?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(e)
A woman was once refused a private detective license only because she lacked the minimum experience. May she be registered as a private investigator?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(c)
How old must a private investigator employed by a licensee be?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(a)
May a Connecticut private detective or private investigator carry a badge showing that he is a private detective?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156d
May a new hire work as a private investigator while the registration application is pending?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(d)
Under section 29-156b, an agency investigator's identification card is issued by whom?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156b
What is the fine for violating section 29-156a on registering private investigators?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(f)
What must a private investigator's identification card certify?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156b
What sum, payable to the state, goes with an application under section 29-156a(c) to register an employee?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(c)
When must a licensee apply to register a newly hired private investigator?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(b)
Where is a private investigator's registration form placed on file?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(c)
Whom does section 29-156a(c) shut out of registration as an employee investigator?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-156a(c)
Discipline and penalties 10
A licensee is convicted of a felony. What must any action on the license be based upon?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
A licensee left a conviction off the renewal application. Is that a ground for discipline?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
Apart from the registration section, what is the criminal penalty for violating sections 29-153 to 29-161?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-161(a)
By the state's licensing page, what may follow when an agency fails to register an employee who works as an investigator?Connecticut DESPP, How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?
The commissioner may set civil penalties by regulation. What is the ceiling on any such penalty?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-161(a)
Section 29-158(2) names a way of dealing with clients that can cost a license. Which?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
To whom does the commissioner distribute the annual list of licensed private detectives and agencies?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-159
What must the commissioner give a licensee before suspending or revoking a license?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
Where is an appeal from the commissioner's suspension or revocation order brought?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
Which showing in the conduct of the business is a ground for revocation under section 29-158(4)?Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-158
How this list was compiled: General Statutes of Connecticut, chapter 534, Part I (Private Detectives and Private Detective Agencies), sections 29-152u to 29-161, revised to January 1, 2025, read on October 14, 2026 on the Connecticut General Assembly's site (https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_534.htm) with the 2026 Supplement, which changes no section of Part I; and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection's page "How can I get licensed as a private detective agency in Connecticut?" (https://portal.ct.gov/despp/knowledge-base/articles/frequently-asked-questions/slfu/private-detectives), read the same day. Each question names its section and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law and the state pages named under "source". Nothing comes from an examination, a sample test, a testing company, a training course or a prep publisher.
How it works
Connecticut gives no written private detective examination, so this unofficial Connecticut private investigator license practice test is law practice: 78 questions of our own from General Statutes chapter 534. Not affiliated with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Read the full guide
Detective is the license, investigator the employee
In chapter 534 a private detective holds the license, and a private investigator is the licensee's employee, registered with the commissioner (section 29-152u).
Two deadlines of five
A new branch office is reported within five business days of opening, and a registered investigator's departure within five days (sections 29-156e and 29-156a).
What is left out
Statute and the state's licensing page only. The regulations under section 29-161, the chapter's Part II on security services and court decisions are not asked.
No badge or shield of any description, for licensee or employee (section 29-156d).
Security officer work is not investigator experience (section 29-154a).
A renewal sought more than ninety days late costs the original fee (section 29-155c).
Questions and answers
Is there an exam for a Connecticut private investigator license?
No written one. The state's licensing page lists the application, fingerprints, four reference letters and records, and says an oral interview is held as part of the background process. Chapter 534 names no examination.
How do I become a private investigator in Connecticut?
Be hired by a licensed private detective or agency, which registers you with the commissioner at once, with fingerprints, photographs and a $40 fee. You must be at least 18 and of good moral character (section 29-156a).
What are the requirements for a private detective license in Connecticut?
Age 25, good moral character, and five years as a full-time investigator or ten years as a state or municipal police officer. A $10,000 bond and $300,000 of general liability insurance come first (sections 29-154a and 29-155a).
How much is a private detective license in Connecticut?
$1,450 for an individual's original license and $625 to renew every two years; $1,750 and $1,000 for a private detective agency (section 29-155c).
Can a felon be a private investigator in Connecticut?
Not as a licensee: no license issues to a person convicted of any felony (section 29-154a). Registration as an employee is refused for a felony, a sexual offense or a crime of moral turpitude, subject to section 46a-80 (section 29-156a).