A company does nothing but report on the financial standing and credit responsibility of persons. Does the act apply?MCL 338.824
A firm charges clients to find and remove hidden eavesdropping devices. Is that the "investigation business" under MCL 338.822?MCL 338.822
A licensed collection agency's employee traces a debtor's location while collecting a client's debt. Under MCL 338.824, that tracing is:MCL 338.824
A professional investigator works under contract for a Michigan county. Is that work exempt as government work?MCL 338.824
A public adjuster acts for claimants against insurance companies. What keeps the adjuster exempt under MCL 338.824(h)?MCL 338.824
A store's salaried employee investigates only that store's own losses. Does the act apply to the employee?MCL 338.824
Before advertising a business as a professional investigator agency in Michigan, what must a person obtain?MCL 338.823
Once the state issues a professional investigator license, what may a Michigan city require of the licensee?MCL 338.825
What is the short title of Michigan Act 285 of 1965?MCL 338.821
When does a professional engineer fall outside the exemption in MCL 338.824(i)?MCL 338.824
When is computer forensics part of the investigation business in Michigan?MCL 338.822
Which activity is "computer forensics" as the Professional Investigator Licensure Act uses the term?MCL 338.822
Which occupation does MCL 338.824(k) exempt by name?MCL 338.824
Which of these is part of the "investigation business" in MCL 338.822?MCL 338.822
Which person does MCL 338.824(e) place outside the Professional Investigator Licensure Act?MCL 338.824
Who is left out of the definition of "professional investigator" in MCL 338.822(h)?MCL 338.822
Show all 84 questions (68 more)
Qualifications, application, fees and bond 29
A license is revoked for cause one year into its term. What happens to the fees paid?MCL 338.829
A working police officer wants a Michigan professional investigator license. What does MCL 338.826(3) require?MCL 338.826
After a completed application is filed, how long does the department have to issue a license?MCL 338.829
An applicant files insurance in place of a bond. How much must it cover for injury or death of one person?MCL 338.829
The department finds an application incomplete. How soon must it tell the applicant?MCL 338.829
The department misses its deadline to issue or deny a license. What follows under MCL 338.829(5)?MCL 338.829
For a corporation doing business in Michigan, who must meet the qualifications of MCL 338.826?MCL 338.826
How long must each reference have known the applicant?MCL 338.827
How many alcohol related misdemeanor offenses bar an applicant under MCL 338.826?MCL 338.826
How many notarized reference statements must an applicant obtain under MCL 338.827?MCL 338.827
How much full-time qualifying experience does MCL 338.826(1)(f) require?MCL 338.826
MCL 338.826(6) caps the time a visiting investigator may spend in Michigan on a single case at:MCL 338.826
MCL 338.826(6)(c) forbids a visiting out-of-state investigator to do what while in Michigan?MCL 338.826
MCL 338.846 lets a license be renewed on application and payment of what fee?MCL 338.846
Under MCL 338.825(1), the department issues a license to conduct business as a professional investigator for what period?MCL 338.825
Under MCL 338.826(1)(b), the sole or principal license holder must be not less than what age?MCL 338.826
Under MCL 338.826(5), a reciprocal agreement lets an investigator from another state continue which investigations here?MCL 338.826
What does a license for a branch office cost under MCL 338.829(2)?MCL 338.829
What does MCL 338.829 charge a new applicant?MCL 338.829
What education does MCL 338.826 require of every applicant?MCL 338.826
What is the amount of the bond a Michigan applicant files with the department?MCL 338.829
What kind of military discharge bars a Michigan license under MCL 338.826?MCL 338.826
When may the department defer a renewal under MCL 338.846?MCL 338.846
Which citizenship rule does MCL 338.826 set for a license holder?MCL 338.826
Which job can count toward the experience rule if acceptable to the department?MCL 338.826
Which of these can stand in for investigative work under the experience rule of MCL 338.826?MCL 338.826
Who may bring an action on a licensee's bond?MCL 338.829
Who may not give a reference statement under MCL 338.827?MCL 338.827
Who signs and verifies the application when the applicant is a corporation?MCL 338.828
Running the agency: cards, employees, records 21
A job applicant has a fraud misdemeanor. How far back does the hiring ban in MCL 338.838 reach?MCL 338.838
A licensee dies. Under MCL 338.847(2), written notice naming who will carry on the business is due within what time?MCL 338.847
A licensee orders a metal shield engraved "Professional Investigator" to show to witnesses. Is that allowed under MCL 338.836?MCL 338.836
After an individual licensee dies, who may carry on the business first?MCL 338.847
After the department sends a license showing a new agency name, when must the old license go back?MCL 338.833
An agency plans to move its office. When must the change be reported to the department?MCL 338.833
An agency prints its own cards for employees under MCL 338.834(3). What may such a card say?MCL 338.834
An individual licensee dies. How long may the business be carried on without further authorization?MCL 338.847
Can a Michigan professional investigator license be assigned to a buyer of the business?MCL 338.835
Does a professional investigator license authorize carrying a deadly weapon?MCL 338.839
How does MCL 338.840 treat communications a client furnishes to a licensee?MCL 338.840
How involved must a licensee be in the work of the agency's employees?MCL 338.837
How long must an agency keep a report on file if it is not returned to the client?MCL 338.844
May a licensee lend the department-issued identification card to an employee for a single assignment?MCL 338.834
On receiving the license from the department, where does MCL 338.832 say it goes?MCL 338.832
Under MCL 338.840(1), with whom may a present or former employee of a licensee share information gained on assigned work?MCL 338.840
What must a licensee's advertisement for business contain?MCL 338.842
When must a licensee show employee records to police authorities?MCL 338.837
When the licensed agency is a partnership, who receives a department identification card?MCL 338.834
Where do the fingerprints of a prospective employee go?MCL 338.837
Which trade name may a Michigan licensee not use, even with an application for approval?MCL 338.843
Discipline and penalties 18
A dismissed operator refuses, on demand, to hand back the agency identification card. Under MCL 338.838 that is:MCL 338.838
A manager willfully gives a client false information. Besides a misdemeanor charge, what does MCL 338.840(2) provide?MCL 338.840
A person keeps displaying an unauthorized investigator badge for five days. How are the offenses counted?MCL 338.836
A person reports suspected unlicensed activity to the department. What protection does MCL 338.823 give?MCL 338.823
A person who was never employed by an agency tells a landlord he works for a licensed professional investigator agency. Under MCL 338.837 that is:MCL 338.837
A witness is subpoenaed in a complaint investigation and gives willfully false sworn testimony. How does MCL 338.845 treat it?MCL 338.845
After a conviction under the act, who reports it to the department, and how soon?MCL 338.841
After notice that a license is suspended or revoked, how soon must the license and identification card be surrendered?MCL 338.830
Besides suspension or revocation, which sanction does MCL 338.830(2) allow?MCL 338.830
The department orders a licensee to stop using a misleading advertisement and the licensee keeps running it. What may follow?MCL 338.842
In an injunction action against unlicensed activity, what civil fine may the court add?MCL 338.823
MCL 338.830(1) lets the department suspend or revoke for which of these acts by a licensee or manager?MCL 338.830
To impress the department, a licensee lists as an employee someone who never worked for the agency. What can that false statement lead to under MCL 338.837(3)?MCL 338.837
To obtain an injunction against unlicensed activity, must anyone prove actual damage?MCL 338.823
What is the criminal penalty for engaging in the professional investigator business without a license?MCL 338.823
What is the general penalty when a licensee or employee violates the act or a rule under it?MCL 338.851
Which law governs the notice and hearing that go with action against a license?MCL 338.840
Who may bring the court action to enjoin unlicensed investigative activity?MCL 338.823
How this list was compiled: Michigan Compiled Laws, Professional Investigator Licensure Act, Act 285 of 1965 (MCL 338.821 to 338.851), read on October 15, 2026 on the Michigan Legislature's site (https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Act-285-of-1965); and the "Licensing Requirements" page for professional investigators of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/cscl/licensing/prof/detectives/applicant/licensing-requirements), 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 act named under "source". Nothing comes from an examination, a sample test, a testing company, a training course or a prep publisher.
How it works
Michigan licenses professional investigators on experience and a bond, with no examination. This unofficial Michigan private investigator license practice test asks 84 of our own questions on Act 285. Not affiliated with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Read the full guide
Who is exempt
Section 338.824 leaves out salaried in-house employees, attorneys, collection agencies, insurance adjusters, certified public accountants and bail agents. A professional engineer or public adjuster stays exempt only without surveillance work.
What is left out
Statute only. Administrative rules, the security guard act and pistol licensing law are not asked.
Unlicensed practice is a felony: up to 4 years, a $5,000 fine, or both (MCL 338.823).
No badge or shield, even for a licensee (MCL 338.836).
Report a change of name or location 30 days before it takes effect (MCL 338.833).
Questions and answers
Is there an exam for a Michigan private investigator license?
No. The Professional Investigator Licensure Act sets age, education, background, reference and bond requirements and names no examination, and the state's licensing requirements page lists none.
How do I become a private investigator in Michigan?
Meet section 338.826: a United States citizen, at least 25, with a high school education, no disqualifying conviction and one of five backgrounds, such as three years as an investigative employee of a licensed agency. Then file five notarized references and a $10,000 bond.
How much does a Michigan private investigator license cost?
The act sets a $150 application processing fee and a $600 initial license fee, $125 for each branch office license, and $300 to renew (MCL 338.829 and 338.846).
How long is a Michigan professional investigator license good for?
Three years from the date of issuance (MCL 338.825). Renewal takes an application, the $300 fee and a renewal bond or insurance policy.
Can a police officer be a private investigator in Michigan?
Only with one of three documents: written permission from the chief of police or sheriff, the jurisdiction's published off-duty employment policies, or its collective bargaining agreement (MCL 338.826).