The licensing act: who needs a license, the three licenses and the penalty 13
A man with no license tells a Nebraska client that he works for a licensed detective agency. He does not. What does 71-3202 say?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3202
A Nebraska limited liability company with three investigators on its payroll takes private cases. Which license fits the company?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(7)
A person hands out business cards offering "private policing services" in Omaha but has taken no case yet. Under the Nebraska rules, is that holding oneself out as in the private detective business?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 002.01
How do the Nebraska rules define a "background check"?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 001.02B
May a Nebraska city still appoint special policemen despite the private detective licensing sections?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3203
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(5) describes the license an agency's investigators hold. Who is a "plain clothes investigator"?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(5)
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(8) rests the whole act on one phrase about advertising or holding out to the public. What is "private detective business"?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(8)
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201, who is a "private detective"?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(6)
Show all 69 questions (61 more)
The licensing act: who needs a license, the three licenses and the penalty, continued
Under the Nebraska rules, which service is part of the "secret service or private policing business"?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 001.02
What is the most a Nebraska court may impose for a Class II misdemeanor, the class of an unlicensed detective offense?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-106(1)
What is the penalty for violating the Nebraska private detective licensing sections?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3213
Which Nebraska official licenses private detectives?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3201(9)
Whose duty is it to comply with the Nebraska licensing sections and the Secretary of State's rules?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3212
Getting licensed: requirements, experience hours, the exam, bond and fees 24
A client is injured by the wrongful act of a Nebraska agency's employee within the scope of the license. What may the client do under 71-3207?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3207
A firm in Lincoln applies to be licensed as an agency. What application fee does section 008.01 of the Secretary of State's rules set for it?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 008.01
A licensed collection agency employee in Nebraska applies for a plain clothes investigator license. What does 71-3205(4) say?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(4)
A Lincoln applicant passes the license exam but the State Patrol investigation runs long. Under section 007.02 of the rules, how long does the passing score keep?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 007.02
A Nebraska applicant holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. How many hours of verifiable investigative experience are required?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.01C
A Nebraska collection agency employee, with the owner's knowledge, tells customers he is a private detective. What may follow for the collection agency?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(4)
A Nebraska corporation applies for an agency license. Which individuals must sign, verify and qualify under 71-3205?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(2)
After an applicant asks to take the Nebraska license exam, how soon must the test be held?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 007.02
An applicant's criminal record is read against Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3206. Which conviction, from any state or territory, stops the license?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3206
An Omaha applicant scores below the pass mark on the Secretary of State's license exam. Section 007.02 of the rules sets what wait before a second try?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 007.02
Before a Nebraska license is issued, who investigates the applicant's character and reputation, and by when must the result be reported?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(5)
For a Nebraska agency license, what must the designated person with the required experience be responsible for?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.03
How many hours of verifiable investigative experience does a Nebraska private detective applicant with no college degree need?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.01
How may the surety cancel a Nebraska private detective's bond?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3207
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(3) pairs United States citizenship with a minimum age for every applicant. What is the age?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(3)
Section 004.01D of the Nebraska rules names the two licenses that need a $10,000 surety bond. Which license is left without a bond of its own?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 004.01D
Section 004.01E of the Nebraska rules describes the picture that goes in with an application. Which description is right?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 004.01E
To which agency does a Nebraska applicant submit two legible sets of fingerprints?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(1)
What does the $38 fee in the Nebraska rules pay for, and when is it not charged?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 008.02
What happens to a Nebraska applicant who has not passed the license exam after three tries?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 007.02
What is the amount of the surety bond a Nebraska private detective must file and maintain?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3207
What score does a Nebraska applicant need on the license exam?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.01D
When does the conviction bar in Nebraska's 71-3206 not apply?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3206
Which past work do the Nebraska rules name as "verifiable investigative experience"?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.02
Keeping the license: expiration, renewal, advertising and discipline 13
A Nebraska agency replaces most of the individuals who directly manage its business. What may the Secretary of State do under 71-3210?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3210
A Nebraska licensee is adversely affected by an order of the Secretary of State. How is the order appealed?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3211
A Nebraska plain clothes investigator leaves the agency. What becomes of the investigator's license?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 006.02
An agency's plain clothes investigator in Kearney wants to run an ad. How does section 002.02C of the Nebraska rules let the investigator advertise?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 002.02C
Besides the exam score, what must be filed for a Nebraska plain clothes investigator applicant?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 006.01B
Is a Nebraska private detective license transferable to another person?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205(2)
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3208 says what a license shows (name, number, dates) and where it hangs. Where is that?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3208
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3209 gives every license, whenever issued or renewed, the same kind of expiration date. Which is it?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3209
Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3209 lets a license be renewed on a renewal application and payment of the renewal fee. What is the deadline for that payment?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3209
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3210, the Secretary of State may deny, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke. What must come first in each case?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3210
What do the Nebraska rules require of advertising in state and local publications?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 002.02
Which of these is a ground on which the Nebraska Secretary of State may revoke a license under 71-3210?Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3210
Who may conduct investigations as an employee of a Nebraska private detective agency?Title 433, Chapter 3, section 005.05
Wiretapping, trespassing, concealed weapons and intrusion 19
A 30-year-old who is not a prohibited person wants to carry a concealed handgun in Nebraska. Is a permit needed?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1202.01(1)
A Lincoln resident learns in March that her calls were unlawfully recorded. Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-297(5) starts a clock for her lawsuit. How long is it?Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-297(5)
A Nebraska investigator is handed a recording and knows it was made by an illegal wiretap. The investigator plays it for a client. What does 86-290 say?Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-290(1)
A Nebraska investigator slips into an occupied office building after hours, knowing he has no license or privilege to be there. Which offense is this?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-520(1)
A Nebraska investigator, not acting under color of law, records a telephone call the investigator is a party to. Is that an unlawful interception under 86-290?Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-290(2)
A Nebraska property owner personally orders an investigator to leave and the investigator defies the order. How is the second degree criminal trespass classed?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-521(5)
A Nebraska store open to the public bans concealed handguns. When does a person carrying one there violate 28-1202.01?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1202.01(5)
A person whose calls were unlawfully intercepted sues in Nebraska under 86-297. Apart from the special satellite and radio cases, what statutory damages may the court assess?Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-297(3)
An investigator charged with criminal trespass after entering a Grand Island store raises a defense listed in Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-522. Which one is on the list?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-522
An investigator flies a drone over a Nebraska backyard, knowing he has no privilege to do so, intending to observe a person there without consent in a place of seclusion. Under 28-521 this is:Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-521(2)
An investigator hides a recorder to capture a private conversation between two other people in Nebraska. Neither knows nor consents. What is the offense under 86-290?Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-290(1)
How is a first offense of knowingly intruding on a person, without consent, in a place of solitude or seclusion classed in Nebraska?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-311.08(1)
Into which of these places does Nebraska's 28-1202.01 forbid carrying a concealed handgun?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1202.01(3)
What does "intrude" mean in Nebraska's unlawful intrusion statute, 28-311.08?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-311.08(8)
What does Nebraska's 20-203 make a person liable for?Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-203
When may a person who is not an officer make an arrest without a warrant in Nebraska?Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-402
Which of these gives notice against trespass for second degree criminal trespass in Nebraska?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-521(1)
Which place does Nebraska's 28-311.08 name as a "place of solitude or seclusion"?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-311.08(8)
Who is forbidden to carry a concealed weapon by Nebraska's 28-1202?Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1202(1)
How this list was compiled: Nebraska Revised Statutes 71-3201 to 71-3213 (the private detective licensing sections) and sections 20-203, 28-106, 28-311.08, 28-520 to 28-522, 28-1201, 28-1202, 28-1202.01, 29-402, 86-290 and 86-297, each read on October 16, 2026 on the Nebraska Legislature's site (https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=71-3201), and the Secretary of State's Rules and Regulations, Title 433, Chapter 3, Private Detectives, read the same day in the copy the Secretary of State posts (https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/Chapter-3_0.pdf). The topics follow section 007 of that chapter, which lists what the license exam covers. 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 statutes and rules. Nothing comes from the Secretary of State's license exam, a training class or a prep publisher.
How it works
This unofficial Nebraska private investigator license practice test follows the license exam topics in the Secretary of State's rules: 69 of our own questions on the private detective statutes, the rules, wiretapping, trespass, concealed weapons and intrusion. Not affiliated with the Nebraska Secretary of State.
Read the full guide
What the Nebraska license exam covers
Section 007 of the Secretary of State's rules (Title 433, Chapter 3) lists fifteen topics, all of them law: the licensing statutes 71-3201 to 71-3213, the rules, debt collection limits, bonds, experience hours, advertising, renewal, wiretapping, trespassing, concealed weapons and intrusion.
Three licenses, one exam
Nebraska licenses a private detective (a sole proprietor with no employee), a private detective agency, and a plain clothes investigator who works for an agency. All three take the exam.
What is left out
Court decisions printed under the statutes. No question count or time limit is published, so a practice exam here is 25 questions at the real 80% pass mark.
A license holder cannot also work in debt collection, as a collection agency or its employee (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3205).
Every license expires on June 30 of the next even-numbered year, whenever it was issued (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-3209).
Recording a call you are a party to is lawful unless done for a criminal or tortious purpose (Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-290).
Questions and answers
What score do you need to pass the Nebraska private detective exam?
A minimum of 80%, under sections 005.01D and 006.01A of the Secretary of State's rules. A passing score is valid for 2 years from the date of the exam.
When is the Nebraska private detective exam given?
On the third Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Secretary of State's office in Lincoln, once the application is complete, according to the office's Private Detectives page read on October 16, 2026. It asks applicants to call first.
How many times can you take the Nebraska private detective exam?
Three. You wait at least 21 days between tries, and after three failures you are not eligible to take the test again (Title 433, Chapter 3, section 007.02).
How many hours of experience do you need to be a private detective in Nebraska?
3,000 hours of verifiable investigative experience, 2,500 with an associate degree in criminal justice or a closely related field, or 2,000 with a bachelor's degree (section 005.01). The rules set no hours for a plain clothes investigator.
How much is a private detective license in Nebraska?
$50 for a private detective, $100 for an agency and $25 for a plain clothes investigator, plus a $38 background check fee on a first application. Detectives and agencies also file a $10,000 surety bond.