A company does nothing but investigate and report on the financial standing and credit of firms. Is it in the private detective business?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
A corporation investigates a matter solely for its own account. Does it need a license under the Act?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
A law firm's salaried investigator works only on that firm's cases. Does the Act apply to the investigator?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
A manufacturer's own employee investigates theft from that manufacturer only. Under N.J.S.A. 45:19-9, the employee:N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
An agency licensed in another state wants to work cases in New Jersey. What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-23 require?N.J.S.A. 45:19-23
In the Act, what do the terms "firm" and "association" include?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
In the Private Detective Act of 1939, who is "the superintendent"?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Since the amendment approved in 2004, does "the business of detective agency" include a watch, guard or patrol agency?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Under N.J.S.A. 45:19-9(c), which person is a "private detective" or "investigator" and not a detective agency?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-10 call advertising a detective agency without a license?N.J.S.A. 45:19-10
What makes a business a "detective agency" under N.J.S.A. 45:19-9(b)?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Which of these does N.J.S.A. 45:19-9 place outside the Act?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Which of these is a "private detective business" matter listed in N.J.S.A. 45:19-9(a)?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Which of these is listed among the matters a private detective business investigates?N.J.S.A. 45:19-9
Show all 89 questions (75 more)
The license: experience, application, fees and bond 30
A corporation applies for one location. What license fee does N.J.S.A. 45:19-12 set?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
A corporation replaces one of its directors. How soon must the superintendent be told in writing?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
A license certificate is destroyed in an office fire. What must the licensee do?N.J.S.A. 45:19-14
A license is revoked after one year. What part of the license fee is refunded?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
A licensed firm loses its only member with the required experience. Under N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.9 the license may:N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.9
A licensee wants to move the office to a new address. What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-14 call for?N.J.S.A. 45:19-14
According to the application instructions, what financial check is part of the background investigation?Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171), New Jersey State Police
According to the application instructions, when should an applicant obtain the surety bond?Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171), New Jersey State Police
After a license expires or is revoked, how soon must it and all duplicate copies be surrendered?N.J.S.A. 45:19-13
An individual applicant delivers a surety bond to the superintendent. In what amount, under N.J.S.A. 45:19-12?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
An individual licensee incorporates the business mid-term. What does N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.10 require?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.10
An individual licensee is hired as a county investigator. What must happen to the license?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.8
An individual licensee renews for one location. What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-12 charge?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
Before exercising any rights under it, where does N.J.S.A. 45:19-14 require the license or a certified copy to hang?N.J.S.A. 45:19-14
The bond runs to the State of New Jersey. Whom is it meant to protect under N.J.S.A. 45:19-12?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
For a corporation's application, the five citizens' approvals are needed for whom?N.J.S.A. 45:19-11
How may information the State Police gather in investigating an applicant be divulged?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
How much experience does N.J.S.A. 45:19-12 require for a license?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
In a corporation applying for a license, who must have the required experience?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
May an active municipal police officer be the qualifying officer of a licensed corporation?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.8
N.J.S.A. 45:19-12 makes a license granted by the superintendent good for what period?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
Under N.J.S.A. 45:19-12, the superintendent may not issue a license to a person younger than:N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
What do the State Police application instructions say about passports as proof of United States citizenship?Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171), New Jersey State Police
What does the Act call knowingly stating a fact falsely in a license application?N.J.S.A. 45:19-11
What is the amount of the surety bond for a firm, association or corporation?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
What is the license fee for an individual, for each location licensed?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12
When may a license certificate be photocopied or otherwise reproduced?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.2
Which form of payment do the application instructions refuse?Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171), New Jersey State Police
Who may serve as a reference on the application form?Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171), New Jersey State Police
Whose written approval must accompany an individual's application under N.J.S.A. 45:19-11?N.J.S.A. 45:19-11
Employees, identification cards and badges 27
The "employee's statement" must set out the person's occupation for how long before the statement?N.J.S.A. 45:19-16
A dismissed employee refuses to hand back the identification card. Whom must the licensee notify?N.J.A.C. 13:55 (identification cards)
A licensee falsely tells a client that a certain person is on the agency's staff. What can follow?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
A licensee files with the superintendent the fingerprints of someone other than the person actually hired. In the Act's words that is:N.J.S.A. 45:19-16
A licensee puts an investigator to work without paying the employee fee. What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-12.1 make the licensee?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12.1
A New Jersey licensee buys a shield stamped "Private Detective". Does N.J.S.A. 45:19-19, as amended, let him carry it?N.J.S.A. 45:19-19
A part-time employee is laid off and rehired. After how long a gap must the employee be fingerprinted again?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.3
According to the Unit's instructions, when may a new employee first be scheduled for work?Employee registration instructions, New Jersey State Police
According to the Unit's instructions, where does the notarized Employee's Statement (Form 202) go?Employee registration instructions, New Jersey State Police
After a conviction under the Act, who files a report with the superintendent, and when?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
An employee numbered 14 leaves and is rehired a year later. Which number goes on the new statement?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.3
An investigator loses the identification card. What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-18 require?N.J.S.A. 45:19-18
At renewal of the agency license, what is the fee for each employee already registered?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12.1
How soon after hiring must an agency send a new employee's registration to the Private Detective Unit?Employee registration instructions, New Jersey State Police
Must an investigator employed by a licensed agency hold a license of his or her own?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
N.J.S.A. 45:19-15 limits what a detective agency's employee may reveal about assigned work. Who may be told?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
N.J.S.A. 45:19-17 requires each person in the business to carry the card and show it at what times?N.J.S.A. 45:19-17
On what date each year must a licensee file a current list of employees with the Superintendent?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.3
To whom may a licensee issue agency identification cards under N.J.S.A. 45:19-21?N.J.S.A. 45:19-21
Under N.J.S.A. 45:19-17, whose signatures go on the card carried by an employee of a private detective business?N.J.S.A. 45:19-17
What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-18 forbid the holder of an identification card to do with it?N.J.S.A. 45:19-18
What fee does a licensee pay the superintendent for each new investigator it employs?N.J.S.A. 45:19-12.1
What lifts the hiring bar for a person convicted of an offense listed in N.J.S.A. 45:19-16?N.J.S.A. 45:19-16
Which act by an employee of a licensed agency does N.J.S.A. 45:19-15 make a misdemeanor?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
Which conviction, without an executive pardon, bars a person from working for a licensee under N.J.S.A. 45:19-16?N.J.S.A. 45:19-16
Which false statement does N.J.S.A. 45:19-15 make a misdemeanor for any person?N.J.S.A. 45:19-15
Which uniform or insignia does N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.5 forbid a licensee's employees to use?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.5
Advertising, prohibited acts and discipline 18
A client offers a licensee 20 percent of any money recovered in place of a fee. Under N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.7 the licensee:N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.7
A conviction under which New Jersey act is a named ground to deny or revoke a license in N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11
A licensee commits a violation of the Act that is also a misdemeanor. May the license be revoked for it as well?N.J.S.A. 45:19-26
A licensee takes a case against a former client, on a matter where the licensee had gained that client's confidential information. Under N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11 this is:N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11
A person subpoenaed by the superintendent fails to obey without reasonable cause. In the Act's words that person is guilty of:N.J.S.A. 45:19-22
An agency advertises services at an address that is only an answering service. What does N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6(D) require?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6
An employee holds an agency identification card. May the employee take private cases for his own profit?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.7
May a licensee sell someone the right to act as the licensee's agent under a franchise agreement?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.7
N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6(B) limits the name a licensee uses to advertise, solicit or contract. Which name is allowed?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6
The superintendent gives notice that an agency's advertisement may mislead the public. What must the licensee do?N.J.S.A. 45:19-20
The Superintendent sends written notice denying an application. Under N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.12, a written request to be heard is due within:N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.12
What does N.J.S.A. 45:19-22 call willful false swearing in a proceeding before the superintendent?N.J.S.A. 45:19-22
What may a licensee's letterhead never represent?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6
What must a licensee have before doing business under a trade name?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.6
What witness fees go with a subpoena issued by the superintendent?N.J.S.A. 45:19-22
Which act does N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11 list under fraud, deceit or misrepresentation?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11
Which lapse is a ground for revocation under N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11(A)(7)?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.11
Who conducts a hearing on a denial, suspension or refusal to renew?N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.12
How this list was compiled: The Private Detective Act of 1939 (N.J.S.A. 45:19-8 to 45:19-27) and the three sections amended in 2004 (45:19-9, 45:19-12.1, 45:19-19), the Private Detective Rules and Regulations (N.J.A.C. Title 13, Chapter 55), the Private Detective License Application Instructions (SP-171) and the Instructions for Employee Registration, each as posted by the New Jersey State Police Private Detective Unit (https://njsp.njoag.gov/private-detective-agency/ and https://njsp.njoag.gov/rules-amp-regulations/) and read on October 15, 2026. Each question names its section and links to the document. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law, rules and instructions named under "source". Nothing comes from an examination, a sample test, a testing company, a training course or a prep publisher.
How it works
New Jersey licenses private detectives on experience, not a test. This unofficial New Jersey private investigator license practice test asks 89 of our own questions on the Private Detective Act of 1939. Not affiliated with the New Jersey State Police.
Read the full guide
The 1939 Act and its 2004 change
The Act covers detective agencies and detectives who work alone. An amendment approved in 2004 took watch, guard and patrol agencies out of it and ended the badge exception; those questions use the amended text.
Rules the State Police add
N.J.A.C. 13:55 forbids franchise agreements and asks for a current list of employees every July 1.
What is left out
The Security Officer Registration Act and firearms law are not asked. The Act's 1939 offense words are quoted as written, not graded under the present criminal code.
A change of officers, directors or address goes to the superintendent in writing within 5 days (N.J.S.A. 45:19-12).
Register each new investigator within 48 hours of hiring.
No contingent or percentage fees (N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.7).
Questions and answers
Is there an exam for a New Jersey private investigator license?
No. The Private Detective Act of 1939 and the State Police application instructions ask for age, experience, citizenship, references, fingerprints and a bond, and name no examination.
What are the requirements for a private detective license in New Jersey?
Age 25 and at least five years' experience as an investigator or as a police officer with an organized police department or a government investigative agency (N.J.S.A. 45:19-12). The application instructions add United States citizenship and a credit history review.
How much does a New Jersey private detective license cost?
For each location, $250 for an individual and $300 for a firm, association or corporation, with a surety bond of $3,000 or $5,000. Renewal after two years is $200 or $250 (N.J.S.A. 45:19-12).
Can a police officer be a private investigator in New Jersey?
Not while active. N.J.A.C. 13:55-1.8 keeps an active member of a police department, or an officer or investigator of a government investigative agency, from holding a license or serving as a qualifying member, officer or director.
Do private detective agency employees need a license in New Jersey?
No. An employee need not hold a license, but the employer answers for the employee's conduct, pays a $15 fee and registers each hire with fingerprints and an employee's statement (N.J.S.A. 45:19-12.1, 45:19-15 and 45:19-16).