Wisconsin Statutes s. 440.26: licenses, bonds, penalties 16
A detective is hired to detect employee dishonesty for a percentage of the amount recovered. What does s. 134.57 require of a settlement made with the employee?Wis. Stat. s. 134.57
A license holder is convicted of a misdemeanor. How soon must the department be notified in writing?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(4m)(b)
A store's own employee investigates shoplifting for the store, sometimes away from its premises. Does s. 440.26 require a license?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(5)(b)
After a conviction under s. 440.26(8) for unlicensed private detective work, for how long is the person ineligible for a license?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(8)
An applicant was convicted of a felony in another state and has not been pardoned. What does s. 440.26 say?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(2)(c)2.
An investigator accepts employment with two different law firms. What does s. 440.26(5)(a) say?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(5)(a)
In the reporting rule of s. 440.26(4m), what is a "violation"?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(4m)(a)
Section 440.26(3) caps the term of a private detective or agency license. What is the cap?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(3)
To whom may the department issue a private detective license under s. 440.26(2)(a)2.?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(2)(a)2.
Show all 62 questions (53 more)
Wisconsin Statutes s. 440.26: licenses, bonds, penalties, continued
Under s. 440.26(2)(c), the department may not issue a license to an individual unless the individual is over what age?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(2)(c)3.
Unless the department acts sooner, how long is a temporary private security permit valid under s. 440.26(5r)?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(5r)(c)1.
What amount of bond or liability policy does s. 440.26(4) set for an applicant who is an individual private detective?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(4)
What amount of bond or liability policy must a private detective agency file before the department issues its license?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(4)
What must the department do when a license holder is convicted of a felony and has not been pardoned?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(6)(b)
What penalty does s. 440.26(8) set for acting as a private detective without the required license?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(8)
Which person is exempt from the private detective license under s. 440.26(5)(a)?Wis. Stat. s. 440.26(5)(a)
SPS 30 to 32: definitions, applying, the examination 19
A credential holder moves to a new address. Under s. SPS 32.04, what is the deadline for written notice to the department?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.04
A licensed agency is sold. What must the prospective new owner do before engaging in business?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.07(1)(b)
A licensed private detective ends employment with an agency. How soon must the detective send written notice to the department?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.06(1)
A licensed private detective moves from one agency to another. When may licensed activity for the new employer begin?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.05(1)
A person poses as a patron to check the honesty of a store's employees and reports to the employer. Per the note to s. SPS 30.02(12)(b)8., is a license required?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 30.02(12)(b)8.
A private detective applies to renew a license more than 5 years after the renewal date. What does s. SPS 32.03 require?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.03
After reviewing a failed examination, how long does an applicant have to file a written claim of examination error?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.04(7)(a)
An agency terminates its business. What must it do within 30 days under s. SPS 32.08?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 32.08
An applicant passes the examination but is still unlicensed 14 months later. What does s. SPS 31.04(8)(c) require?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.04(8)(c)
An applicant who fails the examination asks to review it. How long is the review under s. SPS 31.04(6)?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.04(6)(b)1.
An investigator licensed only in another state follows a case into Wisconsin. Under s. SPS 30.02(12)(b)11., what keeps this person outside the definition of private detective?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 30.02(12)(b)11.
How many times may an applicant take the Wisconsin private detective examination?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.04(8)(a)
How often must the department administer, or cause to be administered, the examination for the licensure of private detectives?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.04(1)
May a licensed private detective provide services for an agency as an independent contractor?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.01(2)(b)
Under s. SPS 30.02(12)(a)3., a person who acts as a private security person without a uniform, such as one providing personal protection, is which of these?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 30.02(12)(a)3.
Under s. SPS 30.02(12), obtaining information on a person's conduct, whereabouts or associations is private detective work when the information is obtained how?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 30.02(12)(a)2.b.
What must a licensed private detective agency do before doing business under a trade name?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.06(2)
When is an individual licensed employee not required to obtain a bond or liability policy, under s. SPS 31.034(4)?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.034(4)
Which item must an applicant for a private detective license file under s. SPS 31.035?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 31.035(1)(h)
SPS 33 to 35: practice rules, firearms, conduct 14
A client asks for a written account of the services provided. What does s. SPS 35.01(14) expect of the credential holder?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(14)
A private detective agency's license is suspended. What happens to private detective activity by its employees?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.03(1)
The department asks a credential holder to respond in the investigation of a complaint. After how long is the holder presumed not to have acted in a timely manner?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(23)
The department granted Agency A a firearms permit for an employee, who then transfers to Agency B. What does s. SPS 34.015(3) require?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 34.015(3)
Employing a person under what age to act as a private detective is unprofessional conduct under s. SPS 35.01(16)?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(16)
For which client is a written agreement not required under s. SPS 33.06(2)?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 33.06(2)
How does s. SPS 35.01(12) treat refusing professional services to a person solely because of that person's religion or national origin?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(12)
May a licensed Wisconsin private detective display a star or shield while acting as a private detective?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 33.05
Under s. SPS 34.01(3), a private detective may have on or near his or her person, apart from the conditions for carrying, a firearm that is which of these?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 34.01(3)
Under s. SPS 34.011, a loaded firearm in an agency employee's vehicle must be in plain view. What does that mean?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 34.011(1)
What must the identification an agency furnishes to its private detectives contain, at a minimum?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 33.04
When may a private detective serve two clients if serving one directly and adversely affects the other, under s. SPS 35.01(25)?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(25)
Which act does s. SPS 35.01(5) list as pretending to be a law enforcement agency or peace officer?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 35.01(5)(b)
Which provision must a private detective agency's written agreement with a client contain under s. SPS 33.06?Wis. Admin. Code s. SPS 33.06(1)(e)
Investigative practice: recording, tracking, privacy law 13
A detective stays on land after the occupant has notified the detective not to remain. What is this under s. 943.13(1m)?Wis. Stat. s. 943.13(1m)(b)
A person whose conversation was unlawfully intercepted sues under s. 968.31(2m). What is the floor on actual damages?Wis. Stat. s. 968.31(2m)
How does s. 942.08 define a "private place"?Wis. Stat. s. 942.08(1)(b)
In the stalking statute, s. 940.32, what is a "course of conduct"?Wis. Stat. s. 940.32(1)(a)
Is it an invasion of privacy under s. 995.50 to communicate information that is available to the public as a matter of public record?Wis. Stat. s. 995.50(2)(am)3.
Under s. 968.31(2)(c), when may a person who is not acting under color of law intercept a conversation?Wis. Stat. s. 968.31(2)(c)
What class of crime is impersonating a peace officer with intent to mislead others into believing that the person is actually a peace officer, under s. 946.70(1)?Wis. Stat. s. 946.70(1)(a)
What class of crime is intentionally intercepting an oral communication in violation of s. 968.31(1)?Wis. Stat. s. 968.31(1)
What does s. 885.365(1) say about evidence obtained by recording telephone conversations with voice recording equipment, in civil actions?Wis. Stat. s. 885.365(1)
What is placing a global positioning device on a vehicle owned by another person without that person's consent, under s. 940.315?Wis. Stat. s. 940.315(1)(a)
Which act is an "invasion of privacy" under s. 995.50(2)(am)1.?Wis. Stat. s. 995.50(2)(am)1.
Which relief does s. 995.50(1) give a person whose privacy is unreasonably invaded?Wis. Stat. s. 995.50(1)
Which use of a global positioning device does s. 940.315(2) leave outside the offense?Wis. Stat. s. 940.315(2)
How this list was compiled: Wisconsin Statutes s. 440.26 (private detectives, investigators and security personnel) and ss. 134.57, 885.365, 940.315, 940.32, 942.08, 943.13, 946.70, 968.31 and 995.50, in the statutes published October 1, 2026, and Wisconsin Administrative Code chapters SPS 30 to 35, each read on October 12, 2026 on the Wisconsin Legislature's site (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/440/ii/26 and https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/sps/professional_services/030). The topics follow what the Department of Safety and Professional Services says its private detective examination covers on its Licensure by Examination page (https://dsps.wi.gov/a-z-professions-list/private-detective/licensure-by-examination/): Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Code, and investigative practices. 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 department's examination, a training class or a prep publisher.
How it works
This unofficial Wisconsin private investigator practice test asks the law behind the state private detective examination: 62 questions on s. 440.26, chapters SPS 30 to 35 and related statutes. Not affiliated with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Read the full guide
What the examination covers
The department's Licensure by Examination page says the examination covers Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Code and investigative practices, with content drawn from the statutes and code chapters of the profession. Wisconsin's own name for the license is private detective.
What is left out
Court decisions, federal law and field technique. The investigative practice questions ask only what a Wisconsin statute states, such as s. 968.31 on recording.
A private detective works for an agency as an employee, not as an independent contractor, unless the detective holds an agency license (SPS 31.01).
No badge, shield or star while acting as a private detective (SPS 33.05).
Report a conviction to the department in writing within 48 hours of the judgment (s. 440.26(4m)).
Questions and answers
What score do I need to pass the Wisconsin private detective exam?
84%, the passing score on the department's Licensure by Examination page. A score on this page predicts nothing about the real examination.
How many questions are on the Wisconsin private investigator exam?
The department does not publish a count or a time limit. This page has 62 questions of its own.
How many times can I take the Wisconsin private detective exam?
There is no limit under SPS 31.04(8), and the department charges a fee for each attempt. An applicant who passes and stays unlicensed for a year or more must pass again.
Do I need to work for an agency to be a private detective in Wisconsin?
Yes. Section 440.26(2)(a)2. issues the license to an owner, co-owner or employee of a licensed private detective agency. To work for yourself, the department's page says, you also obtain an agency license.
Can a felon be a private investigator in Wisconsin?
No, unless pardoned. Section 440.26(2)(c)2. makes a person convicted of a felony in Wisconsin or elsewhere, and not pardoned, ineligible, and the department's page says such an application will be denied.