Terry:

41 states have PI License Requirements of some type.



Pat:

Depending upon the statutory language and applicability of each state, they may or may not be able to work as an Expert. r

For example, Oregon did not exempt Expert Witnesses from PI requirement until 2003.

Nevada's AG office firsthand told me they will allow an EXPERT to testify ONLY as to the standards of their industry, but the second you apply those standards to any portion of the case at hand, they state you are then operating as a PI in their state and if they find out they will prosecute the person. They also do not care that the majority of the work was performed in your home state where you are licensed to do the work. When you enter their state, you are under their rules.

Texas AG's office firsthand told me and wrote a letter stating that if retained as an Expert Witness, one can examine evidence that a licensed PI from Texas has removed, but the Expert can not remove ANY evidence themselves or else they need to be licensed.

Some states specifically exclude fire scientists from their PI Statutes, for example like the wording in submitted legislation for Washington State.

Adjusters are generally by law required to be licensed under the specific insurance code for each state and in general are exempt from PI license requirements.

ORS 703.411 Exceptions. ORS 703.401 to 703.490, 703.993 and 703.995 do not apply to:
(1) A person employed exclusively by one employer in connection with the affairs of that employer only;
(2) An officer or employee of the United States, or of this state, or a political subdivision of either, while the officer or employee is engaged in the performance of official duties;
(3) A person acting as a private security professional as defined in ORS 181.870;
(4) A person who is employed full-time as a peace officer, as defined in ORS 161.015, who receives compensation for private employment as an investigator, provided that services are performed for no more than one person or one client;
(5) A person that provides secured transportation and protection, from one place or point to another place or point, of money, currency, coins, bullion, securities, bonds, jewelry or other valuables;
(6) A person that places, leases, rents or sells an animal for the purpose of protecting property, or any person that is contracted to train an animal for the purpose of protecting property;
(7) A person engaged in the business of obtaining and furnishing information regarding the financial rating of persons;
(8) An attorney admitted to practice law in this state performing the attorney’s duties as an attorney;
(9) A legal assistant or paralegal engaged in activity for which the person is employed by an attorney admitted to practice law in this state;
(10) Insurers, insurance adjusters and insurance producers licensed in this state and performing duties in connection with insurance transacted by them;
(11) Any secured creditor engaged in the repossession of the creditor’s collateral and any lessor engaged in the repossession of leased property in which it claims an interest;
(12) An employee of a cattle association who is engaged in inspection of brands of livestock under the authority granted to that cattle association by the Packers and Stockyards Division of the United States Department of Agriculture;
(13) Common carriers by rail engaged in interstate commerce and regulated by state and federal authorities and transporting commodities essential to the national defense or to the general welfare and safety of the community;
(14) Any news media and the employees thereof when engaged in obtaining information for the purpose of disseminating news to the public;
(15) A legal process service company attempting to serve legal process;
(16) A landlord or an agent of a landlord performing duties in connection with rental property transactions; or
(17) An engineer or employee of an engineer while the engineer or employee is performing duties as an engineer or on behalf of an engineer. As used in this subsection, “engineer” has the meaning given that term in ORS 672.002. [1997 c.870 §3; 2003 c.364 §57; 2003 c.764 §1; 2005 c.22 §482; 2005 c.447 §14]

And here is one EVERYONE here will love:

Did you know that in some states, FELONS are allowed to operate as PI's legally under the employer-employee relationship for attorneys? They can obtain your SSN, DMV records, etc. There are several legal firms that have admitted using FELONS occasionally as employees to get the information they need. And there is not a thing that can be done about it, believe some of us have tried when we found this out.

The specific broad wording of what constitutes operating as a PI is where everyone is being lump summed into one Law. Here is the wording in Oregon, but it is nearly identical in almost all other states statutoy language:

703.401 Definitions. As used in ORS 703.401 to 703.490, 703.993 and 703.995, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Client” means a person who engages an investigator, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity for the purpose of conducting lawful activity on the person’s behalf.
(2) “Investigator” means a person who is a licensed investigator under ORS 703.430 and who engages in the business of obtaining or furnishing, or who solicits or accepts employment to obtain or furnish, information about:
(a) Crimes or wrongs done or threatened against the United States or any state or territory of the United States;
(b) The identity, habits, conduct, business, occupation, honesty, integrity, credibility, knowledge, trustworthiness, efficiency, loyalty, activities, movements, whereabouts, affiliations, associations, transactions, acts, reputation or character of any person;
(c) The location, disposition or recovery of lost or stolen property;
(d) The cause of or responsibility for fires, libels, losses, accidents, damages or injuries to persons or property; or
(e) Evidence to be used before any court, board, officer, referee, arbitrator or investigation committee. [1997 c.870 §1; 2001 c.838 §1; 2005 c.613 §9]

703.405 License requirement. A person may not act as an investigator or represent that the person is an investigator unless that person is licensed under ORS 703.430. [1997 c.870 §2; 2001 c.838 §2]

Note Points D & E are were we are having issues. And to further complicate matters, once it is in statutory law, it is far more difficult (but not impossible) to get the language changed or redacted.

All I can say is I am doing everything I can behind the scenes with my contacts in the regulatory agencies in other states to try and affect changes, but it is a very slow process.

Have a great day.

Chris