Georgia
Georgia licenses private detective companies, and registers the detectives they employ, through the Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies in the Secretary of State’s Professional Licensing Boards Division. No act amending the Board’s statute, O.C.G.A. 43-38, was found from 2023 through October 2026; the changes came from Board rules and from general laws for professional licensing boards.
At a glance
- Authority
- Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies, Secretary of State, Professional Licensing Boards Division (Board rules page, archived)
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 38. The official code is published by LexisNexis for the state.
- Rules
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Department 509; expiration dates in the Secretary of State’s joint rules, 295-2-.01 and 295-2-.02
- Who is licensed
- Companies only. Each company license is held through a qualified designee, an officer or member who is directly responsible for operations and registered with the Board, and individual private detectives are registered as employees of a licensed company (Rule 509-2-.03).
- Qualifications
- Employees at least 18. A detective company applicant needs 2 years as a licensed private detective with a licensed agency, 2 years in law enforcement with a federal, state, county, or municipal agency, or a four-year degree in criminal justice or a related field, and must pass the company exam (Rule 509-2-.02). Registered detective employees complete at least 70 hours of classroom training (Rule 509-3-.06). Licenses and registrations generally issue after fingerprint and criminal background results are received; the Board may issue before results arrive when a registered employee moves to, or adds, another licensed company (Rule 509-2-.03).
- Renewal
- Company licenses expire June 30 of odd-numbered years, and employee registrations August 31 of odd-numbered years (Rules 295-2-.01, 295-2-.02). A detective company pays $100 to apply and $300 for the license, $300 to renew; an unarmed detective registration is $45 and a renewal $65 (fee schedule, archived).
- Continuing education
- 16 hours before each employee registration renewal for private detectives (2 in homeland security, 2 in ethics, 12 industry-related), not required at the first renewal (Rule 509-3-.12).
- Bond or insurance
- A company submits a $25,000 surety bond, a $1,000,000 general liability certificate, or an audited statement showing net worth over $50,000 (company application, archived).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
The Secretary of State’s website blocks automated access, so some agency pages are cited through Internet Archive copies of the official pages.
Division director may issue and renew licenses for licensing boards
Adds O.C.G.A. 43-1-3.1. The director of the Professional Licensing Boards Division may review applications to issue, renew, or reinstate a license and, if every qualification is met, act on the board’s behalf; other applications go to the board. New 43-1-26 limits each professional licensing board’s rules to those designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The act applies to boards in the division generally and does not name this Board.
For licensees: Complete applications and renewals may be approved by the division director without waiting for a Board meeting.
Criminal record review and preclearance for licensing boards
O.C.G.A. 43-1-19(q) already limited denials and revocations for a criminal record to offenses that directly relate to the occupation. For applications filed on or after July 1, 2027, SB 207 replaces “crime involving moral turpitude” with “covered misdemeanor” (a misdemeanor conviction within five years before the application, or one listed in O.C.G.A. 35-3-37(j)(4)(B)), requires individualized consideration with no automatic denial, and adds a right to a hearing before a denial based on a criminal record, 30 days to respond to a notice of record issues, petitions for a binding predetermination of eligibility, and duties for boards to post the standard and report annually. How the act interacts with the Board’s own disqualifiers in O.C.G.A. 43-38-6 has not been confirmed.
For licensees: Applicants with a criminal record can ask for a predetermination before applying, from July 1, 2027.
Military spouses may work while an endorsement application is pending
Amends O.C.G.A. 43-1-34 and 43-1-35(b) and (e). The spouse of a service member stationed in Georgia who holds a current license in good standing from another state may practice without a Georgia license while an expedited license-by-endorsement application is pending, if hired by a Georgia employer that first verifies the license and the filing. It also cut the deadline to issue a military spouse’s expedited endorsement license from 90 days to 30, and lets the spouse keep working if no license issues within 30 days. The act applies to every Title 43 board, including this one.
For licensees: A military spouse licensed elsewhere can start work for a Georgia employer while the application is processed.
Amber light law lists private detective business vehicles
Rewrites O.C.G.A. 40-8-35. New subsection (b) lists vehicles that “shall utilize” flashing or revolving amber lights under the conditions it sets, and paragraph (13) is a vehicle operated in the course of business by a person licensed or registered as a private detective or private security business under Chapter 38 of Title 43. Using amber lights not authorized by the listed sections is a misdemeanor.
For licensees: Business vehicles of licensed detective companies are among those the amber light statute lists. Board Rule 509-4-.04(2), which covers private security business vehicles and still requires authorization from the Board of Public Safety under O.C.G.A. 40-8-92, has not been amended since December 2022.
Residency no longer required for license by endorsement
Mainly enacts the Social Work Licensure Compact, but section 3 also amends O.C.G.A. 43-1-35(c) to remove the requirement that an endorsement applicant first move to Georgia and establish residency. Section 3 applies to every professional licensing board and other Title 43 board, including this one.
For licensees: An out-of-state licensee need not live in Georgia to apply by endorsement. The Board’s FAQ (archived April 2026) says it does not reciprocate with any other state for licensure and that every company applicant must pass the exam, with no exceptions for licenses held in other states. It does have limited license recognition agreements with eight states that let an investigator licensed there finish a home-state case in Georgia for up to 30 days per case per year.
Instructor certifications expire with company licenses
The Secretary of State’s joint expiration rule now lists “Companies and Instructors” for this Board, so Board-certified training instructors expire June 30 of odd-numbered years, the same date as company licenses. Employee registrations stay on the August 31 cycle.
For licensees: Certified instructors renew by June 30 of odd-numbered years.
Company qualification rule: any law enforcement agency counts
Law enforcement experience toward the 2-year company qualification now counts from any federal, state, county, or municipal agency, not only a police department. A dual detective and security company must meet both standards. The rule dropped the 45-day exam filing deadline and the 60-day deadline to complete an application.
For licensees: Investigators from non-police agencies can qualify a company with their law enforcement experience.
“Similar names” rule repealed
The repealed rule barred issuing a company license in a name already issued. Rule 509-4-.03 still bars names that suggest a public law enforcement or government agency, or that contain “police,” “enforcement,” or “federal.”
For licensees: Company name limits in Rule 509-4-.03 still apply.
License by endorsement for licensees from other states
Adds O.C.G.A. 43-1-35(c): a professional licensing board or other board shall issue a license by endorsement to an applicant who has moved to Georgia and established residency, holds a current license in good standing from a state with substantially similar training, experience, and testing, and passes any required Georgia laws and rules exam. SB 195 removed the residency condition in 2024. Firefighters, health care providers, and law enforcement officers are excluded. The section reaches every Title 43 board, including this one (O.C.G.A. 43-1-34 defines “other board”).
For licensees: The Board’s FAQ (archived April 2026) says it does not reciprocate with any other state for licensure and that every company applicant must pass the exam, with no exceptions for licenses held in other states. It does have limited license recognition agreements with eight states that let an investigator licensed there finish a home-state case in Georgia for up to 30 days per case per year.
Checked and unchanged
- No 2023–2026 act amending O.C.G.A. 43-38 was found.
- Rule changes in 2023 that only reworded or renamed: chapter 509-3 retitled (January 19, 2023), and the advertising rule 509-4-.08 reworded (January 26, 2023); agency advertising has had to show the license number since 2007.
- The training (509-3-.06) and continuing education (509-3-.12) rules were last amended in July 2022, and the fee schedule did not change.
- No change to Georgia’s eavesdropping and surveillance laws (O.C.G.A. 16-11-62, 16-11-66.1) was found.
Last updated October 17, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Georgia private detective licensing: Licensing Law Tracker,” uscli.org/licensing-tracker/georgia (last updated October 17, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.