Missouri
Missouri licenses private investigators, private fire investigators, their agencies, and agency investigator employees through a board in the Division of Professional Registration. A 2026 law renames that board and adds professional surety bail bond agents to it.
At a glance
- Authority
- Board of Private Investigator and Private Fire Investigator Examiners, Division of Professional Registration, Department of Commerce and Insurance. Under Senate Bill 1421 (2026), it becomes the Board of Private Investigators, Private Fire Investigators, and Professional Surety Bail Bond Agents.
- Statute
- Revised Statutes of Missouri, sections 324.1100 to 324.1148
- Rules
- Code of State Regulations, 20 CSR 2234, chapters 1 to 7
- Who is licensed
- Private investigators, private fire investigators, private investigator agencies and private fire investigator agencies (RSMo 324.1104), and agency investigator employees licensed through the agency that employs them (20 CSR 2234-3.040). Applicants must be U.S. citizens (RSMo 324.1108), and private investigators must pass a written exam (RSMo 324.1110).
- Renewal
- Every two years (RSMo 324.1126). Renewal fees are $400 for an investigator, $300 for an agency, and $50 for an agency employee, with late penalties of $100, $100 and $25 (20 CSR 2234-1.050). An expired license can be renewed within two years; after that it is void.
- Continuing education
- 16 hours every two years for private investigators, reported by February 28 of each even year; 8 hours every two years for agency investigator employees, reported by April 30 of each even year. Not required in the first renewal cycle. Up to 16 or 8 excess hours carry over (20 CSR 2234-6.010).
- Insurance
- Liability insurance of at least $250,000, plus workers’ compensation insurance if chapter 287 requires it (RSMo 324.1108). Private fire investigators need at least $1,000,000 (RSMo 324.1110).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Board renamed and expanded to license bail bond agents
The public safety bill amends RSMo 324.1100, 324.1102, 324.1103, 324.1105, 324.1116 and 324.1134 and moves the licensing of professional surety bail bond agents from the Department of Commerce and Insurance to the renamed Board of Private Investigators, Private Fire Investigators, and Professional Surety Bail Bond Agents. The board grows from seven to ten members, adding three members from the bail bond or surety recovery business. Members serving on August 28, 2026 keep their seats. The board’s bail bond duties, and the abolition of the old board, take effect only once the governor appoints and the Senate confirms the bail bond members. Existing rules in 20 CSR 2234 stay in force until the board revises them, and the board fund is renamed.
For licensees: Licensing requirements, fees and continuing education for private investigators do not change. Expect the board’s name, and later its forms and rules, to change once the new members are seated.
Agency employees with an active license can change agencies without reapplying
A new application is now required only when an agency investigator employee without an active license moves to a different agency. An employee who holds an active license instead files a Change in Agency Affiliation form and a Verification by Investigator-In-Charge form, both on the board’s website. The proposal was published March 2, 2026, and adopted without changes; no comments were received.
For licensees: When hiring an agency investigator employee who already holds an active Missouri license, use the change of affiliation forms rather than a new application.
20 CSR 2234-3 Proposed amendment, Missouri Register Order of rulemaking
New crime of tracking a vehicle without the owners’ consent, with no exception for investigators
Enacted RSMo 565.260. A person commits unlawful tracking of a motor vehicle by knowingly installing, concealing, or placing an electronic tracking device in or on a motor vehicle without the consent of all owners of the vehicle, for the purpose of monitoring or following its occupants. The listed exceptions cover law enforcement in a criminal investigation, a parent or guardian who owns or leases the vehicle and monitors a minor child, tracking stolen goods or a stolen vehicle, a legally authorized representative of a vulnerable adult, anyone with the consent of all owners, rental, sharing, and leasing companies, lienholders repossessing a vehicle, and voluntary usage-based insurance programs. There is no exception for licensed private investigators. A first offense is a class A misdemeanor; a second or later offense is a class E felony.
For licensees: From July 1, 2027, do not place a GPS tracker on a vehicle without the consent of every owner. A client’s business purpose is not an exception.
Repeating a continuing education course now needs board approval
Private investigators and agency investigator employees may not take the same course in consecutive cycles without a written request to the board that gives the reason for repeating it. The amendment also restates the reporting cycles as March 1 to February 28 of every even year for investigators and May 1 to April 30 of every even year for agency employees. Hour requirements are unchanged. The proposal was published October 1, 2025, and adopted without changes.
For licensees: Get written board approval before counting a repeated course toward your 16 or 8 hours.
20 CSR 2234-6.010 Proposed amendment, 50 MoReg 1370 Order of rulemaking, 51 MoReg 158
State and FBI fingerprint check written into the statute
Enacted RSMo 324.1105 as part of a set of criminal background check provisions for many licensing boards. The board may require fingerprints from applicants for private investigator or private fire investigator licenses and from agency employees. If it does, the prints go to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for a state check and on to the FBI for a federal check, and the board gets access to the results.
For licensees: Little changes in practice. The rules already required fingerprint submission through the Highway Patrol’s approved vendor for applicants and agency employees.
Online licensing system opens
The board’s page directs licensees to register for an account in the Division of Professional Registration’s MOPRO system, which handles license applications, renewals and account changes online.
For licensees: Set up a MOPRO account before your next renewal.
Fee rule reworded; amounts unchanged
The board described the amendment as a language cleanup. It drops the word “fee” from each line item, states the additional agency license fees as $200 initial and $100 renewal, and renames the insufficient funds fee the bad check fee ($25). No fee amount changed.
For licensees: No change in what you pay.
Agencies must report departing employees within 10 days
An agency must tell the board within ten days, on the board’s form, when an agency investigator employee leaves, including the last day of employment. A departing employee must return the license and pocket card to the agency within five days. As first adopted, a new license application was required whenever an agency employee moved to a different agency; the 2026 amendment above limits that to employees without an active license.
For licensees: File the separation form within ten days of an employee’s last day, and collect the license and pocket card.
Last updated October 15, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & Investigation