# New York

New York licenses private investigators through the Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, under General Business Law Article 7. No law amended Article 7 and no rule changed private investigator licensing from 2023 through October 2026. The changes reached investigators indirectly: a new image-dissemination offense in Penal Law article 250, which the licensing bar covers, the Clean Slate Act’s automatic sealing of older convictions, and a judicial privacy law requiring removal of judges’ personal information.

Source: https://uscli.org/licensing-tracker/new-york

## At a glance

- **Authority:** [New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services](https://dos.ny.gov/become-private-investigator)
- **Statute:** [General Business Law Article 7, sections 70 to 89-a](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/A7) (private investigators, bail enforcement agents, and watch, guard, or patrol agencies)
- **Rules:** [19 NYCRR Chapter V, Subchapter C](https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Document/I897ee975c22411ddb9e5b2e06f1b2e15) (Parts 170 to 174); experience equivalency at 19 NYCRR 172.1
- **Who is licensed:** An individual or a business entity, through a qualifying principal, holds the license ([GBL 70](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/70)). Employees are not licensed by the Department: each signs a verified statement kept by the licensee, and the licensee sends a second set of the employee’s fingerprints to the Department within 24 hours of hiring ([GBL 81](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/81)).
- **Qualifications:** At least 25 (GBL 74). Three years of investigative work as a sheriff, police officer, State Police member, government investigator, or employee of a licensed investigator, or an equivalent position and experience, or 20 years as a police officer or fire marshal ([GBL 72](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/72)). Under 19 NYCRR 172.1, equivalent experience means 3 years of full-time investigations as the primary duty, or 3 years of full-time supervising and reviewing the work of at least three investigators. A written exam, passed within the 2 years before applying ($15).
- **Background:** Fingerprints, good character, and a certificate from five reputable citizens of the applicant’s community (GBL 72). A felony conviction, or a conviction for listed offenses including weapons, burglar’s tools, stolen property, unlawful entry, aiding escape, drug offenses, Penal Law 165.25 or 165.30, or any offense in Penal Law article 250 (offenses against the right to privacy), bars a license unless lifted by a pardon, a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate of good conduct ([GBL 74(2)](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/74)).
- **Renewal:** Every 2 years. Fees: $400 for an individual and $500 for a business entity, initial or renewal (GBL 74). Renewals filed later than 6 weeks before expiration carry a $100 late fee, and no renewal is granted more than 6 months after expiration ([GBL 78](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/78)).
- **Continuing education:** None
- **Bond or insurance:** A $10,000 surety bond (GBL 74). A licensee that employs security guards needs liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate ([Department of State](https://dos.ny.gov/become-private-investigator)).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Feb 4, 2026 — **Bail enforcement schools no longer send student lists** — Final rule, I.D. No. DOS-24-25-00004 · Proposed June 18, 2025; effective February 4, 2026 — Repeals 19 NYCRR 171.8, which required a school giving the 25-hour qualifying course for bail enforcement agents to send the Department the names and addresses of students who passed. Bail enforcement agents are licensed under the same Article 7 as private investigators; the rule does not apply to investigators. — **For licensees:** No change for private investigators. — [NYS Register, February 4, 2026](https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/02/020426.pdf)[Proposed rule](https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2025/06/061825_compressed.pdf)
- Nov 16, 2024 — **Clean Slate Act seals older convictions automatically** — Chapter 631 of the Laws of 2023 · Signed November 16, 2023; effective November 16, 2024 — Adds Criminal Procedure Law 160.57, which automatically seals eligible convictions 3 years after sentencing or release for misdemeanors and 8 years for felonies, if no charges are pending and other conditions are met; sex offenses and most class A felonies are excluded. The act also amended Executive Law 296(16), which bars asking about sealed matters in licensing or employment unless a statute requires or permits it. Sealed records remain available to entities required by law to receive fingerprint-based criminal history checks. The 296(16) bar does not cover records obtained under CPL 160.57(1)(d)(vii), which includes entities required by state law to run fingerprint-based checks, as GBL 72 and 81 require of the Department. The act does not name the Department of State or private investigators. — **For licensees:** Executive Law 296(16) bars asking about sealed convictions unless a statute requires or permits it. GBL 81(2)(c) requires each employee’s statement to say the employee has not been convicted of a felony, and neither the act nor the Department says how the two rules interact. The Department likely still sees sealed convictions in its own fingerprint checks, but it has published no guidance on this. — [A1029-C / S7551-A (Chapter 631)](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S7551/amendment/A)[CPL 160.57](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/160.57)[Executive Law 296](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EXC/296)
- Jul 19, 2024 — **Judges can have their personal information taken down** — Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2024, Part F (Judiciary Law 859) · Signed April 20, 2024; effective July 19, 2024 — Judiciary Law 859 lets current and former state judges and federal judges send a written request to their court employer, which then notifies, by certified mail, each person, business, or agency the judge names; the recipient must stop making the judge’s listed personal information public within 72 hours of receiving that notice. — **For licensees:** An investigator or agency that receives such a notice must stop publishing the judge’s listed personal information within 72 hours of receipt. — [Judiciary Law 859](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/JUD/859)
- Feb 26, 2023 — **New image-dissemination offense widens the licensing bar** — Chapter 805 of the Laws of 2022; amended by Chapter 30 of the Laws of 2023 · In force February 26, 2023; amended March 3, 2023 — Chapter 805 added Penal Law 250.70 and 250.71, unlawful dissemination of a personal image, and Chapter 30 of 2023 amended them and repealed 250.72. GBL 74(2)(h) and 81(1) bar a license, and employment by a licensee, after a conviction under any section of Penal Law article 250, so the bar now reaches this offense. — **For licensees:** A conviction under the new sections bars licensing and employment by a licensee, as other article 250 offenses do. — [Penal Law 250.70](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/250.70)[GBL 74](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/74)

## Pending bills

These bills had not passed both houses as of October 17, 2026. Bills not passed by the end of the 2025–2026 term, December 31, 2026, die.

- **S5718 / A457:** would exempt private investigators from the sensitive and restricted location firearm limits in Penal Law 265.01-d and 265.01-e while working or commuting. In committee.
- **A4202:** would require private investigators to notify the State Police when employed by a foreign government or foreign national, and create a registry (GBL 70, new 88-a). In committee.
- **A4442 / S5811:** would replace the certificates named in the GBL 81 employee bar with a certificate of restoration. In committee.
- **S7713-A / A8779-B:** license plate reader data limits that count licensed private investigators as a “law enforcement agency.” Passed the Senate May 14, 2026; in Assembly committee.
- **S9088-A / A9642-A:** data broker registration and deletion (new GBL Article 42-A). Passed the Senate June 3, 2026; in the Assembly Consumer Affairs committee. No private investigator exemption.

The Department listed its 2001 amendment of Part 170, its rule on licensee employees, which added bail enforcement agents, for a five-year review in the January 28, 2026 NYS Register (comments were due March 16, 2026); the outcome had not been published as of October 17, 2026.

## Checked and unchanged

- No section of GBL Article 7 was revised after 2020, and no bill naming private investigators was signed in the 2023–2024 or 2025–2026 sessions as of October 17, 2026; A8382-A, which passed both houses on June 2, 2026, only rewords Social Services Law 110-a and had not been sent to the Governor ([Article 7](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/A7)).
- No proposed or adopted change to the Department’s private investigator rules (19 NYCRR Parts 170, 172, 173) appeared in the NYS Register from January 2023 through October 2026; the only notice was the January 28, 2026 five-year review listing for Part 170. A 2024 review of Part 171, on bail enforcement schools, kept it unchanged.
- No new tracking device law. The stalking law, [Penal Law 120.45](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/120.45), covers unauthorized GPS tracking, has no investigator exception, and has not changed since 2014.
- The core eavesdropping and unlawful surveillance sections of Penal Law article 250 (250.00, 250.05, 250.45) have not changed since 2014.