Virginia
Virginia licenses private security services businesses, and registers the private investigators who work for them, through the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). No law or final rule changed investigator licensing from 2023 through October 2026. A fee increase proposed in 2021 is still awaiting the Governor’s review.
At a glance
- Authority
- Department of Criminal Justice Services, Private Security Services. The Criminal Justice Services Board adopts the regulations with the advice of the Private Security Services Advisory Board (Code of Va. 9.1-141, 9.1-143).
- Statute
- Code of Virginia Title 9.1, Chapter 1, Article 4 (9.1-138 to 9.1-150)
- Rules
- 6VAC20-172 (businesses), 6VAC20-173 (training schools), and 6VAC20-174 (registered personnel)
- Who is licensed
- A private security services business license, with a certified compliance agent, is required to provide investigative services. Each private investigator employed by or contracted to a licensed business must hold a DCJS registration (9.1-139(C)).
- Qualifications
- At least 18, and a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien (6VAC20-174-40). No experience requirement; registrants complete the 60-hour entry-level private investigator course, which ends with a written exam (6VAC20-174-310). Fingerprint-based state and national checks; listed convictions bar registration, but the Director may waive the prohibition on written request (9.1-139(K)).
- Renewal
- Registrations last up to 24 months (6VAC20-174-40). Fees: $50 fingerprint processing, $25 initial registration, $20 renewal; a business license is $550 for 1 year or $800 for 2 years, and $500 to renew for 2 years (6VAC20-174-20, 6VAC20-172-20).
- Continuing education
- 8 hours of private investigator in-service training for each renewal (6VAC20-174-310(C), 6VAC20-174-50). Online in-service courses must come from a DCJS-certified school (6VAC20-173-180).
- Bond or insurance
- A business carries at least $1 million in general liability coverage, with DCJS as certificate holder; an investigator hired as an independent contractor carries the same coverage (6VAC20-172-40; 9.1-144).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Proposal to add human trafficking training for security officers
DCJS proposes to add the human trafficking training required by HB 203 to entry-level and in-service training for unarmed and armed security officers, couriers, security canine handlers, and alarm respondents, adding one hour. An earlier emergency stage was withdrawn June 12, 2026. Private investigator training is not among the categories named.
For licensees: As described, private investigator training hours would not change.
Human trafficking training for security officers, not investigators
Amends Code of Va. 9.1-102 and 9.1-141 to require training in recognizing and reporting human trafficking for unarmed and armed security officers, couriers, security canine handlers, and alarm respondents. It is the only 2023–2026 amendment to the private security services article, and private investigators are not among the listed classifications.
For licensees: No new training requirement for registered private investigators.
Pending since 2021: fee increase
A proposed fee schedule for 6VAC20-172, 6VAC20-173, 6VAC20-174, and related chapters (Town Hall action 5651) cleared Attorney General, Department of Planning and Budget, and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security review by September 29, 2021 and has been in the Governor’s office review since. The proposed text has not been published, so its public comment period has not opened (comment on the earlier notice of intended regulatory action closed July 7, 2021), and current fees still apply (action 5651).
Checked and unchanged
- No 2023–2026 act amended the sections governing investigator licensing and registration (9.1-138 to 9.1-140.1, 9.1-142 to 9.1-150).
- No final action on 6VAC20-172, 6VAC20-173, or 6VAC20-174 since 2018.
- The tracking device law, Code of Va. 18.2-60.5, and its exception for registered private investigators were last amended in 2022.
- The stalking law, Code of Va. 18.2-60.3, was restructured by 2026 Acts chapter 516 (SB 673); its exemption for registered private investigators moved from subsection A to subsection B without a change in substance.
Last updated October 17, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Virginia private investigator licensing: Licensing Law Tracker,” uscli.org/licensing-tracker/virginia (last updated October 17, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.