The 2 Ways to Become a PI

There are two and only two ways to become a licensed Texas Private Investigator:

  1. Join an established Texas PI firm
  2. Set up your own Texas PI firm

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Both are do-able and both have pros and cons. That’s the 10,000 foot view. You can go either way. Now let’s discuss these two options, still staying at 10,000 feet.

1. JOIN AN ESTABLISHED TEXAS PRIVATE INVESTIGATION COMPANY

This avenue to becoming a licensed Texas Private Investigator means getting a firm to hire you. Sounds simple? All you have to do is apply right? Most Texas PI firms are one-man or one-woman operations. So it’s not as easy as I wish it was. I had to apply to five before I found an old LAPD Sergeant who would take a chance on me. He fired me 3 weeks later. But I digress…

Pros:

  • An established firm can facilitate getting your Texas Private Investigator License. It can take as little as two weeks once they begin the process. Once you are licensed, even if they release you, you are still licensed with the state, so that’s GOOD.
  • The firm might train you and help you develop skills.
  • The firm might pay you from the get-go.
  • You will get to see how at least one firm operates.
  • If they are a good firm, your name will be linked with them forever. And you can brag about it…

Cons:

  • If they do not train you, it will be difficult to succeed. Many firms have a one-fault policy. Screw up a case and you’re fired – this is why it’s important to get quality private investigator training before you join the “big game”.
  • It’s hard to get an interview, even harder to get a job. The nature of the business is low budgets, which means very few want to pay to train you and they do not care how difficult it is to become a private investigator.
  • Since most Texas Private Investigators are one-man or one-woman shops, they rarely hire anyone. And they rarely have any kind of private investigator training.

Special Insights:

A. If there is any chance to work with a firm and get your private investigator license in Texas, do it. Even if there are very few cases to work or you must work part-time for free, do it. At least you will have started. Then you can join TALI (link) and start meeting other PI’s and PI firms. We call this the “one-step-at-a-time” strategy for becoming a licensed Texas Private Investigator.

B. If the firm can’t train you, there are a variety of private investigator courses online that can help you to learn piecemeal, how to become a competent private investigator. I don’t recommend this for your primary private investigator training, but later in the article I’ll share a list of courses that I think are useful.

2. SET UP YOUR OWN LICENSED TEXAS PRIVATE INVESTIGATION FIRM

Setting up your own firm is the entrepreneurial way to being a PI. You get to be your own boss, decide how to market, what case management system to us, how to run each case, what prices to set, etc. It’s a reasonable amount of work and cost (eg insurance, state fees, office, etc.) and not everyone wants to do that. As one former NYPD Sergeant told me, “I just want to work cases, I don’t want to manage a business.” I completely understand his sentiment. I wish I could work cases 10 hours/day and then go home. I love working cases! Anyhoo…

Pros:

  • Once you have accomplished this, you essentially license yourself. You’re both an owner and a licensed Texas Private Investigator. You can tell others how to become a private investigator!
  • Which cases you take is up to you. 100% up to you.
  • You control your time.
  • You can choose your own name, build your brand, do it your way.

Cons:

  • Costs will include: insurance, equipment, legal, everything. It’s 100% your costs and responsibility! Sound like fun? ☺
  • If you have no contacts, getting your first case can be challenging.
  • If you have no training and/or have not watched another PI do it 100 times, how will you know what to do? We’re talking about marketing, sales, contracts, invoices, bookkeeping, reports…and that doesn’t even include how to work a case.
  • You will have no mentor to help you move forward, unless you can find one outside of your little firm. I got lucky in this and have three great mentors: a former police chief, a former FBI agent, and an attorney-PI (a rare breed).

Special Insights:

A. Assuming you have the experience to get approved by TOPS, you can go ahead and set up a firm while also working for another PI. Or work for two! This “double-bladed”: strategy is okay in the PI world. Only a small-minded PI would have a problem with it. But be transparent.

B. The University of North Texas has a special program approved by the State of Texas for about $4,000. Here’s a link: https://pdi.org/career-certificates/private-investigations/
Taking this course apparently allows one to start their own PI firm without any other experience. I have never met a PI who went through this course and became a PI, but I’m sure they must exist. I reviewed the modules and it looks like a good theoretical overview. So if you have plenty of funds and time, this might be a good way to get your license. But when it’s completed, you will need experience and hands-on training in order to be successful.