2.1 The Licensing Act: Individuals, Companies & Qualifying Agents
Key Takeaways
T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 26 regulates both individual private investigators and investigations companies, but the credentials and qualifications are distinct.
Section 62-26-204 requires a license for regulated activity and expressly says an individual investigator is not required to affiliate with a licensed company.
The 2,000-hour experience route—or one year of related experience or approved education—belongs to the investigations-company qualification in § 62-26-206, not the basic individual license.
A company whose qualifying agent stops serving must notify the Commissioner within 30 days and obtain a substitute within three months, subject to a discretionary extension.
Licenses are not transferable or assignable, and a company must display its company license conspicuously at its place of business.
The Licensing Act: Individuals, Companies & Qualifying Agents
T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 26 is the core Tennessee law for this examination. The fastest way to avoid distractors is to separate the credential types before applying a rule.
Regulated activity and definitions
Section 62-26-202 defines the terms used in the Act, including private investigator, investigations company, apprentice, qualifying agent, and Commissioner. A private investigator is generally a person who, for consideration, engages in defined investigative activities. A company is the business entity through which company-level operations are licensed.
Section 62-26-204 makes licensure the default for a person engaging in regulated private-investigation business unless a statutory exemption applies. It also requires an individual investigator to maintain a business address and expressly provides that an individual investigator is not required to affiliate with a licensed investigations company.
That language defeats the former draft’s “dual-license” claim that an individual may never contract, advertise, or work without affiliation with somebody else’s company. An individual still must satisfy applicable business filings and Rule 1175-01-.04’s issuance or renewal documentation, but the Act does not impose universal affiliation.
Individual license versus company license
| Question | Individual private investigator | Investigations company |
|---|---|---|
| Main qualification section | § 62-26-207 | § 62-26-206 |
| Personal minimum age | 21 | Applicant, partners, or qualifying agent as specified must be 21 |
| Examination | Individual PI examination | Company-business examination |
| 2,000-hour/related route | Not a basic individual requirement | Company must possess or employ a person meeting the experience/education route |
| Business role | Performs regulated investigations | Holds company-level credential and is responsible for company operations |
Under § 62-26-206, the relevant company applicant, partners, or corporate qualifying agent must satisfy personal qualifications and the company must possess or employ at least one person who has either:
- at least 2,000 hours of compensated, verifiable investigative experience satisfactory to the Commissioner; or
- one year of applicable related experience or education in a related area approved by the Commissioner.
The company provision is therefore broader than “the qualifying agent personally must always have 2,000 hours over exactly two years.” It allows possession or employment of a qualified person and offers an alternative one-year related experience/education route, subject to approval. Rule 1175-01-.19 explains acceptable documentation, including employer verification, transcripts, qualifying military investigative experience, and out-of-state company records.
Qualifying agent
A corporate company application identifies a qualifying agent who satisfies the statutory role. The qualifying agent is not a magic shield: the company remains responsible for compliance, supervision, records, and conduct within its operations.
If the qualifying agent ceases performing the duties regularly, § 62-26-212 requires the company to:
- notify the Commissioner within 30 days; and
- obtain a substitute qualifying agent within three months.
The Commissioner may extend the substitution period for a reasonable time. Do not collapse the two deadlines. Thirty days is the notice deadline; three months is the ordinary replacement period. The original guide incorrectly made both 30 days and asserted an automatic suspension not stated in that section.
Section 62-26-213 separately requires written notice within 30 days of specified company or licensee events, including a qualifying-agent or principal-officer change, material application-information changes, criminal charges that may affect licensure, and certain punitive-damage judgments.
Applications, issuance, and business records
Company applications under § 62-26-205 identify the business structure, relevant owners or officers, qualifying agent, location, and other required information. The Commissioner investigates applications under § 62-26-208 and may issue the license and identification after the requirements are satisfied. A material false statement creates risk independent of the underlying fact.
Under § 62-26-209, the company license is displayed conspicuously at the company’s principal place of business. Section 62-26-210 states that a license is not transferable or assignable. Selling a business, changing entities, or replacing personnel does not permit parties to “hand over” a state credential as if it were an asset.
A branch office and company-size category can affect filings and fees. Use the current TDCI fee schedule rather than older amounts in archived rules. A correct exam answer distinguishes statutory duties from an amount that may have changed administratively.
Applying the distinctions
Individual sole operator: An active individual licensee may operate without affiliating with another licensed company, but must have the required business/sole-proprietor information on file and comply with applicable company licensing questions for the chosen structure. “No affiliation required” is not “no business compliance required.”
Company hires a qualified person: A company applicant that does not itself possess the qualifying experience can satisfy § 62-26-206 by employing a person who meets the approved experience or education route.
Qualifying agent resigns: Notice is due within 30 days; the ordinary deadline to obtain a substitute is three months. The company should seek guidance immediately and cannot invent authority beyond the statute during the transition.
License sale: A retiring owner cannot transfer an individual or company license to the buyer. The buyer and new entity must obtain the credentials required for their own operation.
Exam checklist
When the facts mention hours, experience letters, college transcripts, a qualifying agent, company employee counts, or a branch, first consider the company rules. When the facts ask whether a person can qualify for an individual license, use § 62-26-207. When the facts ask who may perform regulated work, use § 62-26-204 plus the exemption section. This ordering prevents a correct company rule from becoming an incorrect individual rule.
Which statement correctly describes Tennessee’s 2,000-hour experience provision?
Every individual applicant must personally document 2,000 hours before taking PSI
It is a company-qualification route, and the company may possess or employ a person with the experience; an approved related experience or education route also exists
It applies only to apprentice applicants seeking a second permit
It replaces the company-business examination in every case
A company’s qualifying agent stops performing the role. What deadlines ordinarily apply under § 62-26-212?
Ten days to notify and thirty days to replace
Thirty days to replace, with no separate notice
Thirty days to notify and three months to obtain a substitute
One year to notify and two years to replace
What does § 62-26-204 say about an individual investigator’s company affiliation?
The individual must affiliate with a company employing at least five investigators
Affiliation is mandatory only for investigators over age 65
An individual may work only as a company employee, never as a sole operator
An individual private investigator is not required to affiliate with a licensed investigations company
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.