California private investigator- 2026/2027
Exam Mastery: Complete Study Material
with Verified Correct Responses for
Guaranteed High Scores!
What is the Jones Act?
The Jones act is a federal law that gives semen who were injured in the course of their
employment the right to sooth their employer for personal injury damages unlike almost all
land base workers semen are not entitled to workers compensation benefits under either state
or federal law.
Do all 50 states have UC records
Yes
Within what city United States is the majority of archived military personal records stored?
St. Louis, Missouri
What is the name of the federal agency that maintains archive military records?
National personnel record center
What does the tax assessor do?
The duties of the county assessor discover all accessible property to inventory a list, all taxable
property, the value of the property and enroll the property on local assessment role
Where would you get bankruptcy records?
Federal records, access through PACER public access to court electronic records.
If one of your employees gets shot while working a surveillance for you, who besides law
enforcement must you notify?
OSHA within 8 hours
Bsis within 7 days.
When tagging evidence what should be on the label?
,1. Case number
2. Item description
3. Date
4. Type of case
5. Case name
6. Location of evidence collected
7. Serial number
8. Collectors name
9. Investigators name
What does evidence chain of custody show?
1. Who had contact with the evidence
2. The date/ time evidence was handled
3. The circumstances for the evidence being handled
4. What changes, if any, were made in the evidence.
Can a California PI do bodyguard work if it is not connected to a case the Pi is working?
No, the PI will need a ca ppo license if they want to offer protective services.
What case law is referred to most often about the interviewing of juvenile suspects?
Gault. It was the US Supreme Court decision which held the due process clause of the 14th
amendment.
What state of California agency maintains corporate records?
Secretary of State.
A client didn't tell his attorney (who you are working for) about another crime he did but he
tells you. Should you tell the attorney?
Yes
What are some tips for crime scene photography?
1. Shoot most from typical eye level.
2. Use a 50mm lens as to prevent distortion in measurement.
3. Shoot from several viewpoints.
Compare the attorney-client privilege to the husband wife confidentiality.
1. A client does not need to disclose any confidential communication between him/herself and
the attorney that takes place between the lawyer client privilege.
,2. Spouses: you have the right not to testify against your husband or wife in a criminal trial
when he or she are charged with a crime.
3. You have the right not to disclose any confidential communication between you and your
spouse. This includes the right to prevent your spouse from disclosing any such confidential
communication.
Who can be an expert witness?
720 (a) a person. Is qualified to testify as an expert witness if they have the specific knowledge,
skills, experience, training or education sufficient to qualify him as an expert on the subject to
which his testimony relates.
Do juveniles have a 4th amendment right to privacy of their own bedroom under the parents
roof.
Not from parents.
Where do you retrieve real estate records?
Recorder, assessor, county clerk
Can nanny cams in a public vicinity of a residence include audio recording?
Google current law
How do you serve a subpoena on an international entity?
The Hague service connection.
70 countries creates uniform rules for service of foreign defendants.
What is suborsa?
Secret/ private Latin for under the rose. PI terms- filming someone who is injured.
Law enforcement needs records for a confidential case. Do they have the right to access
without persons permission?
Depends on records
When compiling a report for an attorney, a person tells you something bad about the subject
of the report. Do you put it in the report or tell the attorney privately?
Tell the attorney privately then add it to the report if the attorney wants it on the report.
How often is the DE -9 form submitted to the state?
Quarterly, employees wages and paid taxes for each quarter.
, Pi's have fiduciary relationship with their clients. What is this?
A relationship of trust.
If a pi gets into an altercation but no injury, who must the PI still notify?
Bsis
If a PI has to serve papers on a person behind a gate or wall, is it ok to jump it?
No, a pi can to 10services a year and is not exempt from trespass laws.
If an attorney asks you to hand out business cards, should you?
Usually no unless it's related to a case.
If you find broken glass about 12 feet away from the reported location of a prior accident,
what might that indicate?
Point of impact.
After multiple attempts to serve papers on a person at a residence, can you sub serve the
papers onto a 15 year old kid?
No, must be an adult.
You have two court papers to serve on two civil cases defendants living at the same home.
What is the difference between the 11 and 12 year old?
11 year old serve parents or guardian
12 year old serve parents and 12 year old.
If an employee quits, within what maximum time must the employer pay the employee?
72 hours.
If you are carrying a firearm due to cow permitting but you do not have an fq what should you
do with the firearm during an investigation?
Put in unloaded in the car trunk.
If the police advise the pi they found the pi's surveillance employee dead where the PI had
him on an assignment what government agency is the pi required to notify first?
OSHA
What does fiduciary mean?
position of trust
Exam Mastery: Complete Study Material
with Verified Correct Responses for
Guaranteed High Scores!
What is the Jones Act?
The Jones act is a federal law that gives semen who were injured in the course of their
employment the right to sooth their employer for personal injury damages unlike almost all
land base workers semen are not entitled to workers compensation benefits under either state
or federal law.
Do all 50 states have UC records
Yes
Within what city United States is the majority of archived military personal records stored?
St. Louis, Missouri
What is the name of the federal agency that maintains archive military records?
National personnel record center
What does the tax assessor do?
The duties of the county assessor discover all accessible property to inventory a list, all taxable
property, the value of the property and enroll the property on local assessment role
Where would you get bankruptcy records?
Federal records, access through PACER public access to court electronic records.
If one of your employees gets shot while working a surveillance for you, who besides law
enforcement must you notify?
OSHA within 8 hours
Bsis within 7 days.
When tagging evidence what should be on the label?
,1. Case number
2. Item description
3. Date
4. Type of case
5. Case name
6. Location of evidence collected
7. Serial number
8. Collectors name
9. Investigators name
What does evidence chain of custody show?
1. Who had contact with the evidence
2. The date/ time evidence was handled
3. The circumstances for the evidence being handled
4. What changes, if any, were made in the evidence.
Can a California PI do bodyguard work if it is not connected to a case the Pi is working?
No, the PI will need a ca ppo license if they want to offer protective services.
What case law is referred to most often about the interviewing of juvenile suspects?
Gault. It was the US Supreme Court decision which held the due process clause of the 14th
amendment.
What state of California agency maintains corporate records?
Secretary of State.
A client didn't tell his attorney (who you are working for) about another crime he did but he
tells you. Should you tell the attorney?
Yes
What are some tips for crime scene photography?
1. Shoot most from typical eye level.
2. Use a 50mm lens as to prevent distortion in measurement.
3. Shoot from several viewpoints.
Compare the attorney-client privilege to the husband wife confidentiality.
1. A client does not need to disclose any confidential communication between him/herself and
the attorney that takes place between the lawyer client privilege.
,2. Spouses: you have the right not to testify against your husband or wife in a criminal trial
when he or she are charged with a crime.
3. You have the right not to disclose any confidential communication between you and your
spouse. This includes the right to prevent your spouse from disclosing any such confidential
communication.
Who can be an expert witness?
720 (a) a person. Is qualified to testify as an expert witness if they have the specific knowledge,
skills, experience, training or education sufficient to qualify him as an expert on the subject to
which his testimony relates.
Do juveniles have a 4th amendment right to privacy of their own bedroom under the parents
roof.
Not from parents.
Where do you retrieve real estate records?
Recorder, assessor, county clerk
Can nanny cams in a public vicinity of a residence include audio recording?
Google current law
How do you serve a subpoena on an international entity?
The Hague service connection.
70 countries creates uniform rules for service of foreign defendants.
What is suborsa?
Secret/ private Latin for under the rose. PI terms- filming someone who is injured.
Law enforcement needs records for a confidential case. Do they have the right to access
without persons permission?
Depends on records
When compiling a report for an attorney, a person tells you something bad about the subject
of the report. Do you put it in the report or tell the attorney privately?
Tell the attorney privately then add it to the report if the attorney wants it on the report.
How often is the DE -9 form submitted to the state?
Quarterly, employees wages and paid taxes for each quarter.
, Pi's have fiduciary relationship with their clients. What is this?
A relationship of trust.
If a pi gets into an altercation but no injury, who must the PI still notify?
Bsis
If a PI has to serve papers on a person behind a gate or wall, is it ok to jump it?
No, a pi can to 10services a year and is not exempt from trespass laws.
If an attorney asks you to hand out business cards, should you?
Usually no unless it's related to a case.
If you find broken glass about 12 feet away from the reported location of a prior accident,
what might that indicate?
Point of impact.
After multiple attempts to serve papers on a person at a residence, can you sub serve the
papers onto a 15 year old kid?
No, must be an adult.
You have two court papers to serve on two civil cases defendants living at the same home.
What is the difference between the 11 and 12 year old?
11 year old serve parents or guardian
12 year old serve parents and 12 year old.
If an employee quits, within what maximum time must the employer pay the employee?
72 hours.
If you are carrying a firearm due to cow permitting but you do not have an fq what should you
do with the firearm during an investigation?
Put in unloaded in the car trunk.
If the police advise the pi they found the pi's surveillance employee dead where the PI had
him on an assignment what government agency is the pi required to notify first?
OSHA
What does fiduciary mean?
position of trust
