California private Investigator exam prep

We offer study material to help you pass the California PI Exam. The study material we offer is our (2017) book, The California Legal Investigator: A Book on Investigative Methods for Investigators Without Law Enforcement Authority and Managing a California-Based Private Investigations Agency. The book features a 150-question final exam with many answer explanations, and it's usually ranked in the Top 100 Best Sellers in the Legal Services Section.  You may purchase the book on Amazon.com. Click on the "Buy Now" button to read the reviews or to purchase the book.

About our study material...

Our book is based on extensive review of hundreds of pages of civil codes, criminal codes, procedural codes, evidence codes, business and professions codes, discussions with other professionals, and the study outline provided to all exam takers. Best of all, the author is a licensed private investigator and he passed the state exam on the first try. Our product is based on the techniques and knowledge he used to pass!

We emphasize that no practice exam (including the one we have in our book) will cover the state exam completely (unless it was obtained illegally).  Our company is based on integrity so none of our questions should be on the state exam. If you are looking for something exactly like the state exam, go find another vendor. We have plenty of clients who are willing to pass the exam through hard work and good study efforts.

However, if you want to become one of our hundreds of clients who have passed the state exam, you must be able to know the law and techniques used in our industry and apply this knowledge to any fact pattern presented on the exam. Roughly 95% of our clients have passed using our advice and our study material.

HERE IS WHAT OUR BOOK COVERS:

Traffic Collision Investigation

The traffic collision investigation portion of our exam covers how to investigate (privately) traffic collisions and evidence collection (for example: what do you do if you find a piece of evidence at the scene?).

Evidence Code and Recording Issues

We cover the general rules and theories of evidence such as probative value, admissibility of evidence, witnesses, and privileges), interviews declarations, affidavits, and audio recording issues.

Private and Public Records

We cover the collection of public and private records:  UCC financing statements and records held by the Secretary of State, City Clerk, County Clerk, County Recorder, and County Registrar.

We also cover the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Fair Credit Reporting Act, California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, and background checks.

When you qualify to sit for the PI exam, the state will send you their 200+ page book on the Business and Professions Code. How well did you read the book? How will you gauge your knowledge on the material? Let us test you (on the relevant sections)! 

Evidence Collection

Do you know how to properly collect soil evidence? Paint chips from a traffic collision? How about the filament in a headlamp? Do you know how to properly take photos of a scene? If you’re not 100% sure, try the Evidence Collection portion of our exam.

Polygraphs and Lie Detectors

The Polygraphs and Lie Detectors part of our exam covers questions involving California and Federal law on the permissible use of these types of machines. When can you polygraph someone? Do you know if polygraphs or lie detector machines can be used in a criminal trial? How about a civil trial? Is a voice stress analyzer a lie detector machine? What does California law say about this? Don’t wait until the state exam to answer these questions!

Process Serving

Do you know how to serve a summons on a corporation? How do you serve process on a minor?  Can you sub-serve a subpoena? How do you serve a person who is evasive?

Surveillance Techniques

Here, we will cover questions pertaining to pre-surveillance activities, surveillance methods, and legal considerations.

Miscellaneous

The miscellaneous section of our exam is one of the most important sections and the most revised. This section covers narrow issues that do not fall into our broad categories (i.e. information disclosure, court room procedures, and legal definitions).  

Final Exam

In the Private Investigator Final Practice Exam at the end of our book, we gathered 150 questions from our question base. On most of the questions, we've changed a fact, changed the sequence of answer choices, deleted some answer choices, or some questions we've left as-is.  The changes are very subtle, but significant! At least 95% of those who are able to pass the Final Practice Exam under test-like conditions on the first attempt, go on to pass the state exam.