Hawaii Private Detective Licensing Examination Prep
On-Demand CourseCourse Overview
Prepare for the Hawaii private detective license exam and Board oral review. This course covers all five Board-listed sources, including HRS 463, 436B, 703, 396 and HAR 16-97, in 8 modules with a 100-question final exam.
What's Included
- • 20 hours of comprehensive training
- • Professional certification upon completion
- • Access to course materials
Learning Objectives
- • Explain the structure, composition, and authority of the Hawaii Board of Private Detectives and Guards, and distinguish the Board's role from that of the Department and PSI.
- • Describe the complete licensing sequence, including the application deadline, written exam, passing score, reexamination limits, oral review, bond filing, and license issuance.
- • Identify the three ways to violate Section 463-5, distinguish the three licensing roles, and apply the statutory exemptions correctly.
- • State the qualifications for licensure, including the experience requirement and the law enforcement incompatibility rule, and describe the application, bond, and fee requirements.
- • Apply the renewal deadline, automatic forfeiture, the one-year restoration window, and inactive status rules to real scenarios.
- • Recognize the twenty-one disciplinary grounds under HAR 16-97-46, the additional grounds under HRS 436B-19, and the criminal penalty tiers for violations.
- • Explain how Chapter 436B fills gaps in Chapter 463, and how Chapter 396 workplace safety obligations apply to investigative and security businesses.
- • Analyze recording, wiretap, and tracking situations under HRS 803-42 and Chapter 711 using a four-question field framework and the Hawaii case law on participant recording.
- • Determine where an investigator may lawfully stand, when a private person may make an arrest, how much force Chapter 703 permits, and which pretexting and impersonation techniques are crimes in Hawaii.
- • Apply the Hawaii Rules of Evidence, work product protection, and court jurisdiction rules to investigative engagements.
- • Conduct a four-phase interview, produce a defensible written statement, and write reports that meet professional standards.
- • Locate Hawaii records accurately, including sources unique to Hawaii such as the statewide Bureau of Conveyances and the Land Court system.
Course Content
Course Overview and Meet the Instructor
- • The licensing steps, how the course is built, a recommended five-week study plan, the target score, the six ways Hawaii differs from other states, the instructor's teaching approach, and certificate details.
Module 1: Orientation and the Board
- • Who licenses you: the Board versus the Department
- • The Board's seven seats and who fills them
- • The source of the Board's rulemaking authority and the force and effect of its rules
- • The two governing documents: HRS Chapter 463 and HAR Title 16, Chapter 97
- • Who develops and administers the examination (PSI)
- • The 75% passing score and the one-year reexamination rule
- • The in-person oral review before the Board
- • The complete licensure sequence, from application to license issuance
- • Reciprocity, and what the Board does and does not publish
- • Knowledge check
Module 2: The License Itself
- • The statutory definition of a private detective
- • The three ways to violate Section 463-5, including offering services
- • The three roles: individual licensee, detective agency, and registered employee
- • The principal detective's requirements and responsibilities
- • The criminal history information distinction
- • The Section 463-13 exemption list and the Board's rule-based carve-outs
- • Why a license is not property and cannot be transferred, assigned, or loaned
- • Knowledge check
Module 3: Qualifying, Applying, and the Bond
- • The qualifications for licensure
- • Education versus experience, and qualifying experience categories
- • The law enforcement incompatibility rule and the conflict rules
- • What the application requires
- • The surety bond: amount, surety, Form PDG-05, condition, and legal recourse
- • Fee structure, the two-year licensing cycle, and fee proration
- • The Compliance Resolution Fund and separate fee payments
- • Knowledge check
Module 4: Keeping the License
- • The renewal deadline
- • Automatic forfeiture when a license is not renewed
- • The one-year restoration window
- • Voluntary inactive status
- • Continuing education: who must complete it and who does not
- • The twenty-one disciplinary grounds of HAR 16-97-46, including the 2011 update
- • The two tiers of criminal penalties
- • Bond suspension and its consequences
- • Knowledge check
Module 5: The Rest of the Board List
- • How Chapter 436B fills gaps in Chapter 463
- • The seventeen additional discipline grounds of Section 436B-19
- • The two thirty-day reporting rules
- • Penalties for unlicensed activity under Section 436B-27
- • Why surrendering a license does not end a disciplinary case
- • Chapter 396: why workplace safety law applies to investigators
- • The general duty clause and its differences from federal standards
- • The four key Chapter 396 deadlines
- • Employee rights and responsibilities
- • Knowledge check
Module 6: Recording, Wiretap, and the Tracking Felony
- • The one-party consent rule and its limits
- • The tracking device felony under Section 803-42(a)(8), and lawful alternatives
- • Chapter 711 privacy offenses: first and second degree
- • Devices inside versus outside private places
- • Wearing a device versus installing one
- • Hawaii case law, including State v. Okubo and State v. Lee
- • A four-question field analysis for recording and tracking
- • Drafting a client intake paragraph on tracking requests
- • Knowledge check
Module 7: Trespass, Arrest, Force, and Impersonation
- • Presence on premises open to the public
- • The two degrees of criminal trespass and their penalties
- • Why the process server exemption does not cover private investigators
- • The limits on a private person's arrest authority
- • What you must do after making an arrest
- • The merchant detention statute and why it is not arrest authority
- • Use of force under Chapter 703, including force to protect property and deadly force
- • The two degrees of impersonation
- • Pretexting and protected records under federal law
- • A penalty grid covering every offense in the course
- • Harassment by stalking and why it matters for surveillance
- • Knowledge check
Module 8: Evidence, the Courts, and the Practice
- • The Hawaii Rules of Evidence (HRS Chapter 626)
- • Work product protection under HRCP Rule 26(b)(4) and taking engagements through attorneys
- • The Hawaii court system and its four judicial circuits
- • The four-phase interview and the written statement
- • Report writing standards and documenting periods with no reportable activity
- • Hawaii records, including the Bureau of Conveyances and the Land Court system
- • Lawful surveillance in Hawaii
- • Running the practice: case plans, engagement limits, pricing, and ethical obligations
- • Knowledge check
Final Examination
- • A 100-question, closed-book, timed examination drawn from all eight modules. A score of 75% or higher is required to pass, and an explanation is printed beneath every question.
Your Instructor
Catherine D. Flowers
Catherine D. Flowers is the Founder & Director of PI Leadership Academy and Security Compliance Academy, and Founder & Lead Investigator of Cat's Eye Private Investigations. A licensed North Carolina private investigator since 1998 (NC #NCPI 2141) and a retired Raleigh Police Department officer with 25+ years in patrol, investigations, and community policing, Catherine brings over 27 years of combined law enforcement and investigative experience into every course she designs. She is a commissioned U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran, an FAA Part 107–certified drone pilot, and an approved training provider or continuing education instructor across multiple states.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who administers the Hawaii private detective written examination?
PSI administers the written examination. Candidates who pass must then appear in person before the Hawaii Board of Private Detectives and Guards for an oral review before a license can be issued.
What score is needed to pass the Hawaii exam?
The Board's rule sets the passing score at 75%. The course recommends aiming for 85% or higher in practice to build a margin for exam-day conditions. The course's own final examination also requires 75% to pass.
What does this course cover that other exam prep courses do not?
The Board lists five legal sources for the exam: HRS Chapters 463, 703, 396, and 436B, plus HAR 16-97. Most preparation covers only two of them. This course teaches all five, including the three chapters that most often decide failed attempts.
Does this course replace the Board's recommended textbooks?
No. The course covers the statutes and rules on the Board's study list. The two textbooks, The Process of Investigation and Security Investigations, carry most of the investigation-practice material, so study them alongside this course.
Is this course required or approved by the State of Hawaii?
No. Hawaii does not require pre-licensing education, so no course can provide a state-approved pre-licensing certificate. This course is an independent exam preparation program, and its certificate is a professional development record, not a state credential.
How long does the course take, and how long do I have access?
The course requires about 20 study hours. You have 30 days of access from enrollment, available 24/7 on any device, so you can study at your own pace. A recommended five-week study plan is included.
What are the basic requirements to qualify for a Hawaii private detective license?
Applicants must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and have four years of full-time investigational work experience. They must also meet fitness, honesty, and criminal history standards. Module 3 covers each requirement in detail, including the rule that current law enforcement employees cannot hold a license.
I hold a private investigator license in another state. Does that help me in Hawaii?
Hawaii has no published reciprocity, so a license from another state does not expedite the process. The course recommends confirming your situation directly with the Board. Out-of-state investigators will find Modules 6 through 8 especially valuable because Hawaii's recording, tracking, and records laws differ from most mainland states.
Does the course cover recording, surveillance, and tracking laws?
Yes. Module 6 covers Hawaii's one-party consent rule and its limits, the Chapter 711 privacy offenses, and the class C felony for placing a tracking device on property you do not own. Module 7 covers trespass, arrest authority, use of force, pretexting, impersonation, and stalking.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. You receive a PI Leadership Academy Certificate of Completion after you complete all eight modules and pass the final examination with 75% or higher. You can download it after passing, and it stays available in your PI Leadership Academy account indefinitely.