The Texas Association of Licensed Investigators (TALI) is committed to promoting professionalism and integrity within the private investigation industry. One important way we uphold these standards is by reporting unlicensed individuals who are illegally operating as private investigators in the state of Texas. Unlicensed activity undermines public safety and unfairly competes with licensed, qualified professionals. To assist our members and the general public, TALI has developed the following checklist to streamline the process of reporting suspected unlicensed private investigative work to the Texas Department of Public Safety. By working together to identify and stop these illegal practices, we can protect consumers and maintain the high caliber of private investigation services that Texans deserve.
The role of the Unlicensed Activity Committee it to report unlicensed activity to the Department of Public Safety on behalf of our members. This adds weight of the entire membership which can be more impactful than individual reports. It is not the Unlicensed Activity Committees role to conduct the investigation into the activity, that is the role of the DPS.
The more information submitted to support your complaint, the more effective the complaint will be. As such the following checklist has been developed to assist you gathering sufficient evidence for your report:
- Search the Texas Department of Public Safety's private security database to confirm if the individual in question holds a valid private investigator license/company license or affiliation. (https://tops.portal.texas.gov/psp-self-service/login/auth)
- Review the individual's online presence, including websites, social media profiles, etc. to document any claims of providing unlicensed investigation services.
- Consider conducting undercover communications or operations to have the individual offer and perform private investigation work without a license.
- Consider obtaining records, invoices, or other documentation showing the individual has accepted payment for investigative services.
- Interview any witnesses, known clients or associates who have hired the individual for investigation work.
- Determine the specific statutory violations committed by the unlicensed individual.
- Draft a brief report to outline your complaint.
- Ensure the report is well-organized and contains all necessary supporting documentation.
- Submit the your evidence using the online reporting tool.
Once submitted, the Unlicensed Activity Committee will review the evidence provided and submit it to appropriate contact at the Texas Department of Public Safety's Regulatory Services Division. The Unlicensed Activity Committee will periodically follow up with the Department to monitor the status of the investigation and any resulting enforcement proceedings.
Should you have questions or clarification, please reach out to a member of the committee for guidance.