Business and Professions Code § 7539

Current Version

Amended (as amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 625, Sec. 33) by Stats. 2024, Ch. 484, Sec. 23. (SB 1454) Effective January 1, 2025. Repealed as of January 1, 2030, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 24 of Stats. 2024, Ch. 484.

(a)Any licensee or officer, director, partner, member, manager, or qualified manager of a licensee may divulge to any law enforcement officer or district attorney, or their representative, any information they may acquire as to any criminal offense, but they shall not divulge to any other person, except as otherwise required by law, any information acquired by them except at the direction of the employer or client for whom the information was obtained.

(b)A licensee or officer, director, partner, member, manager, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not knowingly make any false report to their employer or client for whom information was being obtained.

(c)A written report shall not be

submitted to a client except by the licensee, qualified manager, or a person authorized by one or either of them, and the person submitting the report shall exercise diligence in ascertaining whether or not the facts and information in the report are true and correct.

(d)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, manager, member, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not use a badge in connection with the official activities of the licensee’s business.

(e)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, manager, member, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee, shall not use a title, or wear a uniform, or use an insignia, or use an identification card, or make any statement with the intent to give an impression that they are connected in any way with the federal government, a state government, or any political subdivision of a state government.

(f)A licensee, or officer, partner, manager, member, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not use any identification to indicate that they are licensed as a private investigator other than the official identification card issued by the bureau or the business card regularly used by the business. However, a licensee may issue an employer identification card.

(g)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, manager, member, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee, shall not enter any private building or portion thereof, except premises commonly accessible to the public, without the consent of the owner or of the person in legal possession thereof.

(h)A licensee shall not permit an employee or agent in their own name to advertise, engage clients, furnish reports or present bills to clients, or in any

manner conduct business for which a license is required under this chapter. All business of the licensee shall be conducted in the name of and under the control of the licensee.

(i)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, manager, member, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not knowingly and directly solicit employment from any person who has directly sustained bodily injury or from that person’s spouse or other family member to obtain authorization on behalf of the injured person as an investigator to investigate the accident or act that resulted in injury or death to that person or damage to the property of that person. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit the soliciting of employment from that injured person’s attorney, insurance company, self-insured administrator, insurance adjuster, employer, or any other person having an indirect interest in the investigation of the injury. This subdivision shall not apply to any

business agent or attorney employed by a labor organization. A licensee, or officer, director, partner, manager, member, or qualified manager of a licensee shall not pay or compensate any of their employees or agents on the basis of a bonus, bounty, or quota system whereby a premium is placed on the number of employer or client rule violations or infractions purportedly discovered as a result of any investigation made by a licensee.

(j)A licensee shall not use a fictitious business name in connection with the official activities of the licensee’s business, except as provided by the bureau.

(k)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

Future Version

Amended (as amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 625, Sec. 34) by Stats. 2024, Ch. 484, Sec. 24. (SB 1454) Effective January 1, 2025. Operative January 1, 2030, by its own provisions.

(a)A licensee or officer, director, partner, or qualified manager of a licensee may divulge to any law enforcement officer or district attorney, or their representative, any information they may acquire as to any criminal offense, but they shall not divulge to any other person, except as otherwise required by law, any information acquired by them except at the direction of the employer or client for whom the information was obtained.

(b)A licensee or officer, director, partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not knowingly make any false report to their employer or client for whom information was being obtained.

(c)A written report shall not be submitted to a client except by the

licensee, qualified manager, or a person authorized by one or either of them, and the person submitting the report shall exercise diligence in ascertaining whether or not the facts and information in the report are true and correct.

(d)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not use a badge in connection with the official activities of the licensee’s business.

(e)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee, shall not use a title, or wear a uniform, or use an insignia, or use an identification card, or make any statement with the intent to give an impression that they are connected in any way with the federal government, a state government, or any political subdivision of a state government.

(f)A licensee, or officer,

partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee shall not use any identification to indicate that they are licensed as a private investigator other than the official identification card issued by the bureau or the business card regularly used by the business. However, a licensee may issue an employer identification card.

(g)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee, shall not enter any private building or portion thereof, except premises commonly accessible to the public, without the consent of the owner or of the person in legal possession thereof.

(h)A licensee shall not permit an employee or agent in their own name to advertise, engage clients, furnish reports or present bills to clients, or in any manner conduct business for which a license is required under this chapter. All business of the licensee shall be conducted in

the name of and under the control of the licensee.

(i)A licensee, or officer, director, partner, qualified manager, or employee of a licensee, shall not knowingly and directly solicit employment from any person who has directly sustained bodily injury or from that person’s spouse or other family member to obtain authorization on behalf of the injured person as an investigator to investigate the accident or act that resulted in injury or death to that person or damage to the property of that person. This subdivision does not prohibit the soliciting of employment from that injured person’s attorney, insurance company, self-insured administrator, insurance adjuster, employer, or any other person having an indirect interest in the investigation of the injury. This subdivision does not apply to any business agent or attorney employed by a labor organization. A licensee, officer, director, partner, or qualified manager of a licensee shall not pay or

compensate any of their employees or agents on the basis of a bonus, bounty, or quota system whereby a premium is placed on the number of employer or client rule violations or infractions purportedly discovered as a result of any investigation made by a licensee.

(j)A licensee shall not use a fictitious business name in connection with the official activities of the licensee’s business, except as provided by the bureau.

(k)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2030.