California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI)

Certified Professional Investigator (CPI)

Credential: Certified Professional Investigator (CPI)
Credentialing Agency: California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI)

Renewal Period: 2 years

CALI's Certified Professional Investigator (CPI) Program is a recognized symbol of excellence and achievement in the investigator and security professions. The purpose of the program is to raise the professional standing of investigators and security professionals and to give special recognition to those individuals by testing knowledge about their profession. Candidates must be a licensed Private Investigator or the equivalent and have been licensed for a minimum of three consecutive years immediately preceding application to sit for the exam.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Professional Investigator (CPI)

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

 

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

  • Credential Prerequisite: licensed Private Investigator or Private Patrol Operator
  • Experience: 3 years
  • Education
  • Training
  • Membership
  • Other
  • Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for becoming eligible. Listed are the minimum requirements based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

  • Exam
  • Written Exam
  • Oral Exam
  • Practical Exam
  • Performance Assessment

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 2 years

  • Continuing Education
  • Exam
  • Continuing Education OR Exam
  • Fee
  • Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI)

65 Enterprise
Aliso Viejo, CA  92656

Phone: (800) 350-CALI

Fax: (949) 715-6931
Email: info@cali-pi.org

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The applicant must be a licensed Private Investigator or the equivalent designation in her or his jurisdiction to qualify for the Certified Professional Investigator designation.

If the applicant is a licensed Private Investigator or licensed Private Patrol Operator in the State of California, she or he must have been licensed for a minimum of three consecutive years immediately preceding application for certification.

If the applicant resides outside the State of California, and is not licensed in California, she or he must have been qualified under the respective laws or regulations in her or his jurisdiction to operate as a Private Investigator or Private Patrol Operator, for a minimum of three consecutive years immediately preceding application for certification.

Proof of licensure, or its equivalent in non-licensing jurisdictions, must be submitted with the original application for certification.

The Certified Professional Investigator (CPI) credential has the following other requirements:

  • The applicant must accumulate ten (10) CPI/CSP credits to qualify.

Written Exam

  • Professional ethics
  • Licensing guidelines
  • California state and federal laws
  • Surveillance
  • Investigation techniques
  • Laws relating to privacy
  • Managing an office
  • Tax concerns and obligations
  • Client relations
  • Sources of information
  • State codes pertaining to PI's
  • California BSIS requirements
  • Legal terminology and court testimony

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Professional Investigator (CPI) examination:

Testing Information

Testing for this credential is handled by Pearson VUE. The test centers are located in the U.S. They also have some test centers on military bases.

To find out more, use the following links on the Pearson VUE website:

For more information on the California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI) testing process, visit the agency website.

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Professional Investigator (CPI)

Renewal Period: 2 years

The Certified Professional Investigator (CPI) credential has the following recertification information:

  • A CPI designee must achieve five (5) credits - for each designation during the biennial renewal period.  A full list of eligible credits can be found on the CALI website.

In Demand

This certification is considered in demand

COOL Bucks

See your installation Education Service Officer for credential exam information and coordinating instructions.

COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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Some

Credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (at least one critical task but less than 80%)

Most

Credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%)

Other

Credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will likely require additional education, training, or experience

Promotion Points

This certification has been approved for promotion points.

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Star

Star credentials are MOS enhancing, as designated by the Proponent. MOS enhancing credentials are directly related to an MOS or ASI, are taught either partially or completely as part of a Program of Instruction (POI), and improves the MOS technical proficiency.

Skill Level

The Skill Level reflects the level, based on MOS training and/or experience, the Soldier should be the most prepared to successfully earn the credential. See the Table Legend for details about each level.

Proponent Funded

Indicates the credential may have funding through the MOS proponent. Some proponents offer credentialing opportunities in conjunction with military training and/or as part of MOS development beyond the training base.

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Navy Bucks

Credential voucher or reimbursement for credential exam, re-certification, or maintenance fee has been approved for payment through the Navy's Credential Program Office. To get a voucher request form, click 'Complete Voucher and Apply' at the top of any page.

CG Bucks

Coming Soon - Coast Guard policy regarding service member eligibility requirements to participate in the Voluntary Credentialing Program is under review with a projected release date of first quarter FY20.

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted E1 through E4

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E5 through E6

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E7 and Above

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted “A” School through E5

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E6 through E7

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E8 and Above

LaDR

This credential is recommended on the rating Learning and Development Roadmap (LaDR) for Sailors currently in the pay grade indicated on the icon, BUT MAY BE TAKEN BY SAILORS IN OTHER PAY GRADES.

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GI Bill®

Reimbursement for exam fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill. Click for external link to GI Bill licensing and certification information.

Note: GI Bill approval data is updated quarterly. For the latest information, visit the WEAMS Licenses/Certifications Search page. Make sure to select "Both" in the LAC Category Type drop-down before searching.

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ANSI

This credential has been accredited by ANSI. Click for external link to the ANSI web site.

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ICAC

This credential has been accredited by ICAC. Click for external link to the ICAC web site.

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ABSNC

This credential has been accredited by ABSNC. Click for external link to the ABSNC web site.

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NCCA

This credentialing program has been accredited by NCCA. Click for external link to the NCCA web site.

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IAS

This credential has been accredited by IAS. Click for external link to the IAS web site.

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Low

May be difficult to attain: minimum education requirement is a Bachelor's degree, and/or minimum experience is 10 or more years.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

Medium

Moderate ease of attainment: minimum education requirement = Associate's and/or prerequisite and/or minimum experience = more than 2 years and less than 10 years of experience.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

High

Highly attainable: mimum education requirement = HS or less and/or minimum experience = 2 years or less experience and no additional requirements.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

MOS is Military Occupational Specialty
ASI is Additional Skill Identifier
WOMOS is Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty

Army e-learning

State-of-the art Computer Based Training available for free to the Army Workforce. Click for more information.

Click here for more information.

NKO e-learning

Credential preparation courses are provided at no cost through Navy e-Learning. Click for external link to the Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) web site, then select the “Navy e-Learning” link within the “Learning” tab to proceed to Navy e-Learning.

Bright Outlook – new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job
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This is an official U.S. Navy website
Updated: October 16, 2019
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