43-30-02. Exemptions

43-30-02. Exemptions

This chapter does not apply to:

1. Any investigator or officer directly employed by or under any direct contract with the

federal government, state, or any county or city thereof, appointed, elected, or

contracted with, by due authority of law, while engaged in the performance of official

duties. Subcontractors of agencies directly contracted with these entities are not

exempted.

2. Any state's attorney.

3. Any attorneys or counselors at law in the regular practice of their profession and any

paralegal or legal assistant employed by an attorney or law firm when the attorney or

law firm retains complete responsibility for the work product of the paralegal or legal

assistant.

4. Any person engaged exclusively in obtaining and furnishing information as to the

financial standing, rating, and credit responsibility of persons or as to the personal

habits and financial responsibilities of applicants for insurance, indemnity bonds, or

commercial credit.

5. A collection agency or finance company licensed to do business under the laws of this

state, or an employee of one of those companies, while acting within the scope of

employment when making an investigation incidental to the business of the agency,

including an investigation as to location of a debtor and of the debtor's assets or

property, provided the client has a financial interest in or a lien upon the assets or

property of the debtor.

6. Any person making any investigation of any matter in which that person or the person

by whom that person is solely employed is interested or involved.

7. A person whose sole investigative business is obtaining or furnishing information about

acts or individuals from public records, other than those investigating the location or

recovery of abandoned or escheated property, owners of abandoned or escheated

property, or heirs to estates.

8. An expert who specializes in a specific, limited area of practice, including automotive

accident reconstructions, fire origin and cause investigations, technical surveillance

countermeasures, handwriting analysis, auditor, accountant or accounting clerk

performing audits or accounting functions, or other areas of practice covered by other

licensure in the state, and other areas determined by the board, that fall within the

individual's scope of employment, incidental to the investigative profession.

9. Persons reporting for any media, including news reporters or news investigators.

10. A person providing mystery or secret shopping services, or providing a similar service,

used for evaluating customer service, products, services, pricing, locations, or

consumer issues so long as the evaluation is not for purposes of litigation or

discovering violations of law.