RCW 18.165.050: Private investigator agency license—Requirements, restrictions—Assignment or transfer.

(1) In addition to meeting the minimum requirements to obtain a license as a private investigator, an applicant, or, in the case of a partnership or limited partnership, each partner, or, in the case of a corporation, the qualifying agent must meet the following additional requirements to obtain a private investigator agency license: (a) Pass an examination determined by the director to measure the person's knowledge and competence in the private investigator agency business; or (b) Have had at least three years' experience in investigative work or its equivalent as determined by the director. A year's experience means not less than two thousand hours of actual compensated work performed before the filing of an application. An applicant shall substantiate the experience by written certifications from previous employers. If the applicant is unable to supply written certifications from previous employers, applicants may offer written certifications from professional persons other than employers who, based on personal professional knowledge, can substantiate the employment. (2) An agency license issued pursuant to this section may not be assigned or transferred without prior written approval of the director. (3) No license to own or operate a private investigator company may be issued to an applicant if the name of the company portrays the company as a public law enforcement agency, or in association with a public law enforcement agency, or includes the word "police."