In Ontario, investigation is a licensed profession. Under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005, no one may act as a private investigator, or hold themselves out as one, unless they hold the appropriate licence and are employed by a licensed business entity. The Act is administered by the Ministry of the Solicitor General through the Private Security and Investigative Services Branch. This matters to you as a client for a simple reason: the licence is the difference between a regulated professional and someone who is unaccountable.
Verifying a licence takes only a few minutes, and it is the single most useful thing you can do before you retain anyone. This page explains how.
Two licences, not one
There are two things to confirm, because the Act regulates both the individual and the business.
The individual investigator must hold a private investigator licence. To obtain one, an applicant must be at least eighteen, be legally entitled to work in Canada, have a clean criminal record, and complete the required basic training and pass the ministry test. Licensed investigators must carry their licence while working and produce it on request.
The agency must hold a business licence to sell investigation services. When you retain a firm, you are relying on both: a licensed business, staffed by licensed investigators.
How to verify
The Ministry of the Solicitor General maintains a public register of licensed private security and investigative services businesses. You can confirm that an agency holds a current business licence through the ministry’s online resources, and you are entitled to ask any individual investigator to show their licence. A legitimate professional will expect the question and answer it without hesitation. Reluctance is itself an answer.
When you check, look for a current, valid business licence in the agency’s legal name, and confirmation that the people doing the actual work are licensed investigators rather than unlicensed subcontractors.
What the number means, and why we publish ours
An agency licence number is not decoration. It is a verifiable link back to the regulator and the accountability that comes with it. Most agencies say they are “licensed.” Fewer publish the number that lets you check.
We publish ours: Private Solutions operates under Ontario agency licence 30000432, issued by the Ministry of the Solicitor General. We put it on our homepage and our service pages because verification should not require you to ask. If you are comparing agencies, a published, checkable licence number is a reasonable thing to expect, and its absence is a reasonable thing to question.
Why this protects you
An unlicensed operator carries risk that lands on you. Their methods may be unlawful, which can make their evidence inadmissible and can expose you to liability. They answer to no regulator. They may not carry proper insurance. And if something goes wrong, you have little recourse. A licensed agency has met a standard, is accountable to the province, and can be held to that standard.
The point of regulation is that you should not have to take an investigator’s word for their credibility. You should be able to verify it. In Ontario, you can.
Not legal advice
This page is general information about Ontario law and is not legal advice. To confirm current licensing requirements or the status of a specific licence, consult the Ministry of the Solicitor General or a lawyer.