virginia: I want to become a private detective in Maryland and Virginia and I am having trouble finding all the information I need. Is there a class/certification I need to take or do I just find an agency willing to hire me and fill out paperwork for the license? Do I need any further training to get licensed to serve court papers?|||A lot of the info is kind of confusing and here is why: A private detective is both a job title and a type of company under state law. In order to be a private investigator, you have to work for a Private Detective Agency which are licensed by the state. You might see solo detectives in the yellow pages and such, but how that works is they started a company first (including getting all the licenses and insurances to run a company) and they just happen to be the only employee (i.e. they are self-employed). You can't start a Private Detective Agency if you have no prior experience, plus it has a lot of other complex requirements. So if you want to be a detective, you have to apply to an existing agency, and during the hiring process, they will give you the needed forms and requirements. You duties vary based on what the hiring agency needs. Often new hires have more low-risk assignments.