Canada Exam Prep
All British Columbia practice tests

BC Private Investigator Practice Test 2026 – Free BC Private Investigator Questions

Original questions written from the official British Columbia handbook, with an explanation for every answer.

By the ·

  • 146 questions
  • 6 practice tests
0/25
Practice test 1 · Question 1Score 0/0

How much notice must a party normally give before producing a business record under s. 30?

Your progress

Your topic map

Every BC Private Investigator topic, coloured by how well your answers show you know it. Saved in this browser only – no account.

Your map fills in as you practise

Answer questions in any practice test, topic quiz, mock exam or the exam simulator. After 5 answers in a topic, it turns red, yellow or green.

Start practice test 1

Your map is saved in this browser only – no account needed.

Estimated mock score

Estimate only – not an official prediction

Answer at least 20 questions to see an estimated mock score (you have 0). It is shown as a range, never as a promise.

Colours summarize progress from your recent practice answers: red suggests more practice, yellow shows progress, and green shows stronger recent performance. Grey means fewer than 5 answers so far. These indicators do not predict official exam results.

Keep practising

All BC Private Investigator practice tests

6 sets of 25 questions. Each set is fixed, so you can repeat it until you score 100%.

Exam facts

Key facts: B.C. Private Investigator Licensing Exam (Introduction to Private Investigation)

Free practice tests for the British Columbia private investigator licensing exam that follows the Introduction to Private Investigation course. Questions are written from the public law and guidance a B.C. investigator works under: the Security Services Act and Regulation, B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act and Privacy Act, the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Human Rights Code, plus the generally accepted investigative practices in a free government study guide. Every question is original and names its source. No sign-up, and your progress stays on your device.

The provincial licensing exam has 100 multiple-choice questions, you have two hours, and the passing grade is 70 percent. Our full mock exams use the same 100-question, 120-minute format, and the topic tests cover the four parts of the course: licensing, liability and safety; legal; basic tools of the trade; and technological aids.

What the test covers

Topics and question bank

Every question is tagged to one topic from the official handbook. Pick a topic to drill just that area.

Try a few

Sample BC Private Investigator questions

Tap a question to see the answer. The full interactive test is at the top of the page.
  1. 1How much notice must a party normally give before producing a business record under s. 30?
    • A. At least seven days
    • B. At least 24 hours
    • C. No notice is required
    • D. At least 30 days

    Section 30 (7) requires, unless the court orders otherwise, at least seven days' notice to each other party of the intention to produce the record.

  2. 2Under s. 13 of the Code, which ground may an employer NOT use to refuse a job?
    • A. A criminal conviction unrelated to the job
    • B. Failing a job-related skills test
    • C. Missing the application deadline
    • D. Lack of a required licence for the job

    Section 13 bars employment discrimination on listed grounds, including a criminal or summary conviction that is unrelated to the employment. Job-related qualifications such as a licence may be required.

  3. 3Which detail belongs in a written witness statement?
    • A. The PI's opinion of the witness
    • B. The time the statement started and finished
    • C. The subject's private medical history
    • D. The client's fee for the file

    Statements include the witness's name, date of birth, ID, contact details, location, date, times commenced and concluded, the investigator's name and company, and a verbatim account.

  4. 4Which business name would break the Security Services Act?
    • A. Pacific Investigations Ltd.
    • B. Pacific Fact-Finding Inc.
    • C. Pacific Research Services
    • D. Pacific Detective Agency

    Section 44 (5) bans using the words detective, law enforcement, peace officer or police to describe a security business or security work. Investigations and research are allowed.

  5. 5An undercover operator is offered drugs by co-workers to build trust. What should they do?
    • A. Accept but record the event on video
    • B. Accept once to fit in with the group
    • C. Accept, as long as the client has approved it in advance
    • D. Decline, to protect their credibility

    Undercover operators must protect their credibility for court and avoid conduct such as taking drugs or drinking, even if it would help them gain trust.

  6. 6What happens if a PI uses more force than necessary during an arrest?
    • A. They lose their licence automatically
    • B. They are criminally responsible for the excess
    • C. Nothing, if the arrest itself was lawful
    • D. Only their employer can be held responsible

    Section 26 makes everyone authorized to use force criminally responsible for any excess, according to the nature and quality of the act.

  7. 7May a PI secretly record a phone call between two other people?
    • A. No, without a party's consent it is a crime
    • B. Yes, if the PI holds a full licence
    • C. Yes, if the PI keeps the recording private
    • D. Yes, if the call concerns insurance fraud

    Section 184 makes it an offence to knowingly intercept a private communication by any device unless one of the parties to it has consented.

  8. 8Which details should a PI gather before starting surveillance?
    • A. The subject's medical records from a clinic
    • B. The subject's private email passwords
    • C. The subject's bank balance, credit report and income tax returns
    • D. Name, date of birth, address, work and places frequented

    The study guide lists name, date of birth, address, phone numbers, employment, places frequented and the purpose of the surveillance; restricted records need a release and lawful authority.

  9. 9When is a telephone directory listing a prescribed public source under the PIPA Regulation?
    • A. Only when a court has approved its use
    • B. When it is public and the subscriber could opt out
    • C. Only when it includes a person's date of birth
    • D. Only when the listing is less than a year old

    Telephone directory information counts if the directory is available to the public and the subscriber is permitted to refuse to be listed.

  10. 10An Alberta PI follows a case into B.C. for an Alberta client. How can they avoid needing a B.C. licence?
    • A. Stay in B.C. for less than 30 days
    • B. Apply to the registrar for an exemption
    • C. Work only on weekends while in B.C.
    • D. Hire a B.C. lawyer to supervise them while they are in the province

    Section 10 lets the registrar exempt a PI licensed elsewhere who enters B.C. solely to continue an investigation for an out-of-province employer or client, notifies the registrar and applies.

About the test

About the B.C. Private Investigator Licensing Exam (Introduction to Private Investigation)

In British Columbia anyone paid to seek information about crimes or misconduct, a person's activities, character or whereabouts, lost or stolen property, or the cause of a fire or accident is a private investigator under the Security Services Act and needs a security worker licence. Lawyers in their practice, journalists, licensed insurance adjusters, collection and reporting agencies, and people who only check job applicants' qualifications for employers are among those exempt. You must be 19 or older and ordinarily resident in Canada, and consent to criminal record, police information and correctional service checks.

There are two licence types. A private investigator under supervision may do PI work only under the supervision of a fully licensed investigator; the province requires the Introduction to Private Investigation course and exam through the Professional Security Knowledge Network (PSKN), or B.C.-relevant courses in criminal and civil law, human rights, privacy, evidence, interviewing, report writing, surveillance and documentary research. A full licence needs 2,000 hours of PI work in the last five years plus the same training, or 10 years of Canadian police service plus registration in the PSKN course, completed with its exam within a year. PSKN notes that a B.C. investigator must work for a provincially licensed PI firm.

The PSKN course was developed with content from the Professional Investigators' Association of British Columbia and is equivalent to 60 hours of classroom instruction in four parts: licensing, liability and safety; legal; basic tools of the trade; and technological aids. The provincial licensing exam is 100 multiple-choice questions in two hours with a 70 percent passing grade. It is written online with remote proctoring by eProctor Canada, from home, and can be booked within 48 business hours of finishing the course. One exam is included in the $600 course price; a rewrite costs $100 plus tax. PSKN sends your pass or fail result to the B.C. Registrar, and you then apply for the licence through the province.

Because the course material belongs to its developers, this site is built from free official sources instead. Our eleven topics cover licensing and exemptions, licence rules and the code of conduct, courts and testifying, arrest and force, PIPA, the Privacy Act and recording law, human rights and young persons, surveillance and undercover practice, interviews and statements, evidence and information sources, and technology and safety. For investigative technique we use the Ontario government's free Private Investigator Study Guide, which describes generally accepted practices across the industry; every legal rule we test is B.C. or federal law.

This site is independent. It is not affiliated with the Government of British Columbia, the Security Programs Division, PSKN, PIABC or eProctor Canada, and passing our practice tests does not give you a licence or count toward your training. We did not use the PSKN course or its paid practice exam: every question is original, so check the cited source whenever you are unsure, and treat your course as the final word on exam content.

Study plan

How to prepare

  1. 1Register for and complete the PSKN Introduction to Private Investigation course first; the licensing exam can be booked only after the course, through eProctor Canada.
  2. 2Learn the Security Services Act definition of a private investigator and the exemptions word for word. Many questions turn on whether a job is PI work at all, and on the difference between a PI and a PI under supervision.
  3. 3Know the limits of your authority: a PI has only a citizen's arrest powers, may not wear a uniform or carry a badge, and may not use the words detective or police.
  4. 4Spend extra time on privacy. Learn when B.C.'s PIPA allows collection without consent for an investigation, which public sources are prescribed, what the Privacy Act says about surveillance, and why you may record a conversation only if you are a party to it.
  5. 5Practise the technique topics: setting a lawful mandate, preparing for surveillance, taking and correcting a statement, keeping notes, and the six steps of the evidence chain of custody.
  6. 6Take one topic test a day and reread the cited section for every miss. Before you book, take two full 100-question mocks with a two-hour timer.
  7. 7Aim well above the 70 percent pass mark, since a rewrite costs $100 plus tax. Scoring 80 or more out of 100 on two different mocks in a row gives you a safe margin.

FAQ

BC Private Investigator test questions people ask

How many questions are on the BC private investigator exam?

The provincial licensing exam after the PSKN Introduction to Private Investigation course has 100 multiple-choice questions, and you have two hours to finish. Our mock exams use the same format.

What is the passing grade for the BC private investigator exam?

PSKN states that the passing grade is 70 percent, which is 70 of 100 questions. Your pass or fail result is sent by PSKN to the B.C. Registrar for your licence application.

How much does the BC private investigator course and exam cost?

PSKN lists Introduction to Private Investigation – British Columbia at $600, which includes one provincial licensing exam. A rewrite costs $100 plus tax. The licence application fee is separate and paid to the province.

Where do I write the BC PI licensing exam?

Online, with remote supervision by eProctor Canada. You need a computer with an internet connection, a webcam and a microphone, and your PSKN login. PSKN says you can write within 48 business hours of finishing the course.

Do I need a licence to work as a private investigator under supervision in BC?

Yes. A private investigator under supervision holds a security worker licence and may work only under the supervision of a fully licensed investigator. The province requires the PSKN course and exam, or equivalent B.C.-relevant courses, for this licence.

How do I get a full private investigator licence in BC?

The province lists two routes: 2,000 hours of PI work in the last five years, documented by employer or client letters, plus the PSKN course and exam or listed courses; or 10 years in a Canadian police service plus registration in the PSKN course, completed with its exam within a year of licensing.

Can a private investigator in BC call themselves a detective?

No. Section 44 of the Security Services Act bans anyone in security work from using the words detective, law enforcement, peace officer or police to describe their work or business. PIs also may not wear a uniform or carry a badge.

Can a PI in BC record conversations?

Only conversations they are part of, or where a party consents. Intercepting a private communication without a party's consent is a crime under section 184 of the Criminal Code, and covert recording can still raise privacy issues under B.C. law.

Is there a BC private investigator practice test PDF?

We offer a printable sheet of 50 original questions with an answer key drawn from all eleven topics. PSKN sells its own practice exam; we have not used it, and the real exam questions are not published.

Are these the real exam questions?

No. The licensing exam questions are not published, and we did not use the course or its practice exam. Every question here is original, written from free official law and guidance, with the source named.

More practice

Related practice tests