A client asks you, a licensed PI, to collect overdue accounts from tenants. What does the PSISA say?
Ontario Private Investigator overview
Ontario Private Investigator: PSISA rules, Code of Conduct and complaints
Carrying and producing your licence, the undercover exception, the ban on badges and on words such as detective and officer, the Code of Conduct (O. Reg. 363/07), public complaints and facilitation, refusals and appeals, work a PI may not do, and the penalties for breaking the Act.
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Study reference: Ontario Private Investigator Study Guide (ontario.ca, October 2021), Ch. 2 The Private Security and Investigative Services Act — General rules, Code of Conduct, Public complaints, Penalties; PSISA ss. 9, 13–19, 34–45; O. Reg. 363/07
All 13 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
A client asks you, a licensed PI, to collect overdue accounts from tenants. What does the PSISA say?
- You may do it if you hold a dual licence
- You may do it if you identify yourself as a private investigator first
- A PI licensee must not act in the collection of accounts
- You may do it if the client is a licensed landlord
A complaint alleges a Code of Conduct breach. If the facilitator recommends remedial instruction, what does the Registrar do?
- Imposes the remedial instruction as a condition of the licence
- Revokes the licence immediately without a hearing
- Sends the complaint to the local police service for possible criminal charges
- Closes the file because facilitation ends the matter
You suspect the person a client wants found is in a witness protection program. What must you do?
- Ask the Registrar for written permission to continue
- Locate the person but report the address only to police
- Continue if the client signs a release of liability
- Not locate or gather information to locate that person
How must a public complaint against a licensee normally be filed with the Registrar?
- In writing and signed, within 90 days of the events
- In person at a police station within one year
- By phone to ServiceOntario within 30 days
- Online and anonymously at any time after the events
Which job title may a licensed private investigator use to describe their work?
- Law enforcement consultant
- Private detective
- Investigations officer
- Licensed private investigator
Which item may a private investigator carry as identification or a symbol of authority?
- A metal badge with the company logo
- A photo ID card reading Investigations Officer
- Only the licence issued under the PSISA
- A wallet badge that resembles a police shield
While openly working as a private investigator, a member of the public asks who you are. What must you do?
- Give only your first name and your employer's main office phone number
- Identify yourself as a private investigator and produce your licence
- Show your business card instead of the licence itself
- Refuse, because your work is confidential under the PSISA
Under the Code of Conduct, what is a private investigator prohibited from doing while working?
- Working for more than one licensed agency
- Using a personal vehicle for surveillance
- Being unfit for duty because of alcohol or drugs
- Working more than ten hours in one day
What is the maximum penalty for an individual convicted of an offence under the PSISA?
- A $5,000 fine with no possibility of jail
- A $250,000 fine and two years in jail
- A $10,000 fine, six months in jail, or both
- A $25,000 fine, one year in jail, or both
Which duty appears in the Code of Conduct for individual licensees while working?
- Share useful information with any client who asks for it
- Keep work information confidential unless disclosure is required
- Keep all information secret even when a law or the work requires disclosure
- Report every case to police before telling the client
You are working undercover as a warehouse employee. What does the study guide say about carrying your licence?
- You must wear it visibly so co-workers can check it
- You need not carry or show it if that would endanger you or the case
- You must leave it with the client for the length of the job
- You must carry it but show it only to the warehouse supervisor if asked
A client asks you to give less courteous service to people of a certain ethnic origin. What does the Code of Conduct require?
- Refer the request to the Registrar before deciding
- Comply only if the client puts the request in writing
- Follow the client's instructions, since the client pays
- Treat all persons equally without discrimination
When may an individual licensee misrepresent the type of licence they hold?
- When the misrepresentation is made only in writing
- When concealing their identity as an investigator to do their duties
- When their licence is within 90 days of renewal
- When a client asks them to appear more senior or experienced than they are
PSISA rules, Code of Conduct and complaints: key rules to remember
Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗
General rules and standards of practice (PSISA ss. 34–40)
- s. 34(1): a person holding themself out as a PI must carry the licence, identify as a private investigator on request and produce the licence on request.
- These duties apply only to someone holding themself out as a PI; an undercover investigator need not carry or show a licence, especially if it would endanger them or the investigation.
- s. 34(2): a PI may not possess any identification or symbol of authority other than the PSISA licence (a metal badge is not allowed).
- s. 39: a licensee must not falsely hold themself out as providing police services or police-related duties.
- s. 40: banned terms (and variations): detective or private detective, law enforcement, police, officer.
- s. 37: a licence belongs to the Crown and must be returned immediately if suspended or revoked or if the holder stops meeting an eligibility requirement.
- s. 38: no one may lend a licence, let someone else use it, display a licence that is fake, altered, suspended, revoked or not their own.
Code of Conduct, s. 2(1)
- While working, an individual licensee must act with honesty and integrity; comply with federal, provincial and municipal laws; treat everyone equally without discrimination; avoid profane, abusive or insulting language or uncivil actions; avoid unnecessary force; avoid behaviour not authorized by law.
- Must treat information received while working as confidential, except where disclosure is required by the work or by law.
- Must co-operate with police where the law requires it.
- Must respect and use property and equipment according to the licence conditions.
Code of Conduct, s. 2(2)–(3)
- Must not be unfit for duty through alcohol or drugs; must not conspire with or aid another licensee to breach the code; must not wilfully or negligently make a false statement or complaint against another licensee.
- Must not misrepresent the type, class or conditions of the licence — except a licensee concealing their identity as a PI to carry out duties (s. 2(3)).
- s. 1: contravening the regulation is a breach of the code of conduct.
Public complaints
- Anyone may complain to the Registrar that a licensee breached the code of conduct, the Act or the regulations, or a licence condition.
- A complaint must be in writing, signed and filed within 90 days of the events (later only with the Registrar's consent).
- The Registrar may decline a code-of-conduct complaint that is frivolous, vexatious or not in good faith, and must give reasons.
- Code-of-conduct complaints go to a facilitator unless the complainant does not want that; the facilitator may recommend remedial instruction, which the Registrar then imposes as a licence condition.
- The study guide: complaints can lead to facilitation; the branch may also investigate and lay charges, issue a warning or revoke the licence.
Refusal and revocation
- The Registrar may refuse, revoke or attach conditions; written notice must give reasons and offer a chance to be heard.
- The licensee has 21 days after the notice to ask in writing to be heard; appeals go to the Tribunal within 21 days after written reasons.
- The Registrar may suspend a licence immediately when proposing revocation if public safety requires it.
Offences and penalties
- Offences include giving false information on an application, breaking an order, a licence condition, the Act or the regulations.
- Individuals: fine up to $25,000, up to one year in jail, or both. Business entities: fine up to $250,000.
- s. 43(2): a prosecution must start within one year after the Registrar first learns of the facts.
Prohibited work
- A PI licensee must not act or offer to act in collecting accounts, as a bailiff, or in an eviction under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
- A PI must not locate, or gather information to locate, a person known or suspected to be in a witness protection program.
Study the PSISA rules, Code of Conduct and complaints rules as flashcards →
Other topics
- The PI industry and getting licensedWho needs an Ontario private investigator licence under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005, who is exempt, the six licence types, eligibility (age 18, clean criminal record, right to work, training and testing), the 50-hour training syllabus, approved training providers and the licence term.
- Privacy law: PIPEDA, FIPPA and MFIPPAHow PIPEDA's consent rules limit what personal information an investigation business can collect, use and disclose, the exceptions for publicly available information and investigations, access to government records under FIPPA and MFIPPA, and industry practice on expectations of privacy, hidden cameras, audio and GPS trackers.
- Evidence: types, Evidence Acts and chain of custodyDirect, circumstantial, hearsay, documentary (illustrative), real, trace, opinion and unsworn evidence, admissions, business records under the Ontario Evidence Act and Canada Evidence Act, and the six core steps for containing evidence and keeping a chain of custody.
- Trespass to Property Act and other statutesOccupiers and authorized persons, the three ways to commit trespass, notice by voice, writing, signs and red or yellow markings, arrest and handover to police, the $10,000 maximum fine, and the other Ontario statutes the syllabus names, including the Highway Traffic Act on surveillance.
- Criminal Code: arrest, force and offencesWhy a PI has only a citizen's powers, arrest without warrant under section 494, delivering a person to police, use of force under sections 25 to 27, defence of person and property, Charter rights on arrest and detention, and the offences the study guide names: theft, false pretences, fraud and kidnapping.
- Courts, intimidation, harassment and civil lawThe Canadian court system, burden of proof in criminal and civil cases, intimidation under section 423, criminal harassment under section 264, interception of private communications under section 184, tort, libel, slander and perjury, and the parties to a civil action.
- Locating, research and surveillanceSetting a justifiable mandate, basic locator techniques, public records and research sources such as PPSR searches, the purposes of covert surveillance, what to know before you start, standard equipment, detection, and solo versus team surveillance methods.
- Interviews, statements and reportsPreparing for and conducting interviews, taking and correcting a witness statement, confessions and youth interviews, writing objective surveillance reports, correcting notes and using notes when you testify.
- Undercover work, email monitoring and serving documentsWhen undercover operations are used, briefing and supervising an operator, conduct that protects credibility in court, monitoring employee email, and serving civil documents under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, including personal service, substituted service and the Affidavit of Service.
- Ethics, communication and self-managementEthical decision-making, duty of care, prejudice and the Ontario Human Rights Code, clear and unbiased communication, tactical communication, and managing stress, time, teamwork and changing conditions on assignments.