Can North Carolina's Private Protective Services Board pull a private investigator's case file when reviewing a trainee, and does a private investigator with a gun have to pay the full armed security guard registration fee?

Plain-English summary

The Private Protective Services Board's Administrator asked the AG three questions about the Board's authority over its licensees. Associate Attorney General Judith Robb Bullock answered all three.

Question 1: Can the Board inspect a licensee's records as part of an investigation or trainee evaluation? Yes. N.C.G.S. § 74C-5(3) gives the Board authority to "[c]onduct investigations regarding alleged violations and to make evaluations as may be necessary to determine if licensees and trainees under this Chapter are complying with the provisions of this Chapter." The statute does not limit the type or source of information the Board can demand. A licensed private investigator had refused a Board investigator's request for case file records, claiming a privileged investigator-client relationship. The AG noted that North Carolina does not recognize any investigator-client privilege, either at common law or by statute. The statutory relational privileges in N.C.G.S. §§ 8-53 to 8-57.1 do not include one for private investigators. § 74C-12(a)(23) makes it a basis for discipline if a licensee divulges information acquired from a client "except as required by law," and the AG read the Board's investigation authority as a "required by law" situation that the statute itself expressly contemplated.

Question 2: Does the armed security guard definition in § 74C-13(a)(1) include a private investigator who carries a weapon? Yes. The statute defines an armed security guard as someone employed by a contract security company or proprietary security organization whose principal duty is that of a watchman, armored car guard, alarm system responder, private detective, or courier guard "who at any time wears, carries, or possesses a firearm in the performance of duty." § 74C-3(a)(8) provides that "private detective" and "private investigator" are synonymous. So a private investigator who carries a firearm in the performance of duty is an armed security guard.

Question 3: Can the Board charge a private investigator (now classified as an armed security guard) the full armed firearm registration permit fee, with no off-set against the unarmed registration ID card fee? Yes. § 74C-9(e)(6) authorizes a fee for an unarmed registration identification card (up to $30). § 74C-9(e)(8) authorizes a fee for an armed security guard firearm registration permit (up to $30). The two are separate licenses; the statute provides no off-set; a private investigator who qualifies as an armed security guard pays the full armed permit fee just like any other armed security guard.

The investigator-client privilege issue is the more interesting piece of the opinion. Private investigators often promise their clients confidentiality, and many states recognize at least a limited evidentiary privilege protecting the relationship. North Carolina, the AG noted, simply does not. The statutory privileges in Chapter 8 are limited and specific (physician-patient, attorney-client, clergy-penitent, and a handful of others). Investigator-client did not make the list. A Board investigator on a regulatory inspection is empowered to see the case files regardless of the licensee's client commitments.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1990. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. North Carolina has not since recognized a general private-investigator privilege. The specific fee amounts in §§ 74C-9(e)(6) and (e)(8) have been adjusted by amendment, and the Board's rules in 12 NCAC 7D have been updated. The substantive holdings on Board authority and armed-PI classification remain the analytical baseline.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 74C, the Private Protective Services Act, was enacted to bring private investigators and security services under state regulatory oversight. The Board issues licenses, sets standards for trainees, investigates complaints, and disciplines licensees. The Board's authority to inspect records is the kind of provision that makes meaningful regulation possible: without it, the Board would have to take licensees' word for everything.

The "except as required by law" carve-out in § 74C-12(a)(23) is the legislative resolution of the apparent tension between the Board's inspection authority and the licensee's duty to keep client matters confidential. The Board's inspection is "required by law" because Chapter 74C imposes it. So the licensee who hands over records to the Board does not violate § 74C-12(a)(23). The same licensee who sold the records to a magazine would.

The armed security guard classification under § 74C-13(a)(1) had practical bite. Carrying a firearm in the course of investigative work (surveillance, protective work for clients, recovery work) was common enough that many private investigators were within the definition without realizing it. The fee structure forced them to register as armed security guards and pay the corresponding permit fee. The Board could discipline licensees who carried weapons without the armed permit.

The "at any time" qualifier in the armed security guard definition was significant. A private investigator who carried a weapon even occasionally fell within the definition. The investigator could not toggle in and out of armed status to avoid the fee.

The opinion did not address the relationship between the state firearm permit law and the armed security guard permit, the Board's authority to require training for the armed permit, or how the licensure scheme interacted with federal firearms law. Those topics were governed by separate statutes.

Common questions

Did this opinion mean the Board could subpoena clients to testify about communications with their PI?

No. The opinion addressed only the Board's authority over its licensees' records. Whether a court could compel a client to testify about communications with a private investigator is a different question; in the absence of any statutory privilege, the testimony would likely be compellable.

Could a private investigator claim work-product protection for case files prepared in anticipation of litigation for a client's attorney?

The opinion did not address this. Work-product doctrine attaches to materials prepared by or for an attorney in anticipation of litigation. A private investigator working under attorney supervision in litigation might be covered by the attorney's work-product protection, but that is an attorney's protection, not the investigator's, and it is a separate legal framework from the regulatory inspection authority in § 74C-5(3).

What if the investigator's client was a federal agency with classified material?

Federal classification rules and the Supremacy Clause would govern in that case, separate from the Chapter 74C framework. The AG opinion addresses state regulatory authority over state-licensed investigators in routine compliance matters; classified federal materials require separate analysis.

Could the Board use information learned through an inspection to discipline the licensee for what was in the files?

In principle, yes. § 74C-5(3) explicitly contemplates investigations into alleged violations. If the inspection turned up evidence of misconduct, the Board could pursue disciplinary action.

Why isn't the armed permit fee offset by the unarmed ID card fee for a PI who was already paying both?

Because the statute does not provide an offset. The unarmed registration ID card is a different license from the armed firearm registration permit. The two licenses serve different purposes and require different procedures. A PI who falls within the armed security guard definition needs both, and there is no statutory cross-credit.

Citations

• N.C.G.S. § 8-53 to 8-57.1 (statutory privileges)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-2(c) (trainee permit)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-3(a)(8) (private detective/private investigator synonyms)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-5(1), (3) (Board investigation and reporting authority)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-9(e)(6), (e)(8) (fees)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-12(a)(23) (discipline for unauthorized disclosure)
• N.C.G.S. § 74C-13(a)(1) (armed security guard definition)
• 12 NCAC 7D .0204(b), .0702, .0802

Source

• Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/authority-to-inspect-records/

Original opinion text

Requested By: James F. Kirk, Administrator, N.C. Private Protective Services Board

Questions: Does the Private Protective Services Board have the authority to inspect the records of all licensees as part of an evaluation conducted pursuant to G.S. 74C-5(3)?

2. Does the definition of an armed security guard as set forth in G.S. 74C-13(a)(1) include a private investigator who carries a weapon?

3. If the answer to Question 2 is yes, does the Private Protective Services Board have the authority pursuant to G.S. 74C-9(e)(8) to charge private investigators a full fee for an armed security guard firearm registration permit?

Conclusions: Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

This request poses three separate questions, which will be answered seriatim.

INSPECTION OF RECORDS

G.S. 74C-2(c) authorizes the Private Protective Services Board to issue "a trainee permit in lieu of a private investigator license provided that the applicant works under the direct supervision of a licensee." G.S. 74C-5(3) authorizes the Private Protective Services Board to "[C]onduct investigations regarding alleged violations and to make evaluations as may be necessary to determine if licensees and trainees under this Chapter are complying with the provisions of this Chapter." The Private Protective Services Board is entitled, pursuant to the Board's rule set forth in 12 NCAC 7D .0204(b), to request written documentation or verification of experience by the licensee or trainee permit applicant. As part of an evaluation of a private investigator trainee, a Private Protective Services Board investigator requested and was denied access to file records by a private investigator licensee who claimed that the records were part of a privileged and confidential relationship between the private investigator and his client. This office has been requested to provide an opinion regarding whether the Private Protective Services Board has the authority to examine the files of a licensee as part of an investigation or evaluation conducted pursuant to G.S. 74C-5(3).

The language of G.S. 74C-5(3) does not limit the type or source of information which may be sought by the Private Protective Services Board in conducting investigations or in making evaluations. The licensee's refusal to provide access to the records was based on the assertion of a privileged relationship between the private investigator and his client which is not recognized either in common law or by statute in North Carolina. See, G.S. 8-53 – 8-57.1, which sets forth statutory relational privileges.

The Private Protective Services Board can take disciplinary action pursuant to G.S. 74C-12(a)(23) against a licensee who has "[D]ivulged to any person, except as required by law, any information acquired by him except at the direction of the employer or client for whom the information was obtained." (Emphasis added). However, the Private Protective Services Board's authority pursuant to G.S. 74C-5(1) "to require the submission of reports and information by licensees," together with its authority in G.S. 74C-5(3) to conduct investigations and make evaluations clearly falls within the exception set forth in G.S. 74C-12(a)(23) and requires the licensee to divulge information he acquired by providing the Board with access to his records.

ARMED SECURITY GUARD DEFINED

"Armed security guard" is defined by G.S. 74C-13(a)(1) as follows:

"Armed security guard" means an individual employed by a contract security company or a proprietary security organization whose principal duty is that of an armed security watchman; armed armored car service guard; armed alarm system company responder; private detective; or armed courier service guard who at any time wears, carries, or possesses a firearm in the performance of duty."

Under the provisions of G.S. 74C-3(a)(8), the terms "private detective" and "private investigator" are synonymous. Therefore, the plain meaning of G.S. 74C-13(a)(1) is that a private investigator who, at any time, carries a firearm in the performance of his duties is an armed security guard as that term is used in G.S. 74C-13.

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR'S FEE

In the present fact situation, it has been contended that private investigators holding armed security guard registration permits have been overcharged because they have paid the armed security guard registration fee while they should have been charged a fee equal to the difference between the armed security guard registration and the unarmed security guard registration. This office has been requested to provide an opinion regarding whether the Private Protective Services Board has the authority to charge private investigators the full fee for an armed security guard firearm registration permit.

The Private Protective Services Board is authorized by G.S. 74C-9(e)(6) to charge "[A] new, renewal, replacement or reissuance fee for an unarmed registration identification card in an amount not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00)." G.S. 74C-9(e)(8) authorizes the Board to charge "[A] new, renewal, replacement, or reissuance fee for an armed security guard firearm registration permit not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00)." The fees established by the rules of the Private Protective Services Board for unarmed registration are contained within 12 NCAC 7D .0702, and armed security guard registration fees are set forth in 12 NCAC 7D .0802. Until January 1, 1990, these fees were $10.00 and $17.50 respectively. Temporary rules increased these respective fees to $20.00 and $30.00. As established in the answer to Question 2, a private investigator is an armed security guard when he carries a firearm in the performance of his duties. As such, he is required to make application for an armed security guard firearm registration permit and to pay the fee authorized by G.S. 74C-9(e)(8) and set forth in 12 NCAC 7D .0802 for new, renewal, replacement, or reissuance of an armed security guard firearm registration permit.

There is no provision requiring an off-set to the fee established pursuant to G.S. 74C-9(e)(6) for an unarmed registration identification card against the fee established pursuant to G.S. 74C-9(e)(8) for an armed security guard firearm registration permit. These are separate license fees. Private investigators who fall within the definition of armed security guard in G.S. 74C-13(a)(1) must be charged the same fee for an armed security guard registration permit as any other individual statutorily defined as an armed security guard.

LACY H. THORNBURG, Attorney General
Judith Robb Bullock, Associate Attorney General