Applicability.

- Persons or corporations which employ personnel who engage in activities covered by O.C.G.A. § 43-38-3(2), which defines private detective business, are required to be licensed by the State Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies, unless they are otherwise exempt pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 43-38-14. Persons or corporations which must be licensed are required to register their investigative personnel. 1991 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 91-34.

Security guards employed by Atlanta Housing Authority are not subject to provisions of this chapter because employees of the Atlanta Housing Authority are employees of a political subdivision of this state. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-113.

Security officers providing security to federal facilities on an independent contractor basis must comply with state legislation concerning training and licensing. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-31.

Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, 49 U.S.C. § 14501 et seq., preempts state legislation concerning the training and licensing of security officers performing pre-departure screening under a contract with an airline or an aircraft carrier. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-31.

Companies employing only in-house investigative personnel need not obtain licenses.

- When a company employs only in-house investigative personnel, and consequently does not fall within the definition of a private detective business, the company is not required to obtain a license. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-21.

In-house investigators need not register.

- In-house investigative personnel conducting investigations off the employer's premises are not required to be registered by the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies. This exemption from registration applies only to those in-house investigators who are employed exclusively and regularly by only one employer; their investigations are in connection with the employer's affairs, and the employer is not in the private detective business. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-21.

Peace officer engaged in the private detective or security business may not employ other peace officers, unless those individuals are licensed or registered by the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-22.

Consumer reporting agency or a credit reporting business that is exempt from licensure requirements as a private detective business under O.C.G.A. § 43-38-14(a)(2) nevertheless must obtain a license from the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies to perform private detective business activities as defined in O.C.G.A. § 43-38-3(3) that do not fall within the scope of this exemption or any other exemption. 2007 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2007-2.

Full-time peace officers charged by law with making arrests are exempt.

- Exemption from provisions of this chapter given to certain peace officers extends only to those persons charged by law with duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for violations of the law, and who devote, on a regular basis, their full time to performance of such duties. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-148 (see O.C.G.A. Ch. 38, T. 43).

For exemption from licensure, the peace officer must be employed in law enforcement on a full-time basis, must contract directly with an employer, and must obtain approval from the chief or head of the law enforcement agency. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-22.