DC private detective bonds.
$275. Five minutes.
To be licensed as a private detective agency in the District of Columbia, you post a $5,000 surety bond — applications are processed through DLCP with final sign-off by the Metropolitan Police Department's Security Officers Management Branch. Ours is $275 flat, with no credit check.
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Three steps. One sitting.
License bonds are the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit check section, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Pay & e-sign
License bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
File with your license application
Your executed $5,000 bond arrives by email, ready to file with your DC private detective license application. Final sign-off is by the MPD Security Officers Management Branch.
The whole pricing page.
$5,000 bond × 3% = $150, below our $275 minimum — so the price is $275 flat. Multi-year terms available.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
A private detective agency in the District of Columbia must be licensed, and that license is conditioned on a $5,000 surety bond. The bond is a public-protection guarantee that you'll conduct investigative work lawfully and within the District's rules for the trade.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the District, with the public as the protected parties. License applications are processed through the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, with final sign-off by the Metropolitan Police Department's Security Officers Management Branch (SOMB), which oversees private detectives, special police officers, and security officers in the District.
The bond protects the public, not you — if you violate the rules and someone is harmed, they can recover against it, and you repay the surety. The District runs these licenses on a fixed renewal cycle, so we track your term and notify you 60 and 30 days out.
You need this bond if you're
Five minutes. The whole thing.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit check section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
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Other New York bonds.
Finish your license checklist today.
$275 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.