DC private detective bonds.
$100 flat.
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 $100 flat, and the application collects no credit information.
Trusted by industry leaders
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 fields, 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.
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
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — the application collects no credit information, because this bond doesn't need any.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other District of Columbia bonds.
Finish your license checklist today.
$100 flat, no credit review, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.