Getting licensed in a state where you don’t reside
I’m on the fence about registering for the 02E course in Virginia and was hoping to get some feedback. I do not live in Virginia, although I’m not far from it and currently do some “off the record” investigative work for an attorney there. (I worked for this attorney years ago as a paralegal.)
I should go ahead and mention that I’m not a licensed PI in any other state, nor do I have any proper PI experience or training. I’m just a former paralegal who spent years tracking down people who didn’t want to be found and got really good at it. I also have a career in an unrelated field that I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. PI work will be a side-gig for now.
The attorney I help is encouraging me to take the PI course so they can officially hire and compensate me, but I’m curious to hear if anybody else has lived in a different state than where they are licensed. Just wondering if there are any roadblocks other than the obvious. Clearly I’m limited as to what I can do without being local, but everything I’ve done up to this point has been online anyways. And I’ll be working exclusively for this law firm (at least for now.) The main issue I see is having to testify, but I’m only a two hour drive away so it’s not impossible to be there. My employer is also advocating for me to do this and has agreed to be flexible with my day job, so that base is covered.
I just feel like I’m missing something. It seems too easy, too good to be true …. Surely there’s an angle I’m not seeing here …. ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!