Oregon Revised Statutes
As used in ORS 703.010 to 703.310, unless the context requires otherwise: “Board” means the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training. “Department” means the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. “Director” means the director of the department. “Internship” means the study by a trainee of polygraph examinations and of the administration…
It is the purpose of ORS 703.010 to 703.310 to regulate all persons who purport to be able to detect deception or to verify the truth of statements through the use of instrumentation or mechanical devices, including but not limited to lie detectors, polygraphs and deceptographs, that record visually, permanently and simultaneously the cardiovascular pattern,…
No person, including persons employed by a state agency or public body in this state, may engage in conducting polygraph examinations, refer to that person as a polygraph examiner or offer or advertise services as a polygraph examiner unless that person is licensed under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 as a polygraph examiner.
There shall be two types of polygraph examiner licenses: The trainee license permits the holder to engage in an internship. The general license permits the holder to administer specific issue examinations.
Applications for initial renewal or replacement licenses as polygraph examiners or trainees under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 shall be submitted in writing and under oath to the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, accompanied by the proper fee therefor specified in ORS 703.110. A fee submitted to the department may not be refunded. Each applicati…
To become a trainee an applicant must satisfy ORS 703.090 (1)(a) to (d) and: Have graduated from a polygraph examiners course approved by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training; or Provide documentation of military experience or training that the department determines is substantially equivalent to the education required by paragraph (a) of…
All of the following requirements apply to an applicant for a license as a general polygraph examiner. The applicant must: Be at least 18 years of age. Be a citizen of the United States. Not have demonstrated, in the preceding 10 years, a course of behavior that indicates a high degree of probability that the applicant will be unlikely to perform the duti…
Each polygraph examiner’s license issued by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 shall be issued for a period of one year. The department may renew the license of a polygraph examiner, unless such license has been suspended or revoked, upon compliance by the person with such conditions as the department may pres…
The following fees shall be charged by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in carrying out ORS 703.010 to 703.310: The fee of $50 for the issuance of each original license as a general polygraph examiner. The fee of $50 for the annual renewal of a license as a general polygraph examiner. The fee of $50 for examination by the department …
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may license a person who is not a resident of this state as a polygraph examiner as otherwise provided under ORS 703.010 to 703.310. However, any such person must include with the application for a license or renewal thereof an irrevocable written consent permitting the director to act as the agent of th…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may grant a license as a polygraph examiner in this state to a person who is licensed as a polygraph examiner by another state or territory of the United States, without examination, upon application by such person in the manner prescribed by the department and upon payment to the department of a fee of …
A polygraph examiner shall display prominently the license of the polygraph examiner at the place of business or employment of the polygraph examiner and a trainee shall display prominently the license of the trainee at the place of internship of the trainee. A polygraph examiner shall notify the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in writing…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may issue licenses for polygraph examiners and trainees in accordance with ORS 703.010 to 703.310. The department shall prescribe the manner and contents of any examination conducted by it under ORS 703.010 to 703.310. The department may prescribe the requirements for internship of any person who is li…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may refuse to issue, or may revoke or suspend the license of any person as a polygraph examiner or trainee, if it finds that the person: Failed to inform an individual being examined as to the nature of the examination or failed to advise the individual or the representative of the individual of the res…
Upon receipt of written notification of the suspension or revocation by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training of the license of a polygraph examiner or trainee, a polygraph examiner or trainee shall surrender immediately the license to the department. The department may restore a suspended or revoked license to the prior holder thereof at su…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training shall conduct all proceedings under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 in accordance with ORS chapter 183. Judicial review of an action of the department shall be provided in ORS 183.480, 183.485, 183.490 and 183.500. The Board on Public Safety Standards and Training, or the department with the board’s approval, sh…
All fees, moneys or other revenues received or collected by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 shall be deposited in the Police Standards and Training Account. (Miscellaneous)
No person may bring or maintain an action in any court in this state for the recovery of compensation for services performed as a polygraph examiner or upon a contract for any such services unless such person was licensed under ORS 703.010 to 703.310 as a polygraph examiner at the time of the making of such contract or at the time of the performance of such …
All instruments or mechanical devices that are used by polygraph examiners to test or question an individual for the purpose of detecting deception or of verifying the truth of statements made by the individual shall record visually, permanently and simultaneously the cardiovascular pattern, the respiratory pattern and the galvanic skin response of the indiv…
ORS 703.010 to 703.310 shall be known and may be cited as the Polygraph Examiners Act. TRUTH VERIFICATION AND DECEPTION DETECTION BY POLICE OFFICERS
A police officer, as defined in ORS 243.005, may use an instrument or mechanical device that does not comply with the minimum requirements under ORS 703.310 (1) to test or question an individual for the purpose of detecting deception or verifying the truth of statements made by the individual if the police officer: Uses the instrument or mechanical device i…
INVESTIGATORS
As used in ORS 703.401 to 703.490, 703.993 and 703.995, unless the context otherwise requires: “Client” means a person who engages an investigator, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity for the purpose of conducting lawful activity on the person’s behalf. “Investigator” means a person who is a licensed investigator under ORS 703.430 and who engage…
A person may not act as an investigator or represent that the person is an investigator unless that person is licensed under ORS 703.430.
The licensing requirement of ORS 703.405 does not apply to a person while the person is: Providing testimony in a court as an expert under ORS 40.410; or Conducting investigations or reviews or engaging in other activities in preparation for providing testimony in a court as an expert under ORS 40.410. Note: 703.407 was enacted into law by the Legislative…
ORS 703.401 to 703.490, 703.993 and 703.995 do not apply to: A person employed exclusively by one employer in connection with the affairs of that employer only; An officer or employee of the United States, or of this state, or a political subdivision of either, while the officer or employee is engaged in the performance of official duties; A person acting…
In order to obtain a private investigator’s license, a person: Must be at least 18 years of age; Must be eligible to work in the United States; Must not have committed any act that constitutes grounds for denial of a private investigator’s license; Must have obtained a passing score on the test of investigator competency adopted by the Board on Public Sa…
An application for a private investigator’s license or a provisional investigator’s license must be in writing on a form prescribed by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, stating the applicant’s: Legal name; Birthdate; Citizenship; Physical description; Current residence; Residence for the preceding 10 years; Current employment; E…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training shall issue: A private investigator’s license if the applicant has satisfied the requirements of ORS 703.415 and 703.425 and is in compliance with the rules of the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training and the department. A provisional investigator’s license if the applicant has satisfied the r…
When issuing a license under ORS 703.430, the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training shall also issue an identification card of a size, design and content as may be determined by the department by rule. An investigator shall carry at all times, while engaged in the practice of investigating, the identification card issued under this section. In…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may enter into a reciprocal agreement with the appropriate official of any other state to allow an investigator licensed in the other state to operate in Oregon if the department determines that the requirements for licensure in that state are substantially similar to the requirements under Oregon law.
An investigator who desires to continue to practice in this state must apply for renewal and pay the renewal fee as prescribed by rule of the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training to the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training on or before the renewal date of the license. Any person who fails to pay the renewal fee by the renewal date may,…
An investigator issued a private investigator’s license must complete at least 32 hours of continuing education every two years. An investigator issued a provisional investigator’s license must complete at least 40 hours of continuing education every two years. An investigator may carry no more than 15 hours of continuing education from one licensing perio…
A licensed investigator: May not knowingly make any false report to an employer or client. May not commit fraud or deceit toward a client or employer. May not knowingly violate a court order or injunction in the course of business as an investigator. May not commit an act that reflects adversely on the investigator’s honesty, integrity, trustworthiness o…
A licensed investigator shall provide the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training with: The investigator’s legal name, home address and home telephone number; and The name, physical and mailing addresses and telephone number of the investigator’s business. In addition to the information required by subsection (1) of this section, a licensed inv…
The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training may refuse to grant or renew a license, may suspend or revoke a license or may reprimand an investigator for any violation of ORS 703.405, 703.450 or 703.460 or of any rule adopted by the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training or the department. In determining whether to issue a denial, suspensio…
If the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training proposes to refuse to issue or renew a license or proposes to suspend or revoke a license or proposes to reprimand an investigator, opportunity for hearing shall be accorded as provided in ORS chapter 183. Judicial review of orders under subsection (1) of this section shall be as provided in ORS chap…
An investigator’s home address, home telephone number, personal electronic mail address, Social Security number, photograph and other personal identifying information are confidential and not subject to disclosure under ORS 192.311 to 192.478 unless written consent to disclose is given by the investigator. Except as provided by rules established by the Boar…
The Board on Public Safety Standards and Training shall, in collaboration with the Private Security Policy Committee: Establish reasonable minimum standards of physical, emotional, intellectual and moral fitness for investigators. Prescribe fees relating to the application for and the issuance, renewal and inactivation of investigators’ licenses, and for t…
All moneys received by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training under ORS 703.401 to 703.490, 703.993 and 703.995 shall be paid into the General Fund in the State Treasury and credited to the Police Standards and Training Account established in ORS 181A.665.
PENALTIES
Violation of any provision of ORS 703.010 to 703.310 or of any rule adopted thereunder is a Class A misdemeanor.
A person commits a Class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly falsifies the fingerprints, photographs or other data pertinent to an application for a license or identification card under the provisions of ORS 703.425, 703.430 or 703.435. A person commits a Class B misdemeanor if the person knowingly practices as an investigator without a license as require…
In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person who violates any provision of ORS 703.401 to 703.490 or any rule adopted thereunder: Is subject to payment of a civil penalty in an amount of not more than $500 for each offense; and May be assessed the costs of the disciplinary proceedings as a civil penalty. Notwithstanding subsection (1)(a) of …