NY Gen Bus L § 70 (2021)
2021 New York Laws GBS - General Business Article 7 - Private Investigators, Bail Enforcement Agents and Watch, Guard and Patrol Agencies 70 - Private Investigator License.

§  70.  Private investigator license. 1. The department of state shall   have the power to issue licenses to private  investigators.  Nothing  in   this  article  shall  prevent  a private investigator licensed hereunder   from performing the services of a watch, guard or patrol agency or  bail   enforcement  agent  as defined herein; however, a watch, guard or patrol   agency or bail enforcement agent may  not  perform  the  services  of  a   private investigator as defined herein.2. No person, firm, company, partnership, limited liability company or   corporation  shall  engage  in  the  business of private investigator or   advertise his, their or its business to be that of private  investigator   notwithstanding  the  name  or  title  used in describing such agency or   notwithstanding the fact that other functions and services may  also  be   performed  for  fee,  hire or reward, without having first obtained from   the department of state a license so to do, as hereinafter provided, for   each bureau, agency, sub-agency, office and branch office to  be  owned,   conducted,   managed  or  maintained  by  such  person,  firm,  company,   partnership, limited liability company or corporation for the conduct of   such business.3. No person, firm, company, partnership, limited liability company or   corporation shall engage in the business of furnishing or supplying  for   fee,  hire or any consideration or reward information as to the personal   character or activities of any person, firm,  company,  or  corporation,   society  or association, or any person or group of persons, or as to the   character or kind of the business and occupation of  any  person,  firm,   company or corporation, or own or conduct or maintain a bureau or agency   for the above mentioned purposes, except exclusively as to the financial   rating, standing, and credit responsibility of persons, firms, companies   or   corporations,   or   as   to  the  personal  habits  and  financial   responsibility  of  applicants  for  insurance,   indemnity   bonds   or   commercial credit or of claimants under insurance policies, provided the   business  so  exempted does not embrace other activities as described in   section seventy-one of this article, or except where such information is   furnished or supplied  by  persons  licensed  under  the  provisions  of   section  twenty-four-a  or  subdivision  three-b of section fifty of the   workers'  compensation  law  or  representing  employers  or  groups  of   employers  insured  under  the  workers'  compensation  law in the state   insurance fund, without having first obtained  from  the  department  of   state, as hereafter provided, a license so to do as private investigator   for each such bureau or agency and for each and every sub-agency, office   and  branch office to be owned, conducted, managed or maintained by such   persons, firm, limited liability company, partnership or corporation for   the conduct of such business. Nothing contained in this section shall be   deemed to include the business of adjusters for insurance companies, nor   public adjusters licensed by the superintendent  of  financial  services   under the insurance law of this state.4.  Any person, firm, company, partnership or corporation who violates   any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.