Ask ten people what a private investigator does and you will get ten versions of a movie. The real answer is less dramatic and more useful: a licensed investigator gathers facts you cannot get yourself, does it legally, documents it so it holds up in court, and knows when the honest answer is “there is nothing here.” This guide explains what a private investigator actually does, what Florida law allows, what is off-limits, and when hiring one is worth the money.
The core services
Surveillance
The classic PI work: observing a person in public places and documenting where they go, whom they meet and what they do, with time-stamped video and photos. Used in infidelity and custody cases, insurance and workers’ compensation claims, employee misconduct and stalking documentation. It is done from unmarked vehicles, often by two investigators, and it is the most time-consuming — and therefore most expensive — thing an investigator does.
Background checks and due diligence
Verifying who a person or company really is: identity, criminal and civil court records, bankruptcies and liens, corporate filings, licenses, litigation history, reputation. For hiring executives, taking on a partner or investor, screening a tenant or buyer, or vetting someone your family member is about to marry. See corporate investigations and due diligence.
Locating people (skip tracing)
Finding a person who moved, disappeared or is avoiding contact — a defendant to serve, a witness, a debtor, an heir, a birth parent — through databases available to licensed investigators, public records and field verification. See skip tracing.
Asset searches
Lawfully identifying real property, vehicles, vessels, business interests and other assets for judgment enforcement, divorce and business disputes. Bank balances are not lawfully obtainable without legal process, whatever an online ad promises.
Interviews and witness statements
Finding and interviewing witnesses, taking recorded or written statements, and presenting them in a form attorneys can use.
Records research
Court files, property records, corporate filings, licensing boards, archives, news — the unglamorous hours that turn a hunch into a documented fact.
Technical surveillance countermeasures (bug sweeps)
Detecting hidden cameras, microphones and GPS trackers in homes, offices, vehicles and yachts. See TSCM sweeps.
Undercover and integrity work
Placing an investigator inside a business to identify theft, drug activity or harassment from the inside.
Litigation support
Serving as the attorney’s fact-gathering arm: evidence, witnesses, timelines, exhibits and testimony.
What a private investigator cannot do
This is the part the movies skip. In Florida, a licensed investigator may not:
- Trespass on private property or enter a home, office or vehicle without permission.
- Record private conversations without the consent of everyone in them — Florida is an all-party-consent state for audio.
- Access anyone’s phone, email, social media or bank accounts, or obtain phone records by pretexting the carrier.
- Place a GPS tracker on a vehicle the client does not own or co-own (see lawful GPS tracking).
- Impersonate law enforcement or a government official.
- Make arrests, obtain warrants or run law enforcement databases.
- Harass, threaten or repeatedly confront the subject.
- Obtain protected records — medical, financial, education — without consent or legal process.
An investigator who offers any of these is offering to commit a crime with your name attached to it, and the evidence will be thrown out anyway.
How investigators are licensed in Florida
Florida regulates the profession under Chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Individual investigators hold a Class C license (Class CC for interns under supervision), which requires experience or training, a background check and continuing education. They must work for or through an agency holding a Class A private investigative agency license, which carries insurance requirements. You can verify any license number on the state’s public lookup. An unlicensed “investigator” is committing a crime, and anything they produce is worthless in court.
A typical case, start to finish
- Consultation. You explain the problem; the investigator asks what you already know, what you need the answer for (court, a decision, peace of mind) and whether an attorney is involved.
- Scope and estimate. A written plan: what will be done, by what method, in how many hours or at what flat fee, with expenses listed. Honest investigators tell you when a cheaper method will answer the question.
- The work. Records first — they are cheap and often decisive. Surveillance is planned around likely windows, not run around the clock. You get interim updates.
- The report. A written chronology with exhibits — photos, video, documents — and a clear statement of what was and was not established. If the case goes to court, the investigator testifies.
When hiring an investigator makes sense
- You need facts for a legal proceeding — divorce, custody, a lawsuit, a claim — and your attorney needs evidence, not suspicion.
- You are about to commit money or trust: a partner, an investor, an executive hire, a tenant, a caregiver, a marriage.
- Someone owes you money and you need to find them or their assets.
- Your business is losing inventory or cash and you do not know how.
- You suspect you are being watched, recorded or tracked.
- You need to find a person — a witness, an heir, a lost relative.
When it does not make sense: to satisfy curiosity about someone’s private life with no legitimate purpose, or to locate a person who has a protective order against you. Reputable agencies decline those cases.
How much it costs
Most work is billed hourly per investigator, with flat fees for background checks, locates and technical services, and expenses billed at cost. Surveillance is the expensive part; records work is the bargain. Our guide to private investigator costs in Florida explains billing in detail, and how to hire a private investigator covers the questions to ask before you sign.
Working with FSO Guard
FSO Guard’s licensed investigators in Miami handle surveillance, background checks and due diligence, locates, asset searches, TSCM sweeps and litigation support across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, in English, Spanish and Russian. For a confidential consultation call (786) 659-5011, message us on WhatsApp or see our investigation services.
