Private Investigator FAQ

A licensed Florida investigator can conduct surveillance from public places, search public records including court, property and corporate filings, run licensed database searches for identity and address history, take statements from people willing to give them, conduct open source and social media research, and document findings to evidentiary standards. Chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes governs the profession and requires a license for this work.

No licensed investigator can lawfully obtain bank balances or account records, telephone call records, sealed or expunged records, credit reports, or medical records. Those are protected by state and federal law, and lawful access runs through a subpoena, a court order, or the subject’s own written authorization. Any firm offering them is either lying or breaking the law.

Yes, from public places and public vantage points where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. An investigator may not trespass, may not record private conversations without the consent of all parties under section 934.03 of the Florida Statutes, and may not place a tracking device on a vehicle the client does not own under section 934.425. This is general information, not legal advice.

Insight Investigative Group publishes its prices. Surveillance is $1,000 per day flat. Background investigations are $175, $600 or $1,200 depending on depth, with rush delivery at $400. Bug sweeps are $1.50 per square foot with a $500 minimum, and a single vehicle is $500. Locates start at $100. A device location check is $795.

Standard background checks are delivered within 48 hours of complete intake, and comprehensive and premium reports within 72 hours. Surveillance reports follow the assignment. The clock starts when your intake is complete rather than when you pay, because a missing date of birth or last known address slows a report more than any fee can speed up.

Under section 493.6119 of the Florida Statutes, a licensed agency may not release the contents of an investigative file to anyone other than the client or employer, subject to narrow exceptions including a request or subpoena from the state regulator. Section 493.6121(2) separately requires the agency to keep that file for at least two years, so no licensed agency can promise to delete it on request.

Not usually, but it depends on the matter. For family law, alimony modification and anything heading to litigation, having counsel first usually produces a better scoped investigation and protects how the findings can be used. We will say so when we think that applies to your situation.

We conduct locates and skip tracing from public records and licensed databases, starting at $100. What we do not do is facilitate contact with someone who has a protective order against the person asking, or provide an address where the circumstances suggest it would be used to harm someone. We ask what the locate is for, and sometimes the answer ends the engagement.