Verify Both Florida PI Licenses
Start with the regulator, not a badge image on a website. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) regulates private investigators and private investigative agencies under Chapter 493. FDACS identifies the Class “C” license for an individual private investigator and the Class “A” license for a private investigative agency. Interns operate under a separate Class “CC” license and must work under qualified sponsorship and direction.
Verify the person who will perform or supervise the work and the agency accepting the engagement. Check the license type, status, expiration information, and whether the name matches the contract. A business registration, occupational license, law-enforcement background, or out-of-state credential is not a substitute for the Florida license required for regulated Florida work.
Use the official FDACS individual and agency license search. Its search guide explains the license prefixes, including A, C, and CC.
Define the Objective Before Comparing Firms
“Find the truth” is not yet an investigation plan. Write down the decision the investigation must support, the facts already known, the deadline, the people or property involved, and any pending court or safety issue. Then separate desired facts from methods. For example, the objective may be documenting whether a vehicle regularly visits a location; that does not authorize trespass, account access, or GPS tracking.
Ask each firm to translate the objective into a lawful scope: likely sources, proposed fieldwork, reporting cadence, stopping conditions, and final deliverables. Good investigators also explain uncertainty. Surveillance may produce no observation during the authorized window, a database may contain stale records, and an online identity may remain unresolved even after reasonable research.
If litigation is pending or expected, ask the attorney whether the firm should be retained through counsel. That lets counsel shape relevance, preservation, communications, and reporting from the beginning. Review our litigation support investigations for examples of attorney-directed work.
Questions to Ask During the Consultation
The consultation should reveal who will do the work and how the firm thinks. Ask whether the proposed investigator has handled the same case type, which Florida regions they actually cover, and which parts would be assigned to employees or subcontractors. Request a plain-language explanation of what can be verified, what requires legal process, and what cannot be done lawfully.
- Who is the assigned investigator, and what is that person's Florida license number?
- Which facts are priorities, and which proposed methods address each fact?
- How are surveillance time, travel, database costs, rush work, and subcontractors approved?
- How often will updates arrive, and who is the client contact?
- Will the final work include a written report, original media, source notes, or an affidavit?
- How will sensitive records be transferred, stored, retained, and destroyed?
- What circumstances would cause the investigator to pause and request new authority?
Beware of guaranteed outcomes. A professional can promise a defined process and candid reporting, but not that a subject will appear, an asset will exist, a witness will cooperate, or a court will accept every item.
Compare Fees, Retainers, and Deliverables
Do not compare hourly rates without comparing scope. One proposal may exclude travel, mileage, database charges, media processing, rush work, report writing, or testimony. Another may include some of those items. Ask for a written explanation of the billing unit, minimum surveillance blocks, retainer replenishment, unused-retainer treatment, expense authorization, cancellation terms, and the point at which work stops.
Match the budget to phases. A first phase might verify identifiers and public records before field surveillance is authorized. A second phase might use a defined number of surveillance hours with a review point. Phasing protects the budget and allows new facts to change the plan. It also makes estimates more meaningful than an open-ended promise to “keep looking.”
Prices and government fees change, so this guide does not publish a universal Florida rate. The right proposal identifies assumptions, gives the client control over material expenses, and describes the deliverable attached to each phase.
Red Flags and a Final Hiring Checklist
Walk away from an investigator who refuses to identify the licensed agency, asks for access to another person's account, promises protected phone or financial records without lawful authority, suggests trespass, guarantees recovery, or pressures you to send money before defining the engagement. A firm should not imply that a PI license creates police powers.
Before signing, confirm the individual and agency licenses, legal client purpose, written scope, fee terms, assigned personnel, update schedule, evidence handling, confidentiality expectations, and termination terms. FDACS explains Florida's license classifications and exemptions; use that page to check any representation that seems unclear.
Keep the signed agreement, invoices, reports, and correspondence. If a licensing concern arises, FDACS's private investigation licensing FAQ provides regulatory contacts and complaint guidance. This checklist is general consumer information, not legal advice.
Related Services