Surveillance is a licensed-PI service. We refer.

We do not perform private investigation field work in Florida. When a matter requires surveillance, we coordinate with a licensed Florida private investigator in our network. They run the surveillance under their license, with their contract and their court-ready report. Quinn coordinates the introduction; the licensed PI handles the case directly with you.

The reason this works well: surveillance is its own discipline.

The partners we refer to spend forty plus hours a week running lawful moving and stationary observation under their license.

That is the kind of repetition that produces clean evidence in court.

Our role is to scope the matter, identify the right partner, and pair the field report with digital forensics when the case calls for both.

Is it legal for a private investigator to follow someone in Florida?

Yes, within limits.

A licensed Florida PI may lawfully observe a person in public, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, for a legitimate purpose such as a divorce, a custody matter, an insurance claim, or a workplace investigation.

What the law does not allow is trespass, harassment, stalking, wiretapping, or tracking a vehicle the subject solely owns without consent.

That line is exactly why this is licensed work: the partner runs the coverage inside it and produces a court-ready record.

We do not advise you to run surveillance yourself.

How the referral works

You contact us. NDA-protected scoping conversation, usually thirty minutes.
We scope the surveillance objective. What you need to confirm or rule out, geography, the subject's known pattern, the timeline.
We introduce you to the right licensed FL PI. The partner whose specialty (domestic, corporate, insurance defense) and calendar fit your matter.
The partner engages you directly. Their license, their contract, their report. They scope the surveillance plan, set the retainer, and run the coverage.

What we do, what the partner does

SleuthX (Quinn): consultation, scoping, partner introduction, and any digital forensics companion work, including phone forensics, account compromise review, OSINT on the subject's online footprint, and stalkerware sweeps when surveillance is being run because of a stalking concern. The digital findings are documented so your lawyer can follow and check them, and explainable on cross-examination, not a black-box result.
Licensed PI partner: moving and stationary surveillance, video and photo evidence, observation logs, vehicle and pattern documentation, the full investigative report under their license with a custodian declaration of authenticity for the photo and video evidence (FRE 901 and 902), and court testimony on what they personally observed.

Who this is for

Surveillance referrals route to four buyer types:

spouses and partners gathering evidence for divorce or custody
attorneys building a litigation file
insurance defense counsel and SIU teams running sub rosa on suspect claims
and businesses investigating employee misconduct or competitor activity

Each of those gets a partner who specializes in that exact buyer type.

Why a referral, not direct delivery

Florida Statute 493 reserves private investigation work for Class C licensees.

Rather than dilute our digital forensics practice into a field-work practice we do not run, we keep the disciplines separate.

You get a surveillance specialist for the field portion and a digital forensics specialist for the device portion, instead of one person trying to do both halves at half the depth.

The digital surveillance companion

Physical surveillance is a saturated field; the differentiator is what runs alongside it.

When a matter has a digital dimension, whether a subject's phone, hidden apps, account-access patterns, an online footprint, or stalkerware on your own devices, we run court-ready, explainable digital forensics in parallel with the partner's field coverage.

Most PI shops cannot offer that half, and it is the reason to start a surveillance matter here.

Cross-references

What this costs

Surveillance rates are set by the licensed PI partner, not by us. Florida hourly rates typically run one hundred and twenty-five to two hundred and fifty dollars per investigator-hour with a retainer up front; two-investigator coverage roughly doubles it. We do not mark up partner fees.

The SleuthX digital companion is examiner-delivered, under our own engagement letter.

Phone forensics, account-access review, OSINT, and stalkerware sweeps run on an engagement retainer, on terms set out in the letter. Done-for-you work runs in device packages. Fixed fee by number of devices. You see your exact price before you sign. Work beyond the packages is priced in writing before it starts.

Call (239) 241-8095

A confidential, structured engagement.

Confidential Consultation

A direct conversation with Quinn, the founder and CEO who oversees every engagement. NDA-protected. No sales process.

Scoped Engagement

A clear written proposal with defined deliverables, timeline, and pricing. No hidden costs.

Investigation and Findings

Forensic work your lawyer can follow and check, with regular updates and a written summary you can act on.

Frequently asked about surveillance referrals

What does private investigator surveillance actually cost?

Surveillance is billed by the licensed PI partner directly, almost always hourly, with a retainer up front. Florida hourly rates typically run from one hundred and twenty-five to two hundred and fifty dollars per investigator-hour, plus mileage and expenses. Two-investigator coverage costs roughly double. A typical domestic surveillance budget starts at twenty hours and scales from there based on the subject's pattern. The partner gives you a written estimate before any retainer is collected.

Is GPS tracking on a vehicle legal in Florida?

It depends on who owns the vehicle and who is driving it. Florida law restricts placing a tracker on a vehicle you do not own or co-own without consent. The licensed PI partner will tell you upfront whether tracking is an option in your specific situation, and if it is not, they rely on traditional moving and stationary surveillance. We do not advise you to attempt this yourself; ask the partner.

Can the surveillance report be used in court?

Yes when the partner is licensed, the methodology is documented, and the chain of custody on photos and video is preserved. The partner produces a formal investigative report with a timeline, observation log, photographs, video, and a sworn certification of authenticity under FRE 901 and 902. They can testify to what they personally observed. We pair that report with our digital forensics findings when the matter has both physical and digital surveillance components.

How long does surveillance usually run?

It depends on the pattern you are trying to capture. Some matters resolve in two evenings of coverage; others take three to four weeks of selective coverage on the days the subject is most likely to behave the way you suspect. The partner runs an early-discovery shift to map the pattern, then deploys focused coverage where the activity actually happens, instead of burning hours on dead time.

Can the partner testify in court?

Yes. A licensed Florida PI can be subpoenaed or retained as a fact witness to testify about what they personally observed during surveillance. Some partners are also qualified as expert witnesses on surveillance methodology. If the matter is heading to trial, we coordinate with your attorney to confirm the partner's availability and expert qualifications before the surveillance starts.

What if the surveillance comes back inconclusive?

It happens. Subjects vary their pattern, weather wrecks coverage, a vehicle change shows up mid-job. The partner will give you a candid debrief, recommend whether more coverage is justified, and document what was observed. Inconclusive surveillance still has value in litigation as a documented attempt, and it sometimes shifts the matter toward a digital forensics approach we can run instead.