Hiring a Private Investigator in Florida: Licenses, Costs, and What to Expect
Most people only hire a PI once in their lives. Here is how to do it correctly: what licenses to verify, what the work actually costs, and the warning signs that separate a real investigator from someone with a website.
Florida licensing — what to verify before you hire anyone
Florida is one of the most strictly regulated states for private investigation. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Licensing, issues three relevant license classes:
Class A — Private Investigative Agency license, held by the business itself. Class C — Private Investigator license, held by the individual investigator. Class CC — Intern PI license, for investigators working under a Class C licensee while accruing the experience required to upgrade.
Before you hire anyone in Florida, ask for the Class A and Class C numbers and verify both on the FDACS license-check portal. A legitimate agency will provide them without hesitation. If someone tells you they 'don't need a license' for what you are asking, walk away — they are wrong, and anything they produce will be inadmissible.
Gotham Investigations operates under Class A license A1400162 and Class B (Security Agency) license B1400162, with Jeffrey Giordano holding Class C license C1400021. Every investigator on staff carries a current Class C or CC license.
What real investigations cost
Florida PI rates vary by the work and the operator. For 2026, typical professional ranges in South Florida:
Standard surveillance — $95 to $150 per investigator per hour, two-investigator teams when the target is mobile. Most surveillance cases require 10 to 40 hours over multiple days. Most cases land between $1,500 and $6,000 total.
Background investigation — $500 to $2,500 depending on depth. A full pre-marital or pre-employment investigation including court records, asset checks, prior addresses, social verification, and reference contacts is typically $1,200 to $2,000.
Criminal defense investigation — retainer-based, typically $5,000 to $15,000 for a standard felony, substantially more for capital or complex litigation.
Locate / skip trace — $300 to $1,500 depending on how cold the trail is and whether the subject is actively hiding.
Be cautious of operators advertising surveillance at $50 per hour. The actual cost of two licensed investigators, two vehicles, fuel, equipment, and insurance is well above that. Anyone working that cheap is cutting corners that will show up in court.
Retainer structure — what you are signing
Real agencies operate on a retainer-and-invoice model. You pay an upfront retainer that goes into a trust account; we draw against it on hourly billing with itemized time logs; if the retainer runs out before the work does, we ask you to replenish it before we continue.
A written engagement letter should specify: the scope of work; the hourly rate(s) and minimum increments; reimbursable expenses (fuel, court fees, database costs); the retainer amount and what happens to the unused portion (it is refunded — anyone who tells you the retainer is non-refundable is misusing the term); and the form of deliverable (written report, sworn affidavit, raw footage, etc.).
Be wary of flat fees on open-ended investigations. A flat fee on a surveillance case incentivizes the investigator to stop working at hour 12 even if the subject finally moves at hour 13.
What we will and will not do
A licensed Florida PI can: conduct overt and covert surveillance in public places; pull and analyze public records including court files, property records, and corporate filings; obtain financial records lawfully (typically via the parties to a divorce or with consent); interview witnesses; locate persons; preserve and analyze digital evidence with proper authorization.
A licensed Florida PI cannot: pretext financial institutions or telephone carriers (illegal under federal GLBA and state law); plant tracking devices on a vehicle without ownership or consent; intercept communications without consent (Florida is a two-party-consent state); access accounts without authorization; impersonate law enforcement; or share information in ways that violate the Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
If a PI offers to do any of the second list, they are exposing you to civil liability and possible criminal prosecution. The point of hiring a licensed investigator is precisely that the work is admissible because it was done legally.
Five questions to ask before you sign
1. What are your Class A and Class C license numbers? (Verify them.) 2. Who on your team is going to actually do this work, and what is their background? 3. What is your retainer, your hourly rate, and what happens to unused retainer? 4. What deliverable do I receive at the end — written report, video, sworn statement? 5. Have you testified in Florida courts before, and will you testify on my case if needed?
An honest agency answers all five plainly in writing. We do.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a typical investigation take?
Background investigations: 5–10 business days. Surveillance cases: variable, but most clients get conclusive results within 2–4 weeks. Criminal defense investigations: months, depending on trial schedule.
Can I hire a PI without telling my spouse / business partner / opposing counsel?
Yes. Private investigations are confidential by professional standard and by license condition. Florida statute also protects PI work product when conducted at the direction of an attorney.
Do you work outside Florida?
We work cases nationally when they originate in Florida or involve a Florida party. For out-of-state work we partner with licensed agencies in the relevant jurisdiction so the work is legal and admissible there.
Need an investigator on your case?
Call Jeff Giordano directly, 24/7. Florida-licensed, decades of courtroom-tested investigative experience.