Florida All-Party

Licensing & Regulation

Florida has one of the largest licensed PI populations in the U.S. and a robust regulatory regime under Chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes, administered by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing. Several license classes exist: Class C (PI), Class CC (intern), Class A (agency), and Class MA (manager). Class C requires two years of verifiable investigative experience or the completion of a 40-hour state-approved training program plus internship. All applicants submit fingerprints and pass background checks; the agency conducts an FDLE and FBI criminal-history check.

Physical Surveillance

Public surveillance is permitted. Florida's "Florida Stop the Stalkers" provisions and harassment statutes constrain follow-up that becomes intrusive. GPS tracking of a vehicle owned by another is prohibited under F.S. §934.425 (placement of tracking devices) — a relatively recent statute that criminalizes placing a tracker without consent, with carve-outs for parents/guardians of minors and for vehicle owners. Drone surveillance is regulated by F.S. §934.50, which restricts use of drones to capture images of persons or property on private land with the intent to conduct surveillance and without consent.

Audio & Video Recording Consent

Florida is an all-party-consent state under the Florida Security of Communications Act, F.S. §934.03. Every party to an oral, wire, or electronic communication must consent. The leading case State v. Inciarrano created a narrow expectation-of-privacy carve-out that has been refined by later decisions; the safe rule for PIs is to assume all-party consent is required. Violations are third-degree felonies. Video-only surveillance in non-private areas is generally lawful; F.S. §810.145 criminalizes video voyeurism.

Domestic, Marital & Infidelity Investigations

Florida is a no-fault but "marital misconduct can affect equitable distribution and alimony" state. Adultery, particularly where it amounted to dissipation of marital assets, is relevant. PIs in Florida's robust matrimonial market document cohabitation (for alimony termination), workplace conduct, and travel patterns. The all-party consent rule makes audio capture of phone calls or in-person meetings risky — visual documentation is the workhorse.

Cybersecurity, Hacking & Digital Investigations

F.S. §815 (Computer-Related Crimes Act) prohibits unauthorized access. Pretexting telephone records is barred by federal law; pretexting financial records by GLBA. Florida has its own data-broker registration regime that constrains how aggregated personal information may be sold. Public-records access in Florida is broad — the state's open-records law is among the most expansive — and PIs can obtain court files, property records, and many government filings without difficulty.

Missing Persons, Skip Tracing & Harassment

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) maintains the missing-persons clearinghouse. PIs commonly assist families. DPPA limits DMV access; commercial aggregators are extensively used. Florida's stalking statute (F.S. §784.048) covers cyberstalking and repeated harassment; PIs operating in proximity to subjects must be careful not to cross into actionable conduct. Process service requires county-level registration as a Certified Process Server.