Maine One-Party

Licensing & Regulation

Maine licenses PIs through the Department of Public Safety, Maine State Police, under 32 M.R.S. §8101 et seq. Applicants must be 21+, have six years of investigative or relevant experience (or three years plus a baccalaureate), pass a written examination, and submit to a background check. Renewal is biennial.

Physical Surveillance

Public surveillance is permitted. Maine has aggressive privacy torts. GPS tracking on a non-owned vehicle is risky and may invoke the stalking statute.

Audio & Video Recording Consent

Maine is a one-party-consent state under 15 M.R.S. §710. The recording party must be a participant. Video voyeurism is a separate offense.

Domestic, Marital & Infidelity Investigations

Maine is a no-fault divorce state but allows fault grounds. Marital misconduct can affect spousal support. PIs document patterns. Accessing a spouse's accounts may violate 17-A M.R.S. §432 (computer crime).

Cybersecurity, Hacking & Digital Investigations

17-A M.R.S. §431-435 (computer crimes) parallels the CFAA. Maine has aggressive data-privacy rules including a broadband-provider privacy statute. OSINT is permitted; pretexting is barred.

Missing Persons, Skip Tracing & Harassment

Maine State Police coordinate missing-persons cases. DPPA fully applies. Maine's stalking statute (17-A M.R.S. §210-A) is broad.