Massachusetts All-Party

Licensing & Regulation

Massachusetts licenses PIs through the Massachusetts State Police, Special Licensing Unit, under M.G.L. c. 147 §22-30. Applicants must be 21+, U.S. citizens, demonstrate three years of investigative experience (with substantial qualifying detail), submit fingerprints, post a $5,000 surety bond, and pass a character review. Renewal is every three years.

Physical Surveillance

Public surveillance is permitted. Massachusetts has strong privacy torts and a comprehensive privacy statute (M.G.L. c. 214 §1B). GPS tracking on a non-owned vehicle is constrained by the stalking and harassment statutes.

Audio & Video Recording Consent

Massachusetts has one of the strictest all-party consent rules in the country: the Massachusetts Wiretap Act, M.G.L. c. 272 §99, makes secret audio recording of any oral communication a felony, regardless of expectation of privacy. The leading case Commonwealth v. Hyde (2001) confirmed the strictness — there is no expectation-of-privacy carve-out. Commonwealth v. Manzelli and Project Veritas v. Healey have refined the rule. The safe assumption is that any audio recording without all-party consent is a felony.

Domestic, Marital & Infidelity Investigations

Massachusetts allows fault-based divorce. Adultery and "cruel and abusive treatment" are recognized grounds and affect spousal support and property division. PIs do significant matrimonial work but cannot record audio. Visual surveillance and pattern documentation are the workhorses.

Cybersecurity, Hacking & Digital Investigations

M.G.L. c. 266 §120F (unauthorized access to computer system) is broad. OSINT is permitted; pretexting is barred. Massachusetts has comprehensive data-protection rules under 201 CMR 17.

Missing Persons, Skip Tracing & Harassment

Massachusetts State Police coordinate missing-persons cases. DPPA fully applies. M.G.L. c. 265 §43 (stalking) and §43A (criminal harassment) are broad.