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Tips for Hiring a Private Investigator

Want to hire a private investigator or P.I.?  Need a private detective to track down a long lost love or missing relative?  Do you need a private eye to conduct surveillance on your cheating spouse?  A good private investigator can help with these services and more (see private investigator services for a more comprehensive list of investigation services).

• Hire a licensed private investigator.  Most states require private investigators to be fully licensed.  Check with the state licensing agency to verify a private investigator's license.  Links to most state private investigator licensing agencies are listed on the corresponding state page in our directory.

• Ask to see a physical copy of their private investigator license (verify the expiration date)

• Check with the appropriate state’s private investigator associations to verify memberships, obtain feedback and recommendations.

• As the private investigator or private investigation agency for references.  Speak with the references personally to obtain information on the detectives performance, ethical standards, ease of doing business, results, etc.

• Ask the private investigator you wish to hire to provide a resume or personal dossier

• Ask the private investigator or private investigation agency you are considering hiring to provide examples of their work (sample reports, newspaper articles, success stories, etc.)

• Agree on pricing upfront.  Discuss requirements for a retainer, hourly fees, expense reimbursement, etc.

• Discuss and agree upon the services you wish the private eye to provide, and agree upon the results you expect.  If both parties have a clear understanding of the expectations, it is easier to gauge performance.  In addition, having a signed contract is always a good idea.

• Before you hire a private investigator, meet them in person if you can, preferably at their place of business, agency office, etc.  Many private investigators don't have an office, and don't necessarily need one to get results.  But if they do, visiting their office will help you gain comfort on their legitimacy and perhaps the quality of their operation.

• Find out whether the private investigator is properly insured (i.e. liability insurance).  During the course of their work, the investigator may become injured or damage someone else's property.

• Check out the private investigator's website.  Do they have one?  If so, is it a quality site with good information?  We recommend checking out their website prior to making a phone call.  If the website doesn't exist, or the link to the website is dead, it is possible they are out of business.

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