Can I put a GPS tracker on my spouse’s car during a Broward divorce?

Not without consent, and filing a petition for dissolution of marriage creates a presumption that any earlier consent is revoked (s. 934.425(3), F.S.). There is a narrow exception for a vehicle’s owner or lessee, so get legal advice before acting.

Can a private investigator track my spouse’s car for me?

No. Section 934.425(4)(g) says the exceptions do not apply to a person engaged in private investigation unless the client could lawfully do the same thing. Investigators use lawful surveillance instead.

Is shared phone location still okay after we separate?

Once a divorce petition is filed, consent is presumed revoked. Using a tracking application to follow your spouse without consent can violate the statute, so ask your attorney first.

What location evidence holds up in court?

Evidence that is relevant, lawfully obtained and authenticated: for example, time-stamped surveillance by a licensed investigator who can testify to how it was captured, records obtained through discovery, and your own records.

GPS & Location Evidence in a Broward County Divorce: What's Legal

Q: What is the penalty for illegal GPS tracking in Florida?

A third-degree felony, or a second-degree felony if the tracker is used to commit or facilitate a dangerous crime. It can also hurt your credibility in the divorce.

When a marriage is ending, wanting to know where your spouse goes is understandable. A small GPS tag or a phone’s location-sharing feature makes it look easy. In Florida, though, tracking during a divorce is one of the quickest ways to turn yourself into the one facing charges. Florida’s tracking statute sets rules that many people, and some investigators, still get wrong. Here is what the law says, what location evidence you can lawfully use in a Broward County divorce, and how to get the facts without putting your case at risk.

The short answer

Secretly placing a GPS device or tracking app on your spouse’s car, phone or other property without consent is a crime in Florida. Any consent your spouse gave earlier is presumed revoked once either of you files for divorce. Hiring a private investigator does not create a loophole. Lawful location evidence still exists; it just has to be gathered the right way.

What Florida’s tracking law prohibits

Section 934.425, F.S. says a person may not knowingly “install or place a tracking device or tracking application on another person’s property without that person’s consent,” or “use a tracking device or tracking application to determine the location or movement of another person or another person’s property without that person’s consent.” Two details matter in a divorce. First, the law covers tracking applications, not just hardware, so an app quietly installed on a phone falls under the same rule. Second, it covers using a tracker, not only installing one. Continuing to watch a location feed you are no longer entitled to can be a violation on its own.

Filing for divorce revokes consent

This is the provision that catches people off guard. Under s. 934.425(3), consent is presumed revoked when the spouses are lawfully married and one “files a petition for dissolution of marriage from the other.” Consent is also presumed revoked when either person files for an injunction for protection against the other. In practice, a family location-sharing arrangement that was fine during the marriage should not be relied on once a petition is filed in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit. If you can still see your spouse’s location after filing, talk to your attorney before you look.

The exceptions are narrower than people think

Subsection (4) lists specific exceptions, including law enforcement in a criminal investigation, court-ordered installations, parents or guardians tracking a minor child (subject to custody conditions), and a person acting in good faith on behalf of a business for a legitimate business purpose. There is also an exception for the “owner or lessee of a motor vehicle” during the ownership or lease period, with the device removed before title transfers or the lease expires. That exception is often misread as “I can track any car I help pay for.” Title, the lease terms and who actually drives the vehicle can all matter. When a car is jointly owned or titled to your spouse, get legal advice first.

There is no private investigator exception

Some people assume they can simply hand the job to a PI. The statute closes that door. Subsection (4)(g) says the exception “does not apply to a person engaged in private investigation, as defined in s. 493.6101, on behalf of another person unless such activities would otherwise be exempt under this subsection if performed by the person engaging the private investigator.” In plain terms, an investigator can only do what you could lawfully do yourself. Florida also makes placing a tracker in violation of s. 934.425 a ground for disciplining a licensee under s. 493.6118, F.S. An investigator who offers to “just put a tracker on it” is offering to break the law with your case.

The penalties

A violation of s. 934.425 is a felony of the third degree, and a felony of the second degree if the tracker is used to commit or facilitate a dangerous crime. Beyond the criminal exposure, unlawfully obtained evidence can backfire in family court by damaging your credibility and giving the other side leverage.

Other lines not to cross

Intercepting communications. Florida requires all parties’ consent to intercept a conversation (s. 934.03, F.S.), and s. 934.06, F.S. bars illegally intercepted communications, and any evidence derived from them, from any trial or hearing.
Logging in to your spouse’s accounts. Florida’s stalking law defines cyberstalking to include accessing a person’s online accounts without permission in circumstances that cause substantial emotional distress and serve no legitimate purpose (s. 784.048, F.S.).
Following your spouse yourself. Repeatedly following someone can become harassment. Documentation for a legitimate purpose is different from a pattern of conduct that serves no legitimate purpose.

Location evidence you can lawfully use

Where someone goes can be relevant, and there are lawful ways to establish it:

Professional surveillance. A licensed investigator can observe and document a person’s movements in public places with time-stamped photos and video. No device, no consent problem. See our surveillance services.
Your own records. Your own phone history, your messages and a calendar you share are generally yours to preserve.
Discovery. Your attorney can use the formal discovery process in the divorce case to request records, including financial records that show where money was spent.
Public posts. Public posts, tagged photos and check-ins can place someone at a location without any tracking at all.

Evidence still has to be admissible. Under Florida’s Evidence Code it must be relevant (s. 90.401, F.S.) and authenticated (s. 90.901, F.S.). An investigator who personally captured the footage can testify to how, when and where it was recorded.

Why location can matter in a Broward divorce

Florida divorce is no-fault, so you do not have to prove wrongdoing to end the marriage. Location evidence can still bear on specific issues. The court “may consider the adultery of either spouse and any resulting economic impact” when deciding alimony (s. 61.08, F.S.). Spending marital money on an affair can matter for property division, because intentional dissipation of marital assets after filing, or within two years before it, is a factor under s. 61.075, F.S. And in parenting disputes, the best-interest factors in s. 61.13, F.S. include the moral fitness of the parents and each parent’s capacity to keep the child’s environment free from substance abuse. Our guide to child custody investigations in Broward County covers that side in more detail.

What to do instead

Do not install a tracker or app, and do not keep using location access after a petition is filed without legal advice.
Write down what you already know: dates, places and patterns.
Ask your family law attorney which facts would actually help your case.
Bring in licensed Florida private investigators to document those facts lawfully.