How much does a private investigator cost in Fort Lauderdale?

It depends on the hours, the number of investigators and vehicles, and whether the work runs at night or on weekends. A downtown case with drawbridges and garages may need two investigators where a quiet suburb needs one. We quote each case after a confidential consultation.

Can a private investigator follow someone into a Fort Lauderdale hotel or condo?

No. Beachfront hotels, condo towers, private docks and residents-only areas are private property. An investigator documents what is visible from public places, such as arrivals, departures and who the subject is with.

Is it legal for a PI to record conversations in Florida?

No, not without consent. Under s. 934.03, F.S., intercepting a private conversation without the consent of all parties is a third-degree felony. Our evidence is video and photographs taken from lawful vantage points.

Can a private investigator put a GPS tracker on a car?

No. Section 934.425, F.S. makes it a third-degree felony to place a tracking device or tracking app on another person’s property without consent, and the business exception does not extend to a private investigator working on someone else’s behalf.

Where is the main Broward County courthouse?

The 17th Judicial Circuit’s Judicial Complex is at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale. The circuit also has regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Plantation and Hollywood, so check your paperwork for where a hearing is set.

Do you work with Fort Lauderdale attorneys?

Yes. Much of our Fort Lauderdale work comes through counsel in family, civil and criminal matters, including witness location, background research, surveillance and process service on hard-to-serve parties.

Does proof of an affair matter in a Florida divorce?

Florida is a no-fault state, so it does not decide whether a divorce is granted. A court may still consider adultery and its economic impact when deciding alimony, and money spent on an affair can be raised as dissipation of marital assets.

Private Investigator in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale is the busiest place in Broward County to run an investigation. Within a few miles you have the downtown office and government district, the restaurants and bars along Las Olas Boulevard, high-rise condos and hotels along A1A and Galt Ocean Mile, quiet residential streets in Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Coral Ridge and Harbor Beach, and Port Everglades on the city’s southern edge. Each of those settings calls for a different plan. This page explains what we investigate in Fort Lauderdale, how surveillance actually works here, and how the work connects to the Broward courts.

What do people hire a Fort Lauderdale private investigator for?

Most Fort Lauderdale cases fall into a handful of groups:

Suspected infidelity. A spouse or partner whose evenings no longer add up. We document movements from public places through cheating spouse and infidelity investigations, and we report what happened, not what the client fears.
Attorney support. Downtown is full of law firms, and much of our Fort Lauderdale work comes through counsel: locating witnesses, background on parties, and evidence for family, civil and criminal matters. See our services for attorneys and criminal defense investigations.
Money questions. Before a judgment is worth chasing, or before a divorce settlement is signed, someone needs to know what the other side actually owns. That is an asset search, built from public records rather than guesswork.
Business vetting. Investors, landlords and companies use corporate due diligence and background investigations before they sign with a partner, tenant or senior hire.
People who do not want to be found. Locating a witness or a debtor and serving papers on someone who avoids the door. Our process service for difficult cases is built for that.

How does surveillance work in Fort Lauderdale?

Fort Lauderdale is a city of water, bridges and garages, and all three shape surveillance.

Drawbridges. The New River and the Intracoastal Waterway are crossed by bascule bridges that open for boat traffic. A subject who makes it across before the gates come down can be gone. Mobile surveillance here is planned with a second vehicle or an alternative route, not a single car following at a distance.
Parking garages and valets. Downtown and on Las Olas, many subjects disappear into a garage or hand keys to a valet. Good coverage means knowing which exits a garage has and where a person on foot will come out.
Beachfront hotels and condos. A1A properties are private. An investigator can observe and photograph what is visible from public areas, but cannot follow a subject past a front desk, into a private pool deck or up a residents-only elevator.
Boats and marinas. Private docks and marinas are private property. What can be documented is arrival, departure and who boards, from places the public may lawfully stand.

Florida law draws hard lines around all of this. Recording a private conversation without the consent of every party is a third-degree felony under s. 934.03, F.S., and placing a GPS tracker or tracking app on another person’s property without consent is a third-degree felony under s. 934.425, F.S. That statute specifically says the business exception does not cover a private investigator working for someone else, unless the client would be exempt themselves. We use video and photographs taken from lawful vantage points, never hidden audio or trackers.

Which Broward courthouse handles a Fort Lauderdale case?

Broward County is Florida’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (s. 26.021(17), F.S.). The circuit’s main building is the Judicial Complex at 201 SE 6th Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It also has regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Plantation and Hollywood, listed on the 17th Circuit’s court locations page. Your case paperwork will say where a hearing is set; do not assume it is downtown.

Court files are kept by the Broward County Clerk of Courts. Its online case search is one of the first places we look in almost any Fort Lauderdale matter: prior lawsuits, foreclosures, family cases, injunctions and criminal history all show up there, and they often shape the rest of the investigation.

Will the evidence hold up in court?

Florida requires evidence to be authenticated before it is admitted (s. 90.901, F.S.), which means someone has to be able to show it is what it claims to be. For our work that means:

Original, unedited video files kept with their metadata.
Notes written at the time, with dates, times and locations, not reconstructed later.
A written report that sticks to facts and leaves out opinion.
An investigator who did the fieldwork and can explain it on the stand if the case reaches a hearing.

Evidence gathered illegally does the opposite. Florida bars the contents of illegally intercepted communications, and evidence derived from them, from being received in evidence (s. 934.06, F.S.), and the person whose conversation was intercepted can sue whoever intercepted it or procured it (s. 934.10, F.S.). A shortcut can cost a client the case.

How do infidelity and money overlap in a Fort Lauderdale divorce?

Florida is a no-fault divorce state, so proving an affair does not decide whether a divorce is granted. It can still matter. A court may consider a spouse’s adultery and its economic impact when deciding alimony (s. 61.08, F.S.), and in dividing property the court can consider the intentional dissipation of marital assets within two years before the petition was filed (s. 61.075, F.S.). In a city with this many restaurants, hotels and marinas, money spent on an affair can leave a trail. Surveillance shows where someone went; records work and your attorney’s discovery show what it cost.

Hypothetical example: a client’s spouse says late evenings are client dinners downtown. Over three evenings the investigator documents the spouse leaving the office, driving to a Las Olas restaurant and later to a condo building on A1A, arriving with the same person each time. The report gives times, locations and photographs taken from public sidewalks and streets. It does not speculate about what happened inside. The client’s attorney decides what to do with it.

How do I check that an investigator is licensed?

Private investigation in Florida is regulated by Chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes and licensed through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing. The law requires every individual who performs investigative services to be licensed (s. 493.6201, F.S.), not only the agency. Ask who will actually be doing the fieldwork on your case, and check that person’s licence with the state before you sign anything.

What should I have ready before I call?

One or two sentences describing what you need to know.
Names, photographs, vehicles and addresses for the people involved.
Known routines: office hours, gym, regular restaurants, weekends on a boat.
Any case number, hearing date and your attorney’s contact details.

We serve all of Fort Lauderdale and the rest of Broward County, and we work closely with clients in neighbouring cities. Contact us or call (954) 235-4955 for a confidential consultation.