Twenty questions to ask a private detective before you hire one
You do not need to be an expert to hire well. You need the right questions and a sense of what a good answer sounds like. Here are both.
Licensing, insurance and accountability
- 1. What is your Tennessee license number, and the company’s? Expect both, immediately, with an invitation to verify them on verify.tn.gov.
- 2. Are you insured? Expect general liability and errors-and-omissions coverage from an agency; a solo operator often has neither.
- 3. Who actually does the fieldwork? Expect a named, licensed employee of the agency. “A guy I use” means subcontracting you cannot vet.
- 4. Who reviews the file before I get it? Expect supervisory review. At Pinnacle every file passes through a chapter officer before delivery.
- 5. How long have you worked in Middle Tennessee? Local knowledge matters for surveillance routes, courthouse procedures and county quirks.
Methods and legal boundaries
- 6. What will you not do? A professional answers without hesitation: no phone records, no trackers on cars you do not own, no trespass, no impersonating police, no spyware. Read the legal limits first so you recognize the right answer.
- 7. How do you document surveillance? Expect time-stamped video and photographs from public vantage points, preserved in original form.
- 8. Will the evidence hold up in a Tennessee court? Expect a confident explanation of chain of custody and lawful methods, not a guarantee of a result.
- 9. What happens if the subject spots you? Expect a plan: break off, rotate vehicles or personnel, reassess, and tell the client.
- 10. Do you use databases and which kinds? Expect professional data sources with permissible-purpose rules, and an explanation of FCRA limits for background work.
Reporting and testimony
- 11. What does the report look like? Ask for a redacted sample. Expect narrative, exhibits, times and locations, and a statement of what was not established.
- 12. Will you testify? Expect yes, with testimony billed as time, and experience in chancery, circuit and criminal courts.
- 13. How do you communicate during the work? Expect a single point of contact and updates after each session.
- 14. Who sees my file? Expect: you, your attorney if you choose, and the agency’s reviewing officer. Nobody else.
- 15. How long do you keep records? Expect a clear retention policy and secure storage.
Cost and engagement
- 16. How do you charge? Expect hourly fieldwork with a retainer, flat fees for defined tasks, and itemized expenses. See our cost guide.
- 17. What is the minimum engagement? Expect a sensible minimum block for surveillance and no minimum for a consultation.
- 18. What happens to unused retainer? Expect it to be returned or credited, in writing.
- 19. Can you give me a written estimate before I commit? Expect yes, always.
- 20. Is this case worth it? The most useful question. A professional will sometimes tell you no.
A script for the first call
If you are nervous, read this to the private detective. It is a perfectly normal conversation to have.
“I am considering hiring your agency for [a surveillance matter / a locate / a background investigation]. Before we discuss the case, can you give me the licensed names and license numbers for you and the company so I can verify them? Who would actually do the fieldwork, and who reviews it? What will you not do, legally? How do you charge, what is the retainer, and what happens to the unused balance? Will you provide a written estimate before any work begins, and will you testify if needed?”
A professional answers every one of those without friction. The tone of the answers tells you as much as the content.
Comparing two or three quotes
If you talk to more than one agency, compare on these lines rather than on the hourly rate alone:
- Scope clarity. Does the estimate say exactly what will be done, or does it just name a number of hours?
- Staffing. One private detective or two for mobile surveillance? Solo or agency?
- Documentation. Time-stamped video, same-day logs, preserved originals, supervisory review.
- Legal discipline. Did they volunteer what they will not do?
- Testimony. Included on stated terms, or vague?
- Local footprint. Where the fieldwork staff actually are.
- Honesty. Did anyone tell you something you did not want to hear?
The lowest number is often the thinnest scope. The right comparison is cost per usable result.
Questions to ask after the work is delivered
- What did you establish, and what did you not? (A good agency volunteers both.)
- Where are the originals and how are they preserved?
- What would you recommend as a next step, and what would you not spend money on?
- Who will testify, and how do we schedule it?
- What should I avoid doing now that could undermine the evidence?
A private detective who answers the second-to-last question with “nothing, you are done” has just saved you money. That is what you want.
Why these questions matter more in Tennessee
Tennessee licenses individual private detectives and private investigation companies, but it does not license process servers and it does not require an agency to publish its license number on its website. The burden of verification is on you. The questions above are designed around that: license numbers you can check at verify.tn.gov, insurance you can ask to see, named personnel you can look up, and an agreement you can read. Agencies that have nothing to hide answer quickly; agencies that bristle have told you what you need to know.
If your attorney is choosing for you
Attorneys often have a preferred agency, and that is usually a good sign: they have seen the work survive cross-examination. It is still reasonable to ask counsel the same core questions on your behalf, particularly about staffing, lawful limits and how the retainer is handled through the trust account. The engagement is being paid for with your money, and the evidence will be used in your case.
How Pinnacle answers the hard ones
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| License numbers? | Provided on the first call for the licensed individual and company; verify at verify.tn.gov |
| Who does the fieldwork? | Named, licensed Pinnacle staff; no subcontracting |
| What will you not do? | Phone records, trackers on vehicles the client does not own, trespass, unlawful recording, impersonation, spyware, pretexting |
| Will you testify? | Yes, on terms in the engagement letter |
| What happens to unused retainer? | Returned or credited, in writing |
| Is my case worth it? | Sometimes the answer is no, and we say so |
Questions about process serving specifically
- How do you document attempts? Expect GPS-stamped logs with times and observations.
- What does your affidavit include? Expect the elements described in our Rule 4 guide.
- What happens if the address is wrong? Expect a locate option, not endless attempts.
- Do you handle rush and evasive serves? Expect yes, with pricing stated up front.
- Do you cover every county? Pinnacle does, through Delator Field Services.
The question behind the questions
Every item on the list is a proxy for one underlying question: will this person’s work survive contact with an adversary? In a divorce, the adversary is a family-law attorney who has cross-examined dozens of private detectives and knows exactly where the weak ones fail: no license, no log, no original footage, a vantage point that turns out to be private property, a subject identification that rests on a guess. In an employment matter, the adversary is a plaintiff’s lawyer looking for a privacy violation. In a collection, it is a debtor’s attorney moving to set aside a default for defective service.
The agency that answers your twenty questions easily is the agency whose work has already survived those adversaries. The one that bristles, deflects or promises results has usually never been tested, or has been tested and lost. Price is a poor signal of either; the questions are a good one.
A last point: ask the questions even if a friend or an attorney recommended the agency. Recommendations tell you the agency was good for someone else’s matter. The questions tell you whether it is right for yours.
What one client heard, and what she did
A Nashville client called three agencies. The first quoted a low rate and became vague about licensing. The second promised ‘we’ll get you what you need’ and asked for cash. The third, asked the same questions, gave license numbers, named the private detectives who would do the work, explained what they would not do, and quoted a written scope with a refundable retainer. She hired the third, the work was used at her hearing, and the private detective testified. The questions took her twenty minutes. The choice they produced lasted the whole case.
Answers that should end the conversation
- “We can get their text messages.”
- “Don’t worry about the license, I used to be a cop.” (Many excellent private detectives are former officers; the license still matters.)
- “Cash only, and we don’t do contracts.”
- “Guaranteed results.”
- A website, a review profile and an invoice that each show a different company name or phone number.
Questions people ask before they call
No. It is the first thing a professional expects and the first thing you should do.
Some will not share real client material even redacted, which is reasonable. They should still be able to describe exactly what a report contains and show a template.
Yes, but ask what kind. Twenty years of insurance surveillance is not the same as twenty years of criminal defense work. Match experience to your matter.
You can, but confidentiality limits what they can share. Attorney references are the most common form, since attorneys can speak to the work without exposing a client.
Mostly. Ask about licensing where applicable, GPS-stamped affidavits, attempt logs and turnaround. See our process serving guides.
Yes, on the first call. We would rather spend ten minutes earning your trust than have you hire the wrong agency.
Services and resources
Talk to a Nashville private detective.
Call 615-977-9929 or email contact@delatorgroup.com. Confidential, no obligation, all 95 Tennessee counties.