Private Detectives and Investigators

Private detectives and investigators gather, analyze, and report information to clients regarding legal or personal matters. Their services include verifying people’s backgrounds, finding missing persons, and investigating crimes.

Duties

Private detectives and investigators typically do the following:

• Interview people to gather information
• Search online, public, and court records for civil judgments, criminal history, and other evidence
• Conduct surveillance
• Write reports detailing investigation activities, observations, and findings
• Share results of investigation findings with clients

Private detectives and investigators offer many services for individuals, attorneys, and businesses. For example, they may perform background checks, investigate employees suspected of workplace theft, and prove or disprove infidelity in a divorce case. Some private detectives and investigators specialize in a type of investigation, such as missing persons.

When conducting research, private detectives and investigators obtain and analyze information such as telephone numbers, social networks, online activities, and court records. They may interview others to verify facts they discover.

Private detectives and investigators also conduct surveillance when working on a case. They may keep watch through binoculars or take photographs, often from a hidden position, to gather information on people of interest.

Private detectives and investigators must obey the law when conducting investigations. Because they lack police authority, they are held to the same standards of conduct as private citizens. As a result, these workers must have a thorough understanding of federal, state, and local laws, such as privacy laws, that may affect their work. Lawful collection of evidence ensures its usability in court and protects detectives and investigators from prosecution.

Skip tracers specialize in locating people whose whereabouts are unknown. For example, debt collectors may employ skip tracers to locate people who have unpaid bills.

Store detectives, or loss prevention associates, typically work undercover to identify and prevent shoplifting or theft. These plainclothes detectives may pretend to be customers as they walk through the store observing other shoppers.

Private detectives and investigators have duties that may be similar to those of workers in other occupations. For example, insurance investigators evaluate claims in which an insurance company suspects fraudulent or criminal activity. Detectives and criminal investigators gather evidence related to illegal activity. Gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators monitor casino operations for suspicious activity and ensure compliance with the law.

Private detectives and investigators held about 43,600 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of private detectives and investigators were as follows:

Private detectives’ and investigators’ work settings may depend on their assignment or case. For example, some spend time in offices to research cases, or they work in the field while doing surveillance. Others may work in stores to observe customers.

In addition, private detectives and investigators may work outdoors or from a vehicle, in all kinds of weather, in order to obtain information.

Although they often work alone, some private detectives and investigators work with others while conducting surveillance or carrying out large, complex assignments.

Work Schedules

Most private detectives and investigators work full time. Their schedules may vary to include early mornings, nights, and weekends, especially when they conduct surveillance or contact people outside of normal business hours.

Private detectives and investigators typically need at least a high school diploma or the equivalent and several years of related work experience. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have a bachelor’s degree. Most states require private detectives and investigators to be licensed.

The median annual wage for private detectives and investigators was $52,370 in May 2024.

Employment of private detectives and investigators is projected to grow 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations.

About 3,900 openings for private detectives and investigators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.