Find a Licensed Private Investigator in Maine

01Why Mainers hire investigators

When a Maine matter calls for a licensed investigator

Maine investigation requests tend to come from ordinary situations that have stopped making sense. A parent in a Cumberland County custody case worries about who is in the other home during weekend visits. A family in Penobscot County cannot reach an elderly relative and suspects someone is steering their money. A small manufacturer in York County thinks a former employee left with customer lists. An insurer doubts that a worker on a claim near Augusta is as limited as the paperwork says. In each case, someone needs facts gathered lawfully and written up in a form a lawyer or a court will accept.

Maine treats that work as regulated. Under Title 32, Chapter 89, a professional investigator is anyone who engages in or solicits business or accepts employment to conduct private investigations, and the chapter defines private investigation to include obtaining information about a person's conduct, movements or whereabouts and securing evidence for use in court. So the first step is not picking the slickest website. It is confirming that the person you hire holds a current Maine license and knows the part of the state where your matter is happening.

• Family matters: divorce, parental rights and protection from abuse cases
• Civil litigation: locating witnesses, taking statements, researching assets
• Insurance and workers' compensation claim reviews
• Business concerns: employee theft, fraud and due diligence on a partner
• Elder concerns: suspected financial exploitation or scams

02Licensing

How licensing works for a private investigator in Maine

Maine licenses investigators through Title 32, Chapter 89 of the Maine Revised Statutes, the Professional Investigators chapter. The chapter gives licensing authority to the chief, defined as the Chief of the State Police or a designee, and the Maine State Police Special Investigations Unit handles professional investigator licenses, investigative assistant licenses and contract security company licenses. The old Board of Licensure of Professional Investigators has been repealed, so there is no separate investigator board to call. Questions go to the State Police.

Section 8104 says a person may not act as a professional investigator without first obtaining a license from the chief, then lists exceptions such as government employees on official duty, attorneys acting professionally, insurers and adjusters handling claims, genealogists working from public records and some online data firms. Maine also has a second tier. An investigative assistant license, under Sections 8110 through 8110-B, lets a person work as an investigator only under the supervision of a licensed professional investigator who sponsors and employs them. The chapter also includes bonding and insurance requirements and a section restricting identification cards and badges.

Section 8114 makes improper conduct in private investigation a Class D crime. That includes acting as a professional investigator without a valid license, falsely claiming to hold a license, and falsely representing that an employee is licensed. Licensees who show a badge suggesting they are a peace officer, or who knowingly use unlicensed people to investigate, also commit unlawful acts under that section. The State Police publish forms, a handbook and a list of licensed investigators on the professional investigator page. Keep a note of where and when you checked.

03Legal limits

What licensed Maine investigators can and cannot do

A Maine license allows paid investigative work. It does not give police powers. A licensed investigator cannot arrest anyone, force a person to answer questions, search property or enter land or buildings without permission. Most of the work happens in public places, in public and court records, through lawful data services and in voluntary interviews. Recording is governed by Title 15, Sections 709 and 710. Section 710 makes intercepting a wire or oral communication a Class C crime, but Section 709 defines interception as hearing or recording a communication by someone other than the sender, the receiver or a person given prior authority by one of them. Maine is therefore generally treated as a one-party consent state.

Tracking is where many requests go wrong. Maine's stalking statute, Title 17-A Section 210-A, defines a course of conduct to include following, monitoring, tracking, observing or surveilling a person by any action, method or device. A tracker placed on someone else's car without a clear legal basis can become evidence of stalking, which is a Class D crime and higher for repeat offenses. Anyone thinking about a GPS device should speak with a Maine attorney first. A court order or the owner's written consent changes the analysis, which is why the question belongs with counsel.

Federal law adds limits that apply in every state. Pretexting to obtain bank or telephone records is prohibited, and driver records are available only for permitted purposes. Investigators also stay clear of impersonating police, which Section 8114 targets directly. An attorney can confirm how these rules apply to the facts of a particular case. When a request depends on a method that is legally uncertain, a careful investigator will say so before starting rather than after the evidence is gathered.

• Generally lawful: watching and photographing activity visible from public places
• Generally lawful: recording a conversation the investigator takes part in
• Risky: tracking a vehicle or phone without the owner's consent or a court order
• Not allowed: posing as police or using false pretenses to get bank or phone records

04Regions

Why local knowledge matters across Maine

Maine is a large state with most of its people near the coast and the southern interior. Greater Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, Bangor and the Augusta-Waterville corridor hold the bulk of court activity and employers, and the York County towns along I-95 have grown quickly as people move north from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Outside those centers, distances open up fast. Aroostook County alone covers a huge stretch of potato country and forest along the Canadian border, and much of northern and western Maine is unorganized territory with logging roads, few residents and no municipal government.

Those differences change how a case is worked. Surveillance in a dense Portland neighborhood looks nothing like surveillance on a camp road in Piscataquis County, where a single unfamiliar vehicle is noticed at once. Seasonal patterns matter too. Coastal and lake towns can double in summer, and winter weather can close roads and stretch a simple field check into a long day. Island communities in Knox, Hancock and Lincoln counties may depend on ferry or boat schedules. Investigators who work those areas plan around them.

Maine is also home to the Wabanaki Nations, including the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi'kmaq Nation. Their relationship with the state is shaped by settlement acts that differ from the arrangements in most other states, so jurisdiction questions near tribal lands should be raised early with counsel. Requests sent to Delator Group are matched by town and county for these reasons.

05Pricing

How Maine investigators usually price their work

Each investigator sets and quotes their own fees, and the structure depends on the type of work. Surveillance and field interviews are usually billed by the hour, often with a minimum block so a short assignment still covers travel. Mileage or travel time is commonly added for work outside the investigator's home area, which can be significant when a case runs from Cumberland County to Aroostook or Washington County. Database searches, court record copies and filing fees are often billed as expenses at cost.

Many investigators ask for a retainer before they begin and bill against it, then refund or invoice the balance when the work ends. Narrow tasks, such as a single courthouse records search, may be quoted at a set price. Before you agree, ask what the quote covers, how and how often you will receive updates, whether report writing and video preparation are billed separately, and what happens if the subject does not leave home on a planned surveillance day. Get the terms in a written agreement so there are no surprises later.

06Before the first call

How to prepare for a first conversation with an investigator

A useful first call is short and focused. Write down what you need to learn, why it matters and what you plan to do with the answer. If a case is already filed, have the docket number, the court and county, your lawyer's name and any upcoming hearing dates. For a person, collect full name, date of birth if known, last known addresses, vehicles, employer, a recent photo and their usual routine. For a business concern, gather the records that raised the issue and the names of everyone involved.

Expect the investigator to ask questions about purpose. A licensed Maine investigator will turn down work that looks like an effort to harass someone or to find a person who is hiding for safety reasons, and may ask to see paperwork in a protection order or parental rights case. Mention anything that bears on safety, such as firearms, past violence or an active order. The clearer the picture, the more accurate the quote. When you are ready, send a short request with the town, county and goal.

• Your goal in one or two sentences
• Town and county where the activity happens
• Names, dates of birth, addresses and vehicles you already know
• Docket number, court and attorney contact, if any
• Budget range and any firm deadline

Cities

Top 20 Maine cities and towns for private investigator requests

Maine's largest communities include both cities and towns, so this list uses the 20 most populous municipalities of either kind, ranked by July 2024 Census Bureau estimates as published by the state. Towns such as Scarborough, Brunswick and Windham outnumber several cities. Courts sit in county seats and judicial centers, so tell us the town and county when you send a request.

Counties

All 16 Maine counties for investigator requests

Maine has 16 counties, listed here by the latest Census Bureau population estimates. Each has a Superior Court presence and a probate court, and District Court locations are spread across the state. Large parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset, Franklin, Oxford and Washington counties are unorganized territory with no town government, which affects where records are kept.

Investigation types

Investigations licensed Maine investigators handle

These are the request types Delator Group most often refers to licensed Maine investigators. Each investigator decides which work to accept and how to carry it out. The descriptions explain what the work generally involves in Maine so you can describe your need clearly when the investigator contacts you.

• SurveillanceA licensed investigator observes and records activity visible from public places, keeps a time-stamped log and writes a report, while staying clear of trespass and Maine's stalking statute.Learn more
• Parental rights and custodyInvestigators document a parent's conduct, living conditions and who is present during contact periods, producing evidence a family lawyer can present in Maine District Court.Learn more
• Infidelity investigationsInvestigators gather lawful observations and records about a spouse's activities, which a divorce attorney can weigh when advising on property, support or settlement strategy in Maine.Learn more
• Locating peopleInvestigators find witnesses, heirs, debtors and lost relatives through public records, licensed data sources and field checks, within federal limits on phone and financial records.Learn more
• Background researchInvestigators review court, property and business records on a person or company. Reports used for hiring, tenant or credit decisions fall under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.Learn more
• Asset searchesInvestigators trace real estate, business interests, vehicles, boats and liens through Maine registries of deeds and state records to support collections or divorce property questions.Learn more
• Insurance and workers' comp claimsFor insurers, employers and defense counsel, investigators compare claimed limitations with observed activity, interview witnesses and verify employment from lawful vantage points.Learn more
• Elder exploitation and scamsInvestigators help families document suspected financial exploitation of an older relative, trace where money went and assemble records an attorney or Adult Protective Services can review.Learn more

How matching works

How investigator matching works in Maine

1. 01

   Send your request

   Use the contact form or call. Describe what you need, the town and county, any deadline and how you prefer to be reached. Keep sensitive details brief until you speak with the investigator.

2. 02

   Request review

   Delator Group reviews the request for completeness and a lawful purpose, and may ask a follow-up question about location, timing or whether a court case is open.

3. 03

   Referral to a Maine investigator

   The request is referred to an independent professional investigator licensed in Maine who works in or near the county involved, so local courts, roads and seasons are familiar.

4. 04

   The investigator contacts you

   The investigator calls or emails you, discusses scope and methods, quotes their own fee and, if you decide to proceed, signs a written agreement with you directly.

5. 05

   You verify and decide

   Before signing, confirm the investigator's name appears on the Maine State Police list of licensed professional investigators. You are under no obligation to hire.

Licensing

How Maine licenses private investigators

Maine uses the term professional investigator rather than private investigator. The license is issued to individuals by the Chief of the State Police under Title 32, Chapter 89, and the State Police Special Investigations Unit handles applications, renewals and complaints. People who are still building experience can hold an investigative assistant license and work only under a licensed professional investigator who sponsors them. Checking a name against the State Police list takes a few minutes and is worth doing every time.

Before you hire

What to check before you hire an investigator in Maine

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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