How to Vet a Private Investigator in Colorado Now That the State License Is Gone

01What happened to the license

Colorado Required a PI License From 2015 to 2020, Then Stopped

Colorado's experience is unusual. After an earlier voluntary program, the Private Investigator Practices Act made a state license mandatory on June 1, 2015, and the program was run by the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Like many Colorado occupational laws, it carried a sunset date. In 2020 the legislature passed HB20-1207, which would have continued the regulation to 2025, but Governor Polis vetoed it on July 11, 2020, and the program was left to repeal on September 1, 2020.

Press coverage of the veto reported the governor's view that occupational licensing too often protects existing professionals from newcomers, and his interest in some oversight short of full licensure. Whatever one thinks of that reasoning, the result is clear. The agency's investigator rules were repealed effective January 14, 2022, and our review of the 2021 through 2026 sessions found no replacement licensing law. Our Colorado investigations overview explains how Delator works within that gap.

So when you set out to vet a private investigator in Colorado, the state no longer does the first screening for you. Some people advertising today held the old license and kept their standards; others never held one. Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee private investigation firm with its headquarters in Nashville and no Colorado office, and we hold Colorado work to Tennessee's licensing standard. Our leadership and company background page describes that structure.

• Mandatory license began June 1, 2015
• HB20-1207 vetoed July 11, 2020
• Investigator rules repealed January 14, 2022
• No replacement law found through 2026

02A common trap

Many Websites Still Describe the Old License as Current

Search for Colorado investigator requirements and you will find pages that read as if 2019 never ended. Business-formation and compliance sites, and even some investigator directories, still describe two license tiers, a $10,000 surety bond, exam requirements and a state licensing office as if they were in force. Several of those pages carry recent modification dates. They are out of date, and none of the requirements they describe is current Colorado law.

This matters for two reasons. First, a candidate who tells you they hold a current Colorado state license is relying on a program that ended, and you should ask what they mean. They may have held the license before 2020, which is useful history, but it is not a present credential. Second, a firm that repeats the outdated rules on its own website may not be tracking Colorado law closely. Ask how they keep current, then compare their answers with our guide to Colorado PI pricing and its notes on what a proposal should contain.

A related bill can add confusion. HB25-1262 would have created licensing for private security officers and agencies, but it was postponed indefinitely in committee on April 7, 2025, and it did not cover investigators. If anyone cites it as a new investigator license, they are mistaken. Matters involving guards or site security are a separate question, and our general risk management services can help you sort them out.

• License tiers and the bond: repealed
• State licensing office for investigators: gone
• HB25-1262 security bill: postponed, not law

03Paperwork first

How to Vet a Private Investigator in Colorado With Proof You Can Check

Knowing how to vet a private investigator in Colorado starts with documents, because without a registry they are the fastest filter and they can be verified. Ask for a current certificate of general liability insurance showing the carrier, policy number and coverage period, and call the carrier if anything looks altered. Ask how the business is organized, then look it up in the Colorado Secretary of State's business search. Ask whether any city business license applies where the work will happen; Delator confirms local requirements before field work. A firm offering corporate investigations in Colorado should also explain how it protects client data.

Next, ask who will actually do the field work. A polished sales call means little if the person parked on a Westminster street is a contractor the firm met last week. Ask about that person's background, training and courtroom experience, and whether the firm screens its own people. Delator's leadership comes from military and federal law enforcement backgrounds, and we tell you who is assigned before work starts.

Finally, call a reference. One conversation with an attorney who has relied on the investigator tells you more than any website. Ask how deadlines were handled, whether the budget held and how the report stood up. If you want a neutral second look at another firm's proposal, Delator's investigative consulting service reviews plans and invoices without taking the case.

• Liability insurance certificate
• Secretary of State business registration
• Any local business license that applies
• Name and background of the field investigator

04Test their knowledge

Ask Questions That Only a Careful Investigator Can Answer

With the licensing act gone, the criminal code is the real rulebook, and a competent investigator should know it without looking anything up. Ask whether they can record a conversation they are part of in Colorado. The right answer is generally yes, because § 18-9-304 requires the consent of at least one principal party, while recording other people's calls can be wiretapping under § 18-9-303. Both are class 2 misdemeanors. Our Colorado recording law guide has the details.

Ask how they keep surveillance lawful. A good answer mentions Colorado's stalking statute, § 18-3-602, which lists placing a person under surveillance among the conduct it can reach, and explains how distance, no contact and a clean log keep the work on the right side of it. Ask about trackers; the right answer is that they do not put them on vehicles the client has no right to. People who fear they are being watched can read about stalking investigations in Colorado.

Ask about records. A seasoned investigator will know that the Colorado Open Records Act is open to any person, that agencies generally have three working days to respond, and that the CBI's online criminal history check covers Colorado records only. Employers should hear a candidate explain consent and notice before any employee surveillance in Colorado begins.

05Contract terms

Put Scope, Rate, Travel and the Stop Point in Writing

Open-ended retainers drain budgets. A sound agreement names the objective, the hours authorized, the rate, any case minimum, travel and the form of the final report. Delator bills investigative work in Colorado at $100 per hour, the same rate as Tennessee, and the Colorado service pricing page lists minimums such as $1,000 for civil litigation support and $1,000 for an asset investigation in Colorado.

Travel deserves its own line because Colorado's geography is not kind to vague estimates. Western Slope and southwest counties are several hours' drive from Denver, and the I-70 chain and traction laws apply from September 1 through May 31. Ask whether drive time is inside the estimate or added later, and where the investigator will start from. For work near the Utah line, our Grand Junction investigators page explains how we plan the distance.

Ask what happens when authorized hours run out. A disciplined firm stops, reports and asks before continuing, rather than billing you afterward, which is how Delator runs workplace surveillance in Colorado and every other assignment. Ask how often you will hear from them during the assignment and in what form. Then ask for the agreement in writing before you pay anything; a firm that resists that request has answered the question for you.

06Work product

Ask for a Report Written for Colorado Courtrooms

The report is what you are buying, so ask for a redacted sample from a similar matter. It should read like evidence: dates, times, locations, who saw what, and photographs tied to the log. Colorado's district courts are organized into 23 judicial districts, including the 23rd for Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties since January 14, 2025. County courts hear civil cases up to $25,000 and small claims up to $7,500. Counsel relying on litigation support for Colorado attorneys need reports that work in either setting.

Federal cases go to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, with court locations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango. Ask whether the investigator has testified, how photographs and video keep a clean chain of custody, and whether they will help prepare for a deposition. A firm offering Colorado surveillance investigations should be able to show how a field log becomes an exhibit.

Denver deserves a specific question. The City and County of Denver has four separate courts, County, District, Probate and Juvenile, rather than one combined court, and a report or service record has to match the right one. An investigator who has worked Denver matters will know that without being told. The same attention matters for smaller jobs, such as a tenant applicant background check.

07When to walk away

Answers That Should End the Interview

Some offers disqualify a candidate immediately. Walk away from anyone who proposes hiding a GPS tracker on a car you do not own, reading a partner's phone, logging into an email or social media account, or calling a bank while pretending to be someone else. Those shortcuts can expose you as well as them, and a lawful infidelity investigation for married clients needs none of them.

Commercial warning signs matter just as much. Be wary of guaranteed outcomes, pressure to pay cash, reluctance to sign a written scope, and any claim to hold a current Colorado state investigator license. Be careful with anyone more interested in the other party's private data than in your goals. If your own information has been exposed, Delator's personal information removal service can reduce what is publicly available.

Tribal land is a final test. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe have reservations in southwest Colorado, and investigation there may be governed by tribal law and tribal court rules. A careful investigator will not guess; they will say the approach must be confirmed with counsel, and sometimes with the tribal court, before field work begins. That answer is a sign of competence, not hesitation.

• Offers trackers, phone access or account logins
• Promises a guaranteed result
• Refuses a written scope and price
• Claims a current Colorado state PI license

Services

Delator Group Services You Can Test Against This Checklist

• Surveillance investigationsLawful observation from public vantage points across Colorado, recorded in time-stamped logs and photographs that counsel can lay foundation for at trial.Learn more
• Infidelity investigationsDiscreet documentation for unmarried couples and married clients alike, without trackers, account access or entry onto private property at any stage.Learn more
• Employee background checksRecords and open-source research on a Colorado job candidate, with basic remote checks at $102 and deep-dive reports at $300.Learn more
• Business partner vettingLitigation, lien, entity and reputation research on a prospective Colorado partner before you sign an operating agreement or move capital.Learn more
• Skip tracingFinding people who have moved or gone quiet, from a $102 remote trace to field work starting at $1,000 when records run dry.Learn more
• Asset investigationsPublic-record tracing of Colorado real property, entities, vehicles and liens for judgments and divorce, with a $1,000 minimum stated in writing.Learn more
• Attorney litigation supportWitness locates, interviews, scene documentation and court-ready reports directed by counsel, with a $1,000 minimum for civil litigation support matters.Learn more
• Investigative consultingAn independent review of another investigator's plan, report or invoice, so you can judge whether the Colorado work was scoped and done properly.Learn more
• Process servingDelator Field Services coordinates service under C.R.C.P. 4 with logged, time-stamped attempts and a signed affidavit for the court file.Learn more

How it works

A Four-Step Routine for Choosing a Colorado Investigator

1. 01

   Gather the paperwork

   Request an insurance certificate, business registration details, a redacted sample report and the standard agreement, and notice how quickly and completely each firm responds.

2. 02

   Interview the field investigator

   Speak with the person who will do the work about their background, their plan for your matter and how they will stay within the Colorado criminal code.

3. 03

   Call a reference

   Ask an attorney or past client about deadlines, budget discipline, report quality and how the investigator performed when testimony or a deposition was required.

4. 04

   Compare written proposals

   Line up hours, rate, minimums, travel and deliverables from each written proposal, and choose on clarity and method rather than on the smallest total.

Compare

What to Verify Now That Colorado Has No State PI License

Statewide coverage

The Same Checklist Works Across All 64 Colorado Counties

These checks hold in a growing Front Range suburb and in a mountain county two passes from the nearest interstate. Metro clients can begin with our Denver investigator page or Thornton investigations, and the north Front Range runs through our Loveland investigators. Douglas County clients can start with Castle Rock casework. Plains, mountain and Western Slope matters are covered from the same standard, and wherever your matter sits, the scope, hours and price come to you in writing before anyone is assigned.

• Denver
• Colorado Springs
• Westminster
• Thornton
• Loveland
• Castle Rock
• All of Colorado

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Service areas

Private investigators across Colorado