Private Investigators in New Jersey by City

Licensing

How New Jersey Licenses Private Investigators

New Jersey regulates private detectives under the Private Detective Act of 1939, N.J.S.A. 45:19-8 and following. The New Jersey State Police Private Detective Unit administers the Act. The unit screens applicants, keeps records of licensed agencies and their employees, conducts inspections and audits, and investigates complaints. A business that does private detective work for hire in New Jersey generally needs a license issued through the State Police.

For a client, the main check is the agency license. Individual employees are registered with the Private Detective Unit under that agency rather than licensed on their own. There is no simple public search on the unit's page, so the practical step is to get the license number and confirm it with the unit by phone or email before signing anything.

Courts

How New Jersey Courts Are Organized

New Jersey's main trial court is the Superior Court, a statewide court organized into 15 vicinages that cover the 21 counties. Its Law Division hears civil and criminal cases, and its Chancery Division hears equity cases, family matters in the Family Part and contested estates in the Probate Part. Each county Surrogate handles routine probate and guardianship filings. Municipal courts, run by a town or shared among towns, hear traffic, minor criminal and local ordinance cases. The Tax Court hears property tax appeals.

Communities

New Jersey Communities With a Private Investigator Page

Every New Jersey community over 3,000 residents, by population (U.S. Census Bureau, April 1, 2020 estimates base and July 1, 2024 estimates (Vintage 2024)).

Read the full New Jersey investigator guide

Neighboring states: Delaware · New York · Pennsylvania