Private Investigator Rates in Colorado, Set Out Before Work Begins

01How prices are set

Three Rules Behind Our Private Investigator Rates in Colorado

Every price we quote in Colorado comes from one of three rules. Field work, meaning anything an investigator does in person, is $100 per hour, the same standard rate Delator Group uses in Tennessee. Remote work that is done from records, such as a background check or a database skip trace, is priced per item at the Tennessee price plus 20 percent. Matters with a predictable shape, such as a felony defense file or a scam investigation, carry a published minimum. The Colorado investigations overview lists the services each rule covers, and the catalog of Colorado specialized investigations follows the same three rules.

Private investigator rates in Colorado are otherwise hard to compare because no state agency now licenses investigators or reviews how they bill. We publish ours so clients can check a quote against a published list rather than a sales conversation. The rules do not change by county, by client or by urgency. What changes is the number of hours a matter needs and whether travel is involved, and both are estimated in writing. If the work runs toward the estimate, we tell you before going past it, and our consulting service for Colorado matters can help define a scope when the problem is not yet clear.

• Field work: $100 per hour
• Records-only items: 20 percent above the Tennessee price
• Case-based matters: published minimums
• Every engagement: written quote approved first

02Hourly field work

What the $100 Hourly Rate Covers in Colorado

The hourly rate covers surveillance, witness interviews, neighborhood canvasses, courthouse and records visits, scene photography and the time spent writing the report. A typical surveillance day on the Front Range runs as one or more shifts timed to when a subject is most likely to act, such as a weekend custody exchange in Highlands Ranch or a claimant's trip to a gym in Westminster. Our surveillance investigations in Colorado are estimated by shift, so you see the likely total before approving it.

Interviews and canvasses are usually shorter and easier to estimate. A defense team that needs three witnesses located and interviewed in Pueblo, or a plaintiff's firm that needs a scene photographed and measured in Lakewood, gets a quote based on the hours those tasks normally take. We do not hold open-ended retainers and draw them down without explanation. Litigation clients can see how we report hours on the attorney services page, and adjusters commissioning claim work can review our Colorado insurance investigations.

03Remote services

Remote Records Work at Set Prices

Some questions can be answered from records alone. A basic background check or a basic database skip trace is $102. A deep-dive background check, which adds wider court searches, business affiliations and a closer look at identity history, is $300, as is a due diligence report on a company or a prospective partner. An OSINT review that finds and works to remove a person's exposed personal information is $900. Landlords comparing applicants often start with our Colorado tenant screening.

Colorado's public records are reasonably accessible, which keeps remote work efficient. The Colorado Open Records Act lets any person request public records, with a presumed response time of three working days, and allows copy charges of up to 25 cents a page with the first hour of research free. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation also offers an online name-based search of Colorado criminal history. When an agency charges its own fee for a record, we list it in the quote rather than adding it later. Business clients ordering a due diligence review before a Colorado deal see every source named.

04Case-based matters

Published Minimums for Case-Based Colorado Work

Criminal defense files start at $750 for a misdemeanor, $1,000 for a single felony and $1,500 for multiple charges or enhanced exposure. Those figures reflect the work nearly every defense file needs: reviewing discovery, locating and interviewing witnesses, and documenting the scene. A DUI case in Colorado often turns on the testing timeline and the officer's observations, so our misdemeanor defense investigations budget for both, and the felony defense investigation page explains what the higher minimum adds.

Civil litigation support carries a $1,000 minimum, as do asset investigations and field-work skip traces. Audit work begins at $1,200, abuse matters at $1,500 and scam matters at $2,000. A minimum is a starting point, not a cap: a felony case with several scenes or an asset search across multiple counties will usually need more, and the quote says so. An asset investigation in Colorado for a divorce or a judgment, for example, is priced after we know how many entities and properties are involved.

05Travel and weather

How Distance and Mountain Weather Affect a Colorado Quote

Distance changes the hours, never the rate. A matter in Aurora or Thornton may need almost no travel, while one in Montrose, Cortez or Craig sits several hours by road from the Front Range and is quoted as a separate trip. We estimate the travel time openly in the quote, and where an investigator closer to the work is available, we assign that person to keep the total down. Western Slope files are coordinated through our Grand Junction investigators.

Mountain work adds weather. Colorado's traction and chain laws apply on the I-70 corridor from September 1 through May 31, and closures near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel or in Glenwood Canyon can cost part of a day. We tell you before a scheduled shift if weather is likely to make it unproductive, and we agree a new date with you rather than sending an investigator into a closed pass. Resort-area matters in Breckenridge, Vail or Aspen are planned with that flexibility built in, and the mountain-county serve coverage in Eagle County follows the same practice for papers.

06Choosing an investigator

Comparing Quotes When Colorado No Longer Licenses Investigators

Colorado's mandatory private investigator license ran from June 1, 2015, until a 2020 veto ended the program, and the state's rules were repealed in 2022. Without a license, there is no state check on how an investigator bills, which makes a written quote more important. Ask what is included, what is extra, and what happens if the work runs long. Our guide on checking an investigator before you hire one lists the questions in order.

Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee firm and holds itself to Tennessee's standard in Colorado, which includes a written scope and a report you can file. Compare any quote against the published lists on this page, and against what the investigator will actually deliver. A low hourly figure means little if the report cannot be used in court. The guide to lawful investigator conduct in Colorado explains what any honest quote should exclude.

07Process serving

Process Serving Prices Are Set by County

Process serving through Delator Field Services is priced separately from investigations. Each of Colorado's 64 counties has a published Routine starting rate based on population and distance from the nearest metro area. Routine service starts at $125 in eleven counties, including Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa and La Plata, and climbs to $255 in Sedgwick County. Faster service multiplies the Routine figure: 1.5 for Urgent, 2 for Rush and 3 for Same Day Rush. The Colorado process serving hub explains what every serve includes.

When a serve fails because the address is wrong, the right next step is often a $102 skip trace rather than more attempts. We price both in the same written quote so a client pays for one plan, not two. A metro serve through our Denver process server follows the same approach. Counsel with defendants in several states can compare rates on our multistate rate map.

Price list

Colorado investigation prices

These are the published prices Delator Group applies to work in Colorado. They are the same in Denver as in Cortez and the same for a law firm as for a family. What varies from one Colorado matter to the next is the number of hours, the travel and whether a case minimum applies, and the written quote you approve spells out all three before work begins.

Standard investigative rate

Remote services (Tennessee price plus 20%)

Case-based minimums

Sample Routine process serving starting rates

Process serving is priced separately, county by county. Routine starting rates in Colorado run from $125 to $255, and all 64 counties appear on the Colorado process serving rate finder. Each figure is a published starting rate, and the final price is confirmed in writing before the first attempt.

Services

Commonly Quoted Colorado Services

• Surveillance investigationsHourly at $100, with each shift, the area covered and any drive time estimated in writing around the subject's likely schedule.Learn more
• Background checksRecords-based screening at $102 for a basic check or $300 for a deep-dive report, with each source named in the written quote.Learn more
• Skip tracingA $102 database trace for a current address, or a field locate from $1,000 when the subject moves often or avoids contact.Learn more
• Criminal defense investigationsFrom $750 for a misdemeanor, $1,000 for one felony and $1,500 for multiple charges, covering witnesses, scenes, discovery and records.Learn more
• Asset investigationsA $1,000 minimum for public-record research into real property, vehicles, business interests and judgments across Colorado counties and in other states.Learn more
• Insurance investigationsClaim surveillance and activity checks billed at $100 per hour, with the shift plan and any mountain travel set out in writing.Learn more
• Shock auditsUnannounced reviews of a Colorado facility's security, controls or procedures, starting at $1,200 and ending in a ranked written report.Learn more
• Scam investigationsRomance, rental, contractor, crypto and elder scams investigated from $2,000, with the trail packaged for police, a bank or counsel.Learn more
• Process servingCounty-based rates from $125 to $255 Routine, with Urgent, Rush and Same Day Rush at 1.5, 2 and 3 times that figure.Learn more

How it works

How a Colorado Quote Is Built

1. 01

   Define the question

   You tell us what you need to establish, where in Colorado and by when. Leadership decides whether the work is hourly, a remote item, a case minimum or a mix.

2. 02

   Estimate hours and travel

   We estimate field hours, the region an investigator will cover and any travel to mountain, plains or Western Slope counties, and note weather risks openly.

3. 03

   Approve in writing

   You receive a written quote with the scope, the methods and the total. Nobody is assigned to the matter until you have signed off on that document.

4. 04

   Stay informed

   If the work approaches the estimate, we tell you before going any further and explain why, so the final invoice matches what you agreed to.

Compare

Colorado Pricing Rules Compared With Tennessee

Statewide coverage

Pricing Applies the Same Way in Every Colorado City

These rules apply in all 64 counties, and distance changes only the hours, never the rate itself. A matter handled through our Thornton investigators in Adams County or the Westminster investigation page usually needs little travel. South-metro files run through Parker investigation coverage, and Arapahoe County work through our Littleton investigators. Northern Colorado matters in Longmont or Broomfield are priced the same way, and a Western Slope or Eastern Plains file simply carries a longer travel estimate in the written quote.

• Thornton
• Westminster
• Parker
• Littleton
• Longmont
• Broomfield
• 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