Is It Legal to Put a GPS Tracker on a Car in Florida?

When you suspect a spouse, partner or employee of lying about where they go, a magnet-mounted GPS unit looks like the quickest route to the truth. In Florida it is often a felony instead. Everything below comes from the text of s. 934.425, Florida Statutes (2025).

What does Florida's GPS tracking law prohibit?

Subsection (2) says that, except as provided in the exceptions, "a person may not knowingly":

• "(a) Install or place a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property without that person's consent; or"
• "(b) Use a tracking device or tracking application to determine the location or movement of another person or another person's property without that person's consent."

The law reaches use as well as installation, and its definitions are broad. A "tracking device" is "any device whose primary purpose is to reveal its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals." A "tracking application" is "any software program whose primary purpose is to track or identify the location or movement of an individual."

What is the penalty for illegal tracking in Florida?

Under subsection (5)(a), a violation is "a felony of the third degree." Under (5)(b), it becomes "a felony of the second degree" when the tracking is done "to commit a dangerous crime or to facilitate the commission of a dangerous crime" as defined in s. 907.041, F.S.

For a licensed investigator there is a second consequence: installing or placing a tracking device in violation of s. 934.425 is a ground for discipline under s. 493.6118(1)(y), F.S.

When is consent presumed revoked?

Subsection (3) presumes consent is revoked when:

• "(a) The consenting person and the person to whom consent was given are lawfully married and one person files a petition for dissolution of marriage from the other; or"
• "(b) The consenting person or the person to whom consent was given files an injunction for protection against the other person," under the domestic-violence injunction law (s. 741.30), the recognition of foreign protection orders (s. 741.315), the repeat, sexual or dating violence injunction law (s. 784.046) or the stalking injunction law (s. 784.0485).

So location sharing a couple agreed to years ago is presumed to end once either spouse files for divorce.

Which exceptions does s. 934.425 list?

Subsection (4) says the section "does not apply to":

1. Law enforcement (4)(a). An officer or agency that lawfully installs, places or uses a tracker "as part of a criminal investigation."
2. Corrections and juvenile justice (4)(b), (4)(c). Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice officers and staff tracking a person in their care, custody or control, within the scope of their employment.
3. Court orders (4)(d). "A person authorized to install, place, or use a tracking device or tracking application pursuant to a court order."
4. Parents and guardians (4)(e). Tracking a minor child's property, under the conditions described below.
5. Caregivers (4)(f). A caregiver of an elderly person or disabled adult, if the person's treating physician certifies that tracking "is necessary to ensure the safety" of that person.
6. Businesses (4)(g). "A person acting in good faith on behalf of a business entity for a legitimate business purpose," with the investigator limit discussed below.
7. Vehicle owners and lessees (4)(h). An owner or lessee tracking "such vehicle during the period of ownership or lease," provided the device is removed before title transfers or the lease expires, the new owner or lessor consents in writing to leaving it, or the original manufacturer installed it and the next owner was told where it is and how to remove it.

Can I put a GPS tracker on my spouse's car?

The statute has no special rule for spouses. It turns on whose property the car is and whether there is consent:

• The car belongs to your spouse. Being married is not consent. Without your spouse's agreement, placing or using a tracker on it falls under the prohibition in subsection (2).
• Your spouse agreed at some point. That consent is presumed revoked once either of you files a petition for dissolution of marriage, or either of you files for a protective injunction.
• The car is titled only to you. The owner exception in (4)(h) covers an owner tracking "such vehicle" during ownership. The statute does not say how that interacts with the ban on tracking "another person" when your spouse is the regular driver, so get a Florida family-law attorney's view before any device goes on.

If a spouse's health or safety is the worry, ask openly and get agreement. If trust is the problem, a secret device deepens it, and its discovery can turn a suspicion into a criminal complaint. Honest conversation, counseling or an early meeting with a family-law attorney come first. For how evidence of an affair can be gathered lawfully, see what a private investigator can legally do in a Florida infidelity case.

What about co-owned and leased vehicles?

Co-owned cars. Section 934.425 does not mention joint ownership. A car titled to two people is the property of both, and the owner exception does not say whether one owner may track it while the other drives. Treat that as unresolved and ask a Florida attorney.

Leased cars. The lessee is covered by (4)(h) during the lease, but the device must come off before the lease expires unless the lessor consents in writing. A car leased by one spouse and driven by the other is not addressed; ask an attorney.

Can parents track a teenager's car?

Paragraph (4)(e) lets a parent or legal guardian of a minor child track the minor child's property if any one of these is true:

• the parents or guardians are lawfully married to each other, not separated or otherwise living apart, and either one consents;
• the parent or guardian is the minor's sole surviving parent or legal guardian;
• the parent or guardian has sole custody; or
• the parents or guardians are divorced, separated or otherwise living apart and both consent.

The last condition catches many co-parents: when parents live apart without sole custody, one tracking the child's car or phone without the other's agreement falls outside the exception.

Can an employer track company vehicles?

Paragraph (4)(g) exempts a person acting "in good faith on behalf of a business entity for a legitimate business purpose." The statute does not require a written policy, but telling drivers in writing that company vehicles are tracked is sensible, and an employment attorney can draft it. An employee's personally owned car is a different question.

Do phone tracking apps and item trackers count?

Yes. Secretly installing a location app on someone's phone, or using one they never agreed to, is treated like a device under the car, and the device definition is not limited to GPS units. Apps that capture messages or calls also raise the interception law, s. 934.03, F.S., which requires every party's prior consent to intercept a wire, oral or electronic communication. And getting into another person's online accounts without permission is part of the definition of cyberstalking in s. 784.048, F.S.

What should you do if you find a tracker on your car?

1. Do not rip it off or throw it away. The device and how it was attached may matter to police.
2. Photograph it in place. Take a wide shot showing where it sits on the vehicle and close-ups of any markings. Note the date, time and address.
3. Call the police. Dial 911 if you feel in danger or are being followed; otherwise call your local non-emergency line and ask how they want the device handled.
4. Check your phone for unfamiliar apps with location access, sharing you did not turn on, and unknown-tracker alerts.
5. Tell your attorney before confronting anyone if a divorce, custody or injunction case is pending or likely. If the tracking is part of a pattern of harassment, the stalking and domestic-violence injunctions (ss. 784.0485 and 741.30) may apply.

What can a Florida private investigator legally do about vehicle movements?

Private investigators are licensed under Chapter 493, F.S., and the license carries no exemption from s. 934.425. The only sentence in the statute that mentions investigators sits inside the business exception, (4)(g): it "does not apply to a person engaged in private investigation, as defined in s. 493.6101, on behalf of another person unless such activities would otherwise be exempt under this subsection if performed by the person engaging the private investigator."

What we do instead is follow and document a subject's movements in person, from public roads and places open to the public, with time-stamped photos and video, then report and testify to what was seen (surveillance investigations). We will not place a tracker or tracking app where the client would not be exempt, record private conversations without all-party consent (s. 934.03), or access anyone's accounts.

For the licensing law itself, read our guide to Florida Statute 493. For whether hiring an investigator is lawful at all, see is it legal to hire a private investigator in Florida.

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