Miami Private InvestigationsGPS trackers are cheap and easy to buy, which makes them tempting when you suspect a spouse, a business partner, or an employee isn't being honest. But in Florida, secretly tracking a vehicle you don't own can be illegal — and evidence gathered unlawfully can be thrown out, or worse, turned against you.
What Florida law generally says
Florida law makes it unlawful to place a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property to determine their location without their knowledge and consent. There are limited exceptions — most importantly, an owner can track their own vehicle, and a parent can generally track a minor child. The key question is almost always: who legally owns the vehicle, and did the person tracked consent?
When you probably CAN track
- You own the vehicle outright and it's titled in your name.
- It's a company vehicle and you have a clear, written policy telling employees it may be tracked.
- Your minor child is the driver.
When you should NOT track on your own
- A car titled only in your spouse's name, even if you're married.
- A vehicle jointly owned where the other owner hasn't consented — this is a gray area best left to a professional.
- Anyone else's car — a friend, a partner, an ex.
Why the legal route matters for your case
If you're heading toward a divorce, custody dispute, or lawsuit, how the evidence was gathered matters as much as what it shows. Illegally obtained GPS data can be excluded and can expose you to civil or criminal liability. Court-ready surveillance, by contrast, holds up. When the stakes are high, don't hand the other side an easy way to discredit you.
If you're unsure whether tracking is legal in your specific situation, talk to us first — a short conversation can save you a serious mistake.