Hiring a private investigator, UK

Yes. Hiring a private investigator is legal in the UK. At the time of writing, private investigation is not a licensed occupation in the way door supervision or close protection is: plans to license investigators under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 were announced but have not been brought into force.

That puts the weight on the investigator’s own conduct, and on the questions the client asks before the work starts. The client can also be exposed if they commission work that is carried out unlawfully.

Data protection law applies to almost every investigation. Personal data needs a lawful basis under the UK GDPR, and under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018 it is a criminal offence knowingly or recklessly to obtain personal data without the consent of the organisation that holds it, for example by pretending to be the account holder to a bank or a phone company.

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes harassment and stalking offences, which limits how surveillance may be carried out. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 forbids getting into someone’s accounts or devices without authority, and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 forbids intercepting their communications. The law of trespass and the Fraud Act 2006 apply as they do to anyone else.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 governs covert surveillance by public authorities. It gives private investigators no powers at all. An investigator has the same rights as any member of the public, and no more.

An investigator can search public records, registers, court listings and the press; trace a person through lawful sources; interview witnesses who are willing to talk; carry out proportionate observation in public places; serve legal documents; and prepare evidence and witness statements for a court.

An investigator cannot obtain bank, phone, medical or tax records by deception, get into email or social media accounts, or read someone’s messages. Fitting a tracker to someone else’s car, or recording private conversations, without lawful authority can amount to stalking, harassment or a data protection offence, depending on the circumstances.

An investigation also cannot promise an outcome. It finds what lawful sources and lawful methods can reach, and a good report says plainly what it did not find.

A court can refuse or discount evidence that was obtained unlawfully, and the way evidence was gathered can become an issue in the case. Ask how the evidence will be recorded, kept and handed over, and whether the investigator will give a witness statement and attend court if needed.

Ask what the lawful basis for the work is and how it was assessed. Ask whether the firm has paid the data protection fee: the Information Commissioner’s Office keeps a public register of organisations that have. Ask who will do the work, whether any of it is passed to subcontractors, and what professional indemnity insurance is held. Membership of a professional body, such as the Association of British Investigators, is worth asking about too.

Agree the scope, the cost and the form of the report in writing before anything starts. A provider who will not explain how they will get the information is a provider to avoid.