Legal Limits

What Information Can a Private Investigator Find Legally?

Understand exactly what is and isn’t accessible through lawful public‑source investigation—and why that matters for your case.

What is possible

Public records, social media, and more

  • Real name, aliases, date of birth, address history
  • Marital status and divorce records (where public)
  • Business ownership and professional licenses
  • Criminal and civil court cases (non-sealed)
  • Social media profiles and public posts
  • Property ownership records
Strictly off-limits

What no lawful investigator can obtain

  • Private emails, chats, or DM histories
  • Bank account balances or credit reports without consent
  • Sealed criminal records
  • Medical or health records
  • Real-time location tracking without legal authority
AllRussian’s standard

Everything we deliver is public-source

We operate strictly within the law, using only publicly available information. If something is inaccessible, we’ll tell you honestly. No shortcuts, no grey areas.

Learn about our approach

What a Private Investigator Can Find: A Step‑by‑Step Guide to Legal Discovery

  1. Asset and financial discovery. PIs can locate bank accounts, real estate holdings, business ownership, vehicles, and investments using public property records, UCC filings, and judgment liens.
  2. Skip tracing to find people. Using utility bills, credit header data (legally accessed), voter registration, and professional licenses, a PI can track down a debtor, witness, or long‑lost relative.
  3. Employment and income verification. Investigators can confirm job titles, work history, and approximate salary through employer records, LinkedIn cross‑checks, and industry databases.
  4. Hidden relationships and cohabitation. Through surveillance, social media analysis, and trash pulls (where legal), PIs document evidence of secret romantic partners or undisclosed household members.
  5. Criminal and civil history. A licensed PI has access to state and federal court dockets, sex offender registries, and inmate locators – including records that are not publicly searchable online.
  6. Social media and online footprint. PIs can capture deleted posts, identify fake accounts, and map out a subject’s digital activity using archiving tools and forensic social media searches.
  7. Surveillance and field intelligence. Physical surveillance (where legally permitted) can document daily routines, associates, and activities that contradict a subject’s public statements or claims.

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