For licensed private investigators

Bill more hours. Close more cases. Ditch the seven apps you are duct-taping together.

NearbySpy is the all-in-one command center for modern PIs. Cases, hashed evidence, eSigned retainers, client portal, video calls, billing, and Scout AI in one secure workspace.

4.9/5 from 380+ licensed PIs
SOC 2-aligned infrastructure
Base plan free forever
2,400+
Licensed investigators onboard
18,000+
Cases actively managed
50
States covered
99.98%
Evidence integrity uptime

The Hidden Cost of Running a PI Business

Your investigative work is worth $250+ per hour. Your software stack is stealing it.

Most investigators juggle 7 to 12 disconnected tools. Every minute copy-pasting notes, chasing signatures, or rebuilding evidence binders is a minute you cannot bill a client for.

3–4 hours a day lost to paperwork

Retainers in DocuSign, evidence in Dropbox, notes in Google Docs, billing in QuickBooks. Every case pulls you off surveillance and into tab-switching.

Evidence that will not hold up

Screenshots without hashes. Photos that got edited in iCloud. Chain of custody you cannot prove six months later when opposing counsel subpoenas it.

Clients ghosting you mid-case

SMS threads, email chains, scattered voicemails. Clients cannot see progress, so they assume nothing is happening. Then they stop paying invoices.

Unverified profiles losing you work

Corporate procurement asks for license proof on every RFP. Without a verified public profile, you are competing against unlicensed strangers on Google.

Built for licensed investigators

Six tools you stopped paying for,
rebuilt for investigative work.

Cancel the Notion, DocuSign, Dropbox, Calendly, QuickBooks, and Zoom subscriptions. NearbySpy consolidates every workflow licensed PIs actually run, and makes each one defensible on its worst day.

Cases that stand up in court

Every case file carries a full audit trail. Members, permissions, edits, and exports logged so opposing counsel cannot poke holes in your chain of custody.

Operations Log that writes itself

Timestamped surveillance, interviews, and research with operator identity and GPS-optional location. Your deposition prep is already done.

Tamper-proof Evidence Gallery

SHA-256 hashed at upload, immutable after filing. Prove the video was not edited, the photo was not cropped, the PDF was not swapped.

DocuVault eSign built for PIs

Send retainers, NDAs, and authorizations in 60 seconds. Clients sign on their phone in the parking lot. Signed PDFs stored for the statute of limitations.

Scout AI: your private research partner

Ask research questions scoped to YOUR workspace context. Zero data leakage to public chatbots. Answers in seconds, not hours of skip-tracing.

Branded client portal

Stop chasing SMS threads. Clients see exactly what you choose (updates, evidence, invoices) in a portal that looks like your agency, not a SaaS demo.

Run your entire investigation practice from one workspace

Cases, Operations Log, Evidence Gallery, DocuVault, client messaging, billing, and Scout AI stay in sync. Desktop for deep work, mobile when you are on a surveillance vehicle or courthouse Wi‑Fi.

investigator.nearbyspy.com

Cases / McKinley Insurance Fraud

McKinley Insurance Fraud

Assigned: Jordan Ellis, PI

Active
OperationsEvidenceMembersDocuments
Initial Surveillance, Downtown
CompletedApr 12
Follow-up: Parking Garage
In ProgressApr 14
Photo Review + Report Draft
UpcomingApr 16
JD
Jennifer D.
Received the retainer. Starting surveillance tomorrow at 6 AM.
Perfect. Can you send photos as you go?
Will upload directly to your case file. You'll get notified.

Case file updated. 3 photos uploaded

Message...

How it works

From signup to court-ready in four steps

No migrations, no IT consultants, no 90-day rollouts. You are running cases the same afternoon you sign up.

01

Claim your public profile

Submit your state license and insurance once. We verify against registries and issue a Verified Investigator badge visible to every prospect searching your metro.

02

Onboard your first case in under 5 minutes

Spin up a case, send an eSign retainer through DocuVault, invite the client to the portal, and start logging surveillance with timestamps and hashed evidence.

03

Stay billable in the field

Upload video, photos, and reports from mobile. Scout AI answers research questions against your workspace so you do not paste case facts into public chatbots.

04

Deliver a defensible report

Export a court-ready evidence binder with SHA-256 integrity receipts, operation timelines, and signed documents. One click, not three weekends.

Investigator Success Stories

The only review that matters is billable hours recovered

"I was skeptical of another all-in-one tool. Six months in, my paralegal stopped rebuilding evidence binders by hand because the gallery exports match exactly what our counsel expects."

James T.

Licensed PI, Texas

"DocuVault cut my retainer turnaround from three days to same day. Clients eSign on their phones, and I finally have a single inbox for case chat instead of SMS screenshots."

Elena R.

Agency owner, Florida

"The verified badge is not vanity. Corporate procurement asks for license proof on every RFP. My NearbySpy profile shows it next to coverage maps. I stopped losing contracts to paperwork friction."

Marcus D.

Licensed PI, New York

"I bill 12 more hours a week since switching. The Operations Log auto-builds my invoice line items. My spouse noticed before my accountant did."

Rachel K.

Solo PI, Arizona

"Scout AI drafted a skip-trace summary in 40 seconds from our own case notes. No ChatGPT, no data leakage, no compliance officer breathing down my neck."

David M.

Agency lead, Illinois

"Opposing counsel challenged our video evidence in a custody case. I showed the SHA-256 integrity receipt in NearbySpy. Motion denied, case closed."

Sophie L.

Licensed PI, California

Why not just use generic tools?

Notion plus Dropbox plus DocuSign is not a case management system

Generic productivity stacks do not understand licensure, chain of custody, or per-case client access. NearbySpy was built from day one for licensed investigators.

Capability
Generic Stack
NearbySpy
Verified license badge on public profile
SHA-256 hashed evidence with chain-of-custody export
Per-operation client visibility controls
Built-in eSign for retainers, NDAs, authorizations
Add-on
Surveillance log with operator, timestamp, status
AI research assistant scoped to your workspace
Flat $39/mo Elite pricing (no per-seat tax)
Generic task board + kanban

Simple pricing, no surprises

Base is free forever.
Elite is $39/mo flat.

No per-seat tax. No "contact sales" theater. No surprise annual bump. Start free, upgrade only when you need DocuVault, video, Scout AI, or contract automation.

Base

For solo PIs getting their footing

$0/ forever
  • Verified public directory listing
  • Unlimited Cases workspace
  • Operations Log with audit trail
  • Evidence Gallery with SHA-256 integrity
  • Encrypted client messaging
  • Branded client portal
Start on Base free
Most popular

Elite

For agencies serious about growth

$39/ month, flat
  • Everything in Base
  • DocuVault: unlimited eSign retainers & NDAs
  • Built-in HD video calls (no Zoom required)
  • Scout AI: private research assistant
  • Automated contract generation
  • Priority licensed-operator support
Upgrade to Elite

30-day money-back guarantee on Elite. Cancel anytime. You keep every file on Base.

Frequently Asked Questions

Licensing, evidence integrity, client access, and what ships in Base vs Elite, answered in plain language.

For investigators

Stop losing 15 hours a week to paperwork.

Join 2,400+ licensed investigators running cases on NearbySpy. Free Base plan forever, Elite for $39/mo with 30-day money-back guarantee. Your first case loaded in under 5 minutes, no demo call required.