Most private investigators in South Carolina bill by the hour, and the total cost of a case depends far more on the type of work than on the hourly rate. A short background check might be a flat fee, while a multi-day surveillance case in Columbia or Charleston can run into several thousand dollars. This guide walks through what drives the price for each common case type so you can budget realistically before you make the first call.
Key Takeaways
- Hourly billing is the norm for surveillance and fieldwork; flat fees are common for background checks, process serving, and some digital forensics.
- The biggest cost drivers are hours in the field, number of investigators needed, travel, and how quickly the subject does something worth documenting.
- Retainers are standard in South Carolina. You pay up front and the investigator bills against that balance.
- A licensed, insured investigator costs more than an unlicensed one, but only licensed work is reliable in a South Carolina courtroom.
- For Stillinger Investigations’ actual pricing, always refer to the fees page rather than general industry figures.
How Private Investigators Bill in South Carolina
There are three billing models you will encounter when you call investigators in Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, or anywhere else in the state. Understanding them prevents surprises later.
Hourly rates
Fieldwork such as surveillance, interviews, and in-person records retrieval is almost always billed hourly. Industry ranges across the Southeast typically fall somewhere between $75 and $150 per hour for a single investigator, with higher rates for specialized work or short-notice assignments. Mileage, tolls, and out-of-pocket expenses are usually billed on top of the hourly rate.
Flat fees
Defined tasks with predictable scope are often quoted as a flat fee. Background checks, serving a summons, locating a single individual, or a standard cell phone extraction commonly fall in this category. Flat fees are attractive because you know the number before the work starts.
Retainers
Most South Carolina firms require a retainer before opening a case. The retainer is not an extra charge. It is a deposit the investigator draws down as hours accumulate. If the case closes early, the unused balance is typically refunded or applied to additional work. Ask how the firm handles unused retainer funds before you sign.
Infidelity and Cheating Spouse Surveillance Costs
Surveillance is the most requested service in South Carolina and also the hardest to estimate up front. The reason is simple: the investigator cannot control when your spouse does something worth documenting. A case where the subject meets someone on the first evening will cost a fraction of a case that requires five separate outings over three weeks.
Several factors push the total up or down:
- Number of investigators. A single investigator can lose a subject in traffic on I-26 or in a crowded downtown Charleston parking garage. Two-person teams cost more per hour but produce more consistent results on mobile subjects.
- Time of day. Overnight and weekend work often carries a premium.
- Quality of your information. If you can narrow the window to a specific night or a specific location, the investigator spends fewer hours waiting.
- Video and reporting. Court-ready video, time-stamped logs, and a written report are usually included, but confirm this before you start.
Because adultery is a fault ground for divorce under S.C. Code § 20-3-10 and can bar alimony under § 20-3-130, the financial stakes of a well-documented case often dwarf the investigative fee. For a realistic sense of timelines, read our guide on how long a cheating spouse investigation takes in South Carolina.
Child Custody Investigation Costs
Custody investigations are usually structured like surveillance cases, but the goals are different. The investigator is documenting parenting behavior: who is actually caring for the child, whether the child is being left with unsafe adults, whether there is drinking or drug use during visitation, or whether a parent is violating the terms of a court order.
These cases tend to require multiple observation periods spread across weeks, because a family court judge wants a pattern rather than a single bad night. Budget for several sessions rather than one. Many clients also pair surveillance with a background check on a new partner living in the home, which adds a flat fee but often produces the most persuasive evidence in the file.
Background Checks and Locate Services
Background checks are among the most affordable services because much of the work is database driven. A basic check that confirms identity, addresses, criminal history, and civil filings is typically a modest flat fee. A comprehensive check that adds interviews, employment verification, asset review, and social media analysis costs more, but it is still usually far less than a day of surveillance.
Locating a missing person or a debtor who has moved without a forwarding address is a separate service known as skip tracing. Costs scale with difficulty. Someone who moved from Columbia to Myrtle Beach and kept the same phone is easy. Someone who is actively avoiding creditors or a court date takes more effort. We explain the process in detail in our post on how skip tracing works and how investigators locate people.
Digital Forensics and Bug Sweep Costs
Digital forensics is priced differently from fieldwork. A forensic extraction of a cell phone, computer, or cloud account involves specialized equipment, licensed software, and a documented chain of custody. Most firms quote a flat fee per device for the extraction, with additional hourly charges for analysis, expert reports, and testimony if the matter goes to court.
Technical surveillance countermeasures, commonly called bug sweeps, are typically priced by the size of the space. A single vehicle or one office costs less than an entire home or a suite of executive offices. The investigator’s time on site, the equipment used, and travel to your location all factor into the quote.
These services are worth comparing carefully. A low price on a phone extraction sometimes means consumer-grade software that will not survive a challenge from opposing counsel.
Corporate and Insurance Investigations
Businesses in South Carolina hire investigators for employee theft, workers’ compensation fraud, pre-employment screening, due diligence on partners, and internal misconduct. These matters are usually billed hourly with a retainer, and the scope is defined in an engagement letter.
Insurance and workers’ comp surveillance follows the same logic as domestic surveillance: the cost depends on how many observation days it takes to document activity inconsistent with a claimed injury. Corporate clients often benefit from setting a budget cap in advance and asking the investigator to report back before exceeding it. You can review the full range of business and personal services on our services page.
How to Keep Your Investigation Costs Down
You have more control over the final bill than most people realize. A few practical steps make a real difference:
- Bring organized information. Names, addresses, vehicle descriptions, work schedules, and known hangouts save billable hours.
- Be honest about what you already know. Investigators waste time confirming facts clients could have provided.
- Define the goal. “I need proof for my attorney of an overnight stay” is far cheaper to accomplish than “find out everything.”
- Set a budget ceiling and ask for a check-in before it is reached.
- Choose the right service. Sometimes a background check or a phone forensic exam answers the question without any surveillance at all.
The most expensive investigation is the one you have to redo. Hiring an unlicensed operator to save money often means paying a licensed firm later to produce evidence that will actually be admitted in a Richland County or Charleston County courtroom. Our Columbia investigators and Charleston investigators testify in those courtrooms regularly, and the documentation standard is the same in both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do private investigators in South Carolina require a retainer?
Nearly all licensed firms do. The retainer covers the initial hours and expenses, and the firm bills against it as work is performed. Ask in advance how unused funds are handled and whether you will receive itemized statements.
Is a cheaper private investigator a bad idea?
Not automatically, but price should never be the only factor. Verify that the investigator holds a current South Carolina license issued through SLED, carries insurance, and produces written reports and video suitable for court. An unlicensed investigator’s work can be excluded or discredited, which makes it worthless regardless of what you paid.
Can I get a fixed quote for a surveillance case?
Most firms will give you a realistic estimate and a retainer amount, but not a guaranteed total, because the subject’s behavior controls the timeline. What you can do is set a spending cap and require the investigator to check in before exceeding it. That gives you predictability without limiting the investigator’s ability to finish the job.
Are investigative fees recoverable in a divorce?
Sometimes. South Carolina family courts have discretion to award attorney’s fees and costs, and investigative expenses can be part of that request when the evidence was necessary to the case. Talk to your family law attorney about whether it makes sense to ask for them in your matter.
Talk to a South Carolina Investigator
Every case is different, and the fastest way to get a real number is a short confidential conversation about your situation. Stillinger Investigations serves Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and clients statewide.
Call (803) 400-1974 or contact us online to discuss your case, get a clear explanation of how billing works, and receive an estimate before any work begins.
