State GPS tracking laws
The Fourth Amendment limits how the government tracks people. Private investigators answer to state law instead, and the states differ widely: some have a specific tracking device crime, some reach tracking through stalking or harassment law, and a few name licensed private investigators in an exception or defense. This page lists each state’s law with a link to the official text.
How to read this page
Each state is listed under one of three headings:
- Tracking device law: a statute that makes it a crime to install or use a tracking device on another person or their property without consent.
- Covered by stalking or harassment law: no separate tracking crime, but the state’s stalking or harassment law names electronic tracking or monitoring as conduct that can count.
- No tracking statute found: we found no state statute specifically addressing tracking devices. Tracking can still be unlawful under general stalking, harassment, trespass, or privacy law, and in civil suits.
Federal law also applies. For the constitutional rules that bind police, see Location tracking and phones.
States that address private investigators
These states mention licensed private investigators in their tracking or stalking law. An exception means the conduct is not a crime when its conditions are met. A defense means the investigator can be charged and must prove the conditions in court. None of these is a general permission to track.
| State | Type | Conditions | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Limited | No standalone exception. An investigator is covered only where the client would be exempt, for example a client who owns or leases the vehicle. | Fla. Stat. § 934.425 |
| Michigan | Exception | Licensed professional investigators lawfully performing their duties for listed purposes: evidence for court, crimes or wrongs, locating fugitives, or locating lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets. Owner consent is not required. Lost if the client is the restrained party under a protective order, or the investigator knows or has reason to know the client seeks to aid a crime or wrong. Civil liability to the owner remains. | MCL 750.539l |
| Nebraska | Exception | Licensed private investigators acting for a client, with the property owner’s consent, for listed purposes: crimes, locating fugitives, lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets, or workers’ compensation claims. Void if the client is subject to a protection order, or the investigator knows or should know the client seeks to aid a crime. | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-1336 to 28-1339 |
| North Carolina | Exception | Licensed private investigators tracking within the scope of their license (G.S. 74C-3(a)(8)), where the tracking is not otherwise unlawful and the person tracked is not protected by a domestic violence protective order or a similar court order. Owner consent is not required. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-196.3(b)(5) |
| North Dakota | Defense | Defense to stalking for licensed private investigators acting within the scope of employment. | N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-17-07.1 |
| Ohio | Exception | Licensed private investigators acting for a client in the normal course of business, with the property owner’s consent, for listed purposes: crimes, locating fugitives, lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets, or workers’ compensation claims. Void if the client is subject to a protection order, or the investigator knows or should know the client seeks to aid a crime. | Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.216 |
| Texas | Defense | Affirmative defense for licensed private investigators who installed the device with the written consent of the vehicle’s owner or lessee, or under a court order or other court authorization. | Tex. Penal Code § 16.06 |
| Utah | Exception | Vehicles only. Licensed private investigators with a legitimate business purpose, if neither the vehicle’s owner or lessee nor a co-resident is protected by a protective order; the investigator must first ask a state entity to confirm that. Owner consent is not required. | Utah Code § 76-12-305 |
| Virginia | Exception | Registered private investigators acting in the normal course of business with the consent of the owner of the property where the device is placed. Not available if the client is subject to a listed protective order, or the investigator knows or reasonably should know the client seeks to commit a crime. | Va. Code § 18.2-60.5 |
| Washington | Defense | Defense to stalking for licensed private investigators acting within the capacity of their license. | RCW 9A.46.110 |
Every state
Alabama
Tracking device law. It is a crime to place an electronic tracking device on another person's property without the owner's consent, unless otherwise authorized by law. Second degree requires no intent. First degree requires intent to surveil, stalk, or harass, or any other unlawful purpose.
Alaska
Covered by stalking or harassment law. There is no standalone tracking statute. Following or monitoring a person with GPS counts as 'nonconsensual contact'. Repeated nonconsensual contact that recklessly places a person in fear of death or physical injury is stalking.
Arizona
Covered by stalking or harassment law. There is no standalone tracking statute. A stalking 'course of conduct' includes using an electronic, digital, or GPS device to surveil a specific person without authorization, either continuously for 12+ hours or on 2+ occasions. Stalking also requires emotional distress or reasonable fear in the victim.
Arkansas
Tracking device law. Using a tracking device to determine a person's location or movement without that person's consent, with the purpose of tracking them and without good cause or legal authority, is harassment. No intent to harass, annoy, or alarm is required for this prong.
California
Tracking device law. No person or entity may use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person. This does not apply if the registered owner, lessor, or lessee of the vehicle consented, or to lawful law-enforcement use. 'Electronic tracking device' means a device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals its location by electronic signals.
Colorado
Covered by stalking or harassment law. There is no standalone criminal tracking statute. Criminal liability comes through stalking: repeatedly following or placing a person under surveillance with a credible threat, or in a manner causing serious emotional distress. Separately, § 13-20-1301 creates a civil damages claim against anyone who installs a tracking device on a person's property, or tracks a person or their property, without consent.
Connecticut
Covered by stalking or harassment law. There is no standalone tracking statute. Electronic stalking requires using an electronic monitoring system (or similar) to place a person under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate. The conduct must also cause reasonable fear of death or serious injury, or substantial emotional distress.
Delaware
Tracking device law. It is a crime to knowingly install an electronic or mechanical location tracking device in or on a motor vehicle without the consent of the registered owner, lessor, or lessee. Lawful law-enforcement use and parents or guardians tracking a minor child are exempt.
District of Columbia
Covered by stalking or harassment law. There is no standalone tracking statute. Stalking means purposefully engaging in a course of conduct, on 2+ occasions, including to 'monitor' or 'place under surveillance' an individual by 'any device', which is defined to include GPS. The conduct must be done with intent or knowledge that it would cause fear, serious alarm, or emotional distress.
Florida
Tracking device law. Bars knowingly installing or placing a tracking device or tracking app on another person's property without that person's consent, and bars using one to find where another person or their property is or goes without consent. Consent is presumed revoked once a petition for dissolution of marriage or a protective injunction is filed.
Private investigators: No standalone exception. An investigator is covered only where the client would be exempt, for example a client who owns or leases the vehicle.
Georgia
Tracking device law. Narrow statute. It is unlawful to intentionally and secretly place, or direct someone to place, a GPS or other electronic monitoring device on a motor vehicle owned or leased by another person without consent, but only when that person has a protective order against the placer. Other covert tracking falls only under general stalking law (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-90, which does not mention tracking devices by name).
Hawaii
Tracking device law. Within the wiretap chapter, makes it a crime to intentionally install or use a mobile tracking device without a search warrant or other authorizing order, unless the device is installed by, or with the consent of, the owner of the property it is placed on.
Idaho
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone tracking-device statute. Second-degree stalking covers a knowing, malicious course of conduct (repeated nonconsensual contact) causing substantial emotional distress or fear. 'Nonconsensual contact' includes electronic surveillance and placing an object on the victim's property. Idaho's wiretap chapter (§ 18-6701) excludes tracking-device communications from 'electronic communication'.
Illinois
Tracking device law. Bars any person or entity in Illinois from using an electronic tracking device to find a person's location or movement. 'Electronic tracking device' is limited to a device attached to a vehicle that reveals its location by transmitting electronic signals.
Indiana
Tracking device law. Knowingly or intentionally placing a tracking device on an individual, or on property owned or used by an individual, without that individual's knowledge or consent is 'unlawful surveillance'. Added by SEA 161 (2023), which also raised stalking committed with a tracking device and created a tracking-device sentence enhancement.
Iowa
Tracking device law. Unauthorized placement of a GPS device: without consent, placing a GPS device on another person, or on an object, to track that person's movements without a legitimate purpose. Stalking statute § 708.11 also counts repeatedly using a 'technological device' (expressly including a GPS device) to locate a person without authorization or legitimate purpose, and using one is an aggravating factor.
Kansas
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone tracking statute. Since 2023 SB 217, the acts that can make up a stalking 'course of conduct' (two or more acts) include using any electronic tracking system, or acquiring tracking information, to find the targeted person's location, movement, or travel patterns. The conduct must also cause or be meant to cause fear for safety.
Kentucky
Tracking device law. Intentionally installing a tracking device on a motor vehicle without the knowledge and consent of the owner (or, for a leased vehicle, the lessee or authorized operator) is a crime. So is tracking a vehicle without that consent. Tracking by a person restrained by a protective order, or by a Chapter 508 probationer or parolee tracking a victim, is also covered. Applies to motor vehicles only. Enacted 2023.
Louisiana
Tracking device law. Using a tracking device to find the location or movement of another person without that person's consent is a crime. A tracking device is any device that reveals its location or movement by transmitting electronic signals. Subsection E removes the exceptions in two cases: an individual with an ownership interest who has been granted a protective order or TRO, and a vehicle whose exclusive use a court has granted to another person.
Maine
Covered by stalking or harassment law. Maine has no standalone tracking-device crime. Under the stalking statute, a 'course of conduct' (2 or more acts) includes tracking a person by any device. Stalking requires conduct that would cause a reasonable person serious inconvenience, emotional distress, or fear.
Maryland
Covered by stalking or harassment law. Maryland has no standalone tracking statute. Since 2022, stalking expressly includes a malicious course of conduct carried out through a device that pinpoints or tracks another person without their knowledge or consent. It still requires the fear or serious-emotional-distress element.
Massachusetts
No tracking statute found. Massachusetts has no tracking-device statute. Its stalking and criminal harassment statutes do not mention tracking or location devices. They cover a pattern of conduct, including via electronic communication devices, that seriously alarms a person. Covert tracking could form part of that pattern, but no text says so.
Michigan
Tracking device law. Installing a tracking device on a motor vehicle without the owner's or lessee's knowledge and consent is a crime. So is tracking a vehicle without the consent of the owner/lessee or authorized operator. Tracking by restrained parties, and by probationers or parolees tracking victims, is also covered. Violators are liable for the owner's or lessee's damages.
Private investigators: Licensed professional investigators lawfully performing their duties for listed purposes: evidence for court, crimes or wrongs, locating fugitives, or locating lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets. Owner consent is not required. Lost if the client is the restrained party under a protective order, or the investigator knows or has reason to know the client seeks to aid a crime or wrong. Civil liability to the owner remains.
Minnesota
Tracking device law. No person may install or use a mobile tracking device without a court order under §626A.37. The rule applies to private persons, not only police. A mobile tracking device is any electronic or mechanical device that permits tracking of the movement of a person or object. The main private exception is consent of the owner of the object the device is attached to.
Mississippi
No tracking statute found. No standalone tracking statute was found. The stalking statute, as enacted by 2010 HB 1309, defines course of conduct by examples (following, contacting by phone/mail/electronic communication, threatening) and does not mention tracking devices. Tracking could still be part of a course of conduct causing reasonable fear.
Missouri
Tracking device law. Makes it a crime to knowingly install, conceal or place an electronic tracking device in or on a motor vehicle without the consent of all owners, when the purpose is to monitor or follow an occupant. The section is enacted but does not take effect until 07-01-2027. Until then, only the general stalking statutes (565.225, 565.227) apply.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 565.260 Takes effect July 1, 2027. Until then, general stalking law applies.
Montana
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone tracking statute. Stalking means a purposeful or knowing course of conduct (two or more acts) that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer substantial emotional distress. The definition of 'monitors' expressly covers GPS devices.
Nebraska
Tracking device law. Prohibits knowingly installing a mobile tracking device on another person's property without consent, or causing a device to track another person or their property without consent. Also makes it a crime to fail to remove a device after consent is revoked. Consent is deemed revoked on notice, on the filing of a divorce or separation action, or on a protection order.
Private investigators: Licensed private investigators acting for a client, with the property owner’s consent, for listed purposes: crimes, locating fugitives, lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets, or workers’ compensation claims. Void if the client is subject to a protection order, or the investigator knows or should know the client seeks to aid a crime.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-1336 to 28-1339 Operative July 18, 2026.
Nevada
Tracking device law. Prohibits knowingly installing, concealing or placing a mobile tracking device in or on another person's motor vehicle without the knowledge and consent of an owner or lessor of the vehicle.
New Hampshire
Tracking device law. Prohibits any individual or person from placing, locating or installing an electronic device on another's person or property without consent and obtaining location information from it. Private violators face civil liability only. The criminal penalty in the chapter applies only to people acting for a government agency.
New Jersey
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone criminal tracking statute. Stalking covers a course of conduct (two or more occasions) that includes following, monitoring or surveilling a person 'by any action, method, device, or means,' and that would cause a reasonable person fear or emotional distress. In M.P.M. v. K.S. (App. Div. 2026, unpublished), repeated covert AirTag and GPS tracking was held to support the predicate act of stalking.
M.P.M. v. K.S. (N.J. App. Div. 2026), applying N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:12-10
New Mexico
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone tracking statute. Stalking means knowingly pursuing a pattern of conduct (two or more acts on more than one occasion), without lawful authority, intended to put a person in reasonable apprehension of death, bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint. 'Pattern of conduct' includes monitoring or surveilling 'by any action, method, device or means.'
New York
Covered by stalking or harassment law. No standalone tracking statute. Fourth-degree stalking means an intentional course of conduct, with no legitimate purpose, that the actor knows or should know will cause fear of harm, material emotional harm, or threats to employment. The statute defines 'following' to include unauthorized GPS tracking.
North Carolina
Tracking device law. This provision sits inside the cyberstalking statute. It bars knowingly installing, placing, or using an electronic tracking device without consent to track any person's location, and bars causing someone else to do so. Eleven enumerated exceptions apply (a. through k.).
Private investigators: Licensed private investigators tracking within the scope of their license (G.S. 74C-3(a)(8)), where the tracking is not otherwise unlawful and the person tracked is not protected by a domestic violence protective order or a similar court order. Owner consent is not required.
North Dakota
Covered by stalking or harassment law. ND has no standalone criminal tracking statute. Instead, the stalking definition includes unauthorized GPS or electronic tracking of a person's movements or location that would frighten, intimidate, or harass a reasonable person and serves no legitimate purpose. Separately, § 51-07-28.1 bars lenders from requiring a GPS device on a financed vehicle unless it is disclosed in the contract, installed at no cost, and removed within 60 days of payoff.
Private investigators: Defense to stalking for licensed private investigators acting within the scope of employment.
Ohio
Tracking device law. Bars knowingly installing a tracking device or tracking application on another person’s property without consent, or causing one to track a person or their property without consent, and failing to remove a device after consent is revoked. Consent is treated as revoked when a spouse files for divorce or dissolution or a protection order issues; the device must be removed within 72 hours of being served.
Private investigators: Licensed private investigators acting for a client in the normal course of business, with the property owner’s consent, for listed purposes: crimes, locating fugitives, lost or stolen property or court-awarded assets, or workers’ compensation claims. Void if the client is subject to a protection order, or the investigator knows or should know the client seeks to aid a crime.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.216 Version effective October 6, 2026.
Oklahoma
Covered by stalking or harassment law. OK has no standalone tracking statute. Under the stalking statute, 'following' includes GPS or other monitoring-device tracking of a person without their consent. Stalking still requires willful, malicious, repeated following or harassment that causes fear.
Oregon
Tracking device law. Bars knowingly affixing a GPS device to a motor vehicle without the vehicle owner's consent. Owner consent is the controlling element, so an owner, or someone acting with the owner's consent, does not violate it.
Pennsylvania
No tracking statute found. PA has no statute specifically prohibiting private non-consensual tracking-device placement. The stalking statute covers a course of conduct, 'including following the person without proper authority', but has no GPS or tracking language. § 5761 only authorizes court orders for law-enforcement tracking. Pending bills in the 2025-2026 session have not been enacted: HB 407 (passed House 4/8/2025, in Senate Judiciary since 4/9/2025), SB 741 (proposed § 2709.2), and SB 1044.
Rhode Island
Tracking device law. Bars knowingly installing, concealing, placing, or using an electronic tracking device in or on a motor vehicle to monitor or follow the occupants, without the consent of the operator and all occupants. There is no general owner exception.
South Carolina
No tracking statute found. SC has no statute specifically prohibiting non-consensual private tracking-device placement. The harassment and stalking definitions cover 'following the targeted person as he moves from location to location' and 'surveillance' near the person's residence, work, or school, but do not mention GPS or electronic tracking. H.3059 (2025-2026, 'Unlawful Tracking') was referred to House Judiciary on 1/14/2025 and is not enacted. Similar earlier bills died: H.3384 (2011), H.3213 (2017), H.3036 (2023).
South Dakota
No tracking statute found. South Dakota has no standalone statute on private tracking devices. The stalking statute does not mention tracking, GPS, or surveillance devices. It covers willful, malicious, and repeated following or harassing, so a tracker could only be prosecuted if the conduct fits those general elements.
Tennessee
Tracking device law. It is an offense to knowingly install, conceal, or place an electronic tracking device on a motor vehicle without the consent of all owners, to monitor or follow its occupants. Since 2016 it is also an offense for a lessor to place a device on a leased vehicle without the lessee's consent.
Texas
Tracking device law. It is an offense to knowingly install an electronic or mechanical tracking device on a motor vehicle owned or leased by another person.
Private investigators: Affirmative defense for licensed private investigators who installed the device with the written consent of the vehicle’s owner or lessee, or under a court order or other court authorization.
Utah
Tracking device law. It is an offense to intentionally install or place a tracking device on or in a motor vehicle owned or leased by another without the owner's or lessee's permission, or to keep using it after permission is revoked. It is also an offense to place a tracker on a person or their property, or to use a tracking app, without permission.
Private investigators: Vehicles only. Licensed private investigators with a legitimate business purpose, if neither the vehicle’s owner or lessee nor a co-resident is protected by a protective order; the investigator must first ask a state entity to confirm that. Owner consent is not required.
Utah Code § 76-12-305 Amended effective September 1, 2026.
Vermont
Covered by stalking or harassment law. Vermont has no standalone tracking statute. Stalking is a purposeful course of conduct, two or more acts, in which a person 'follows, monitors, surveils' another 'by any action, method, device, or means'. That would reach GPS tracking only if the conduct meets the stalking intent and fear elements. Tracking is not named explicitly.
Virginia
Tracking device law. It is a crime to install or place an electronic tracking device, or have one installed, through intentionally deceptive means and without consent, and then use it to track the location of any person.
Private investigators: Registered private investigators acting in the normal course of business with the consent of the owner of the property where the device is placed. Not available if the client is subject to a listed protective order, or the investigator knows or reasonably should know the client seeks to commit a crime.
Washington
Covered by stalking or harassment law. Tracking is addressed only in the stalking statute, under a dedicated tracking-device prong. Knowingly installing or monitoring an electronic tracking device without consent to track another person is stalking. No repeated acts are required, and the victim need only reasonably feel distress or fear upon learning of the device.
Private investigators: Defense to stalking for licensed private investigators acting within the capacity of their license.
West Virginia
Covered by stalking or harassment law. West Virginia has no standalone tracking statute. Stalking is a course of conduct with intent to cause fear or substantial emotional distress. 'Course of conduct' covers following, monitoring, observing or surveilling a person 'by any action, method, device, or means'. GPS tracking is not named explicitly.
Wisconsin
Tracking device law. It is a crime to place a GPS device on a vehicle owned or leased by another without that person's consent. It is also a crime to intentionally obtain location information from a GPS device placed without the person's consent.
Wyoming
Covered by stalking or harassment law. Tracking is addressed only in the stalking statute. Since July 1, 2022, a course of conduct with intent to harass may include using any GPS or electronic device to place another person under surveillance without their authorization.
This page is general information, not legal advice. It covers criminal statutes only; civil liability, local ordinances, and federal law can also apply, and laws change. Read the current statute and get advice from a lawyer before using any tracking device. How we verify entries.
Last updated October 16, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “State GPS tracking laws and private investigators,” uscli.org/guides/gps-tracking-laws (last updated October 16, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.