What Evidence Do You Collect in an Infidelity Investigation?
We collect time-stamped, GPS-tagged photographs and video of the subject's activities, documentation of locations visited and people met with, and — when relevant — supporting records such as receipts, hotel registrations, or legally obtained phone and social media activity. Everything is compiled into a written report with a timeline of observed behavior, prepared to a standard that holds up under legal scrutiny if needed for divorce or custody proceedings.
Clients ask this question early, and for good reason. The evidence an investigation produces determines what you can actually do with it — confront a partner with confidence, move forward with a divorce filing, or simply put a suspicion to rest. Evidence that wasn't collected properly is, at best, useless for anything beyond personal reassurance, and at worst, inadmissible exactly when you need it most.
What follows is a complete breakdown of what we collect, how it's documented, what we won't do regardless of how it's requested, and what the final evidence package actually looks like when a case closes.
Categories of Evidence We Collect
Every infidelity investigation in Costa Rica draws from the same core categories of evidence. Which ones end up dominant depends on the case, the subject's behavior, and what you need the findings to accomplish.
Photographic & Video Evidence
Direct visual documentation of the subject's activities, locations, and the people they're with. Every image and clip is time-stamped and GPS-stamped at the moment of capture, not added afterward.
Location & Timeline Documentation
A documented record of where the subject went, when, and for how long — hotels, restaurants, residences, and any pattern of repeated visits to a specific person or place.
Behavioral Pattern Records
Notes on recurring behavior across multiple surveillance periods — the difference between a single ambiguous encounter and an established pattern that supports a conclusion.
Supporting Documentary Evidence
Where legally accessible, hotel registrations, receipts, public records, and similar paper trails that corroborate what surveillance observed.
How Evidence Is Documented
Time and GPS Stamping
Every photo and video carries an embedded timestamp and GPS coordinate at the moment of capture. This is what separates evidence that holds up from a phone photo someone could have taken anywhere, anytime.
Chain of Custody
Evidence is logged as it's collected — what was captured, when, by whom — and stored securely until it's handed to you. No editing, no reordering, no gaps in the record between capture and delivery.
Written Report Compilation
Raw evidence is organized into a narrative timeline: what happened, in what order, supported by the corresponding photos, video, and documentation at each point.
Professional Assessment
The report includes an honest assessment of what the evidence supports — and is equally clear about what it doesn't, rather than overstating ambiguous findings to deliver the conclusion a client wants to hear.
Case Example — What an Evidence Package Looks Like
A client suspected her husband of meeting someone during repeated solo trips to Jacó. Three days of surveillance produced the following evidence package, delivered at the conclusion of the investigation:
- 14 time-stamped, GPS-tagged photographs across two locations
- 6 minutes of video documenting a recurring meeting pattern
- Hotel registration confirming a second occupant on the reservation
- Written timeline cross-referencing all observed activity by date and time
- Investigator's written assessment of findings and confidence level
The combination mattered more than any single piece. One photograph proves a moment; the pattern across three days, corroborated by the hotel record, is what supported a confident conclusion.
Some methods that produce "evidence" are illegal in Costa Rica or anywhere else, and using them would make the resulting evidence not just inadmissible but a legal liability for you, the client. We do not, under any circumstances:
- Hack, access, or intercept someone's phone, email, or social media accounts
- Place a GPS tracker on a vehicle without proper legal authority
- Trespass on private property to obtain photos or video
- Use recording methods that violate Costa Rican wiretapping or privacy law
If another investigator offers to do any of this, understand that you would be commissioning an illegal act, and the resulting "evidence" could expose you to liability while being worthless in any legal proceeding.
Evidence Standards for Legal Use
Personal confirmation and courtroom-ready evidence are not the same standard, and it matters which one your case requires. If findings may be used in a divorce, custody dispute, or other legal proceeding, evidence needs to meet a higher bar: multiple corroborating instances rather than a single observation, unbroken chain of custody from capture to delivery, and documentation precise enough to withstand a challenge from opposing counsel. We build every investigation to that standard by default, because clients rarely know at the outset whether findings will end up in a courtroom — and evidence collected casually cannot be upgraded retroactively once that need arises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the evidence be admissible in court if I need it for divorce proceedings?
Evidence collected through legal surveillance methods, properly time-stamped and GPS-stamped with an unbroken chain of custody, generally meets evidentiary standards for U.S. and Costa Rican legal proceedings. Admissibility ultimately depends on the specific court and your attorney's filing, but the documentation standard we apply is built for that use from the start. See what to expect from the investigation process for more on how cases are documented for legal use.
Do I receive the raw photos and video, or just a written report?
You receive the complete evidence package: all photographs and video in their original, unedited form, plus a written report that organizes that evidence into a timeline and provides professional assessment of what it shows. Neither is useful without the other — raw files without context, or a report without the underlying evidence to support it.
How is the chain of custody maintained on collected evidence?
Each piece of evidence is logged immediately at the point of capture — what it is, when and where it was taken — and stored securely with no intermediate editing or handling beyond what's necessary to compile the final report. The goal is a documented, unbroken record between the moment evidence is captured and the moment it's delivered to you. Learn more about how findings and evidence are communicated during an investigation.
Can you access my spouse's texts, emails, or social media accounts directly?
No. Hacking, intercepting, or otherwise accessing someone's private accounts without authorization is illegal in Costa Rica and most jurisdictions, regardless of how the request is framed. What we can document is publicly visible social media activity and behavior observed through legal surveillance — which is often more than enough to establish what you need to know.
What if the evidence collected is inconclusive?
An inconclusive finding is still a finding, and it's reported honestly rather than stretched into a definitive conclusion the evidence doesn't actually support. Documented surveillance showing no observable indication of infidelity during the coverage period has real value — it tells you something true, even if it isn't the answer you expected. See how investigation costs relate to the evidence produced for more on what you're paying for either way.
How long do you keep evidence after the case is closed?
Evidence retention after a case closes is discussed directly with each client, since preferences vary — some want files retained in case they're needed later for legal proceedings, others want them deleted once the report is delivered. Either way, confidentiality and secure handling apply throughout, and nothing is shared with any third party without your authorization.
