J.I.S · Texas

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers about hiring a licensed Texas investigator. If your situation is not here, call (210) 960-4861 or start a case assignment.

How much does a private investigator cost in Texas?

Cost depends on the work: a few hours of records, a day of surveillance, a statewide locate, or service of process are not the same engagement. J.I.S quotes from the facts you share on the assessment — case type, city, and timeline — not from a menu on this page. There is no bidding list and no matching fee. After we review the file we tell you what the first block of work will cost before those hours are billed.

Is J.I.S licensed?

J.I.S Private Investigations holds Texas private investigator license A24038101. The corporate office is at 12274 Bandera Rd, Suite 103-A, Helotes, TX 78023. Licensed investigators staff the work. We are not a directory and we do not send your matter to an unknown agency in another city.

Is the work confidential?

The firm treats your file as confidential. We do not advertise client names, and we do not discuss an open case with the subject. Messages and documents stay in the Client Portal. Court process, a subpoena, or a duty the law imposes can still require disclosure later; your attorney can explain that. We will not promise secrecy that Texas law does not allow.

How fast can you start?

Urgent files can be staffed the same week when we have a lawful purpose, a Texas location, and enough facts to work. Routine locates, backgrounds, and service attempts follow the courts, the subject’s schedule, and travel across the state. Tell us the timeline on the assessment. We will not invent a same-day guarantee that the county cannot support.

Is the evidence court-admissible?

We write reports, stills, and video so a Texas lawyer can offer them. Admissibility is still the court’s decision, not ours. Lawful collection, a clear chain of the file, and a dated log are what we control. We do not trespass, hack accounts, or record in places where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. If a request would produce something a judge is likely to throw out, we say so before we do it.

What are the legal limits in Texas?

A licensed PI may observe what is visible in public, pull records we are allowed to pull, serve papers under Texas rules, and report facts. We may not impersonate officers, trespass, install illegal tracking or recording devices, or obtain protected data by pretext that the law forbids. GPS, phones, and bank records have their own rules. If you ask for something we cannot do, we decline it and tell you what we can do instead.

What areas do you serve?

All of Texas. The corporate office is in Helotes. Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, and the smaller counties in between are staffed as one statewide practice. If the person, claim, court, or incident is in Texas, we can take the assignment. City pages on this site are for the places clients ask about most; they are not a service-area limit.

How do I start a case?

Request a Case Assignment from the homepage or any service page. That path explains the Client Portal and the assessment — case type, Texas city or area, timeline, and how to reach you. We notify the desk when you submit. If you would rather talk first, call (210) 960-4861 or email PI@jinvestigate.com.

What is the Client Portal?

The Client Portal is where messages, files, and retainer live after the first contact. New clients create an account when they start a case. Existing clients sign in at the same place. It keeps the file off a personal email thread and on the case. Staff and the owner use a separate desk; you use the client login we send you.

How does payment work?

The assessment is free. An optional investigator consultation is fifty dollars if you want to talk before a file is opened. Field work, locates, service, and reports are billed to a scope you approve — often a retainer held on the case in the Client Portal. We do not take a file on a contingency that the subject will be found or that a claim will be denied. Square is used on the paid paths already on this site.

Do I need an attorney first?

No. Private clients, businesses, and insurers hire us directly. If a case is already in suit, we prefer to take direction from the lawyer so privilege and deadlines stay clean. We do not give legal advice, and this website does not create an attorney–client or investigator–client relationship. If you need a lawyer, we will tell you that the next step is counsel, not more investigation.

Will the subject know they are being investigated?

Surveillance and most locates are discreet. We do not identify ourselves to the subject or create a scene. Process serving is the exception: the point of service is that the person receives the papers. No field post is invisible in every neighborhood, and we will tell you if the location makes a clean assignment unlikely.

Do you guarantee a result?

No. We do not guarantee a locate, a confession, a court outcome, or a denied claim. You hire us to investigate and to document. If the person never appears, the address is wrong, or the records are empty, that is part of the report. Satisfaction language that promises an outcome is not how this firm works.

What if someone is in danger right now?

Call 911. J.I.S is a licensed investigative firm, not emergency dispatch. After the immediate danger is in the hands of police or medical staff, you can still request a case assignment if you need a record, a locate, or documentation. Call (210) 960-4861 when you are ready for that work.

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