The Unlicensed Subcontractor on a Maine Process-Service File
You own a licensed private investigation agency in Portland, Maine, with three licensed investigators and one administrative assistant. A Vermont law firm hires you to locate and serve a defendant in a civil lawsuit and to 'keep an eye' on a commercial property in South Portland for two nights. Your only available process server is Dale, who has served process for five years but holds no Maine private investigator license. The firm also wants Dale to photograph the property after midnight and log every vehicle that enters the lot. Dale will be paid $45 per service and $30 per hour for observation, using his own car and phone. The client asks for one invoice labeled 'investigative services' and says the details do not matter because the work is 'just service of process.' The retainer is $3,500. You have not yet assigned the file. The client wants the first service attempt tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.
1. Does Dale's proposed work require a Maine private investigator license? Explain your reasoning.
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Separate the tasks. Pure delivery of court papers may fall outside Maine's private investigator licensing statute, depending on how the Board treats process serving. But the midnight photography, vehicle logging, and property observation are investigative activity performed for a fee. Those tasks are not 'just service of process.'
Apply the licensing rule. Under Maine's Private Investigator Act, a person who investigates for a fee must be licensed, and an agency may not supply investigative services through an unlicensed person. The label on the invoice does not control; the actual work does. Because Dale would be observing and recording activity to advance a client's legal matter, he needs a Maine PI license or must work under one.
Practical conclusion. Do not assign Dale the observation or vehicle-logging portion. If Maine permits independent process serving without a PI license, confirm that in writing with the Board and limit Dale strictly to service. Otherwise, use a licensed investigator or a licensed subcontracting agency.
2. What should you do before assigning any work, and how should the contract and invoice be structured?
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Before assignment: verify Dale's license status with the Maine Board of Licensure of Private Investigators; if he is unlicensed, remove him from all observation and vehicle logging; assign a licensed investigator or subcontract with a licensed Maine agency; and use Dale only for pure service of process after confirming that is permitted.
Contract: put the scope in writing. Identify which personnel are licensed, which tasks each will perform, and the rate for each task. If Dale is used only for service, say so expressly and prohibit him from photographing, following, or logging vehicles.
Invoice: bill accurately by task. Do not use a single 'investigative services' line to hide unlicensed work. A misleading invoice can become a Board and court problem even if the underlying service was lawful. If the client insists on Dale doing surveillance, decline that portion in writing.
3. What records should you keep, and what are the consequences if Dale performs surveillance unlicensed?
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Records: keep the client contract, license verifications, any subcontract, service affidavits, surveillance logs, time records, photographs with timestamps, vehicle notes, and invoices. Record who did what, when, and under whose license. Preserve the client's written instructions and any refusal or limitation you communicated.
Consequences: if Dale performs unlicensed surveillance, the agency faces Board discipline, the client may face evidentiary and contract problems, and Dale may face unlicensed-practice penalties. The report and invoice must be accurate because they may be used in court and in a Board complaint. A misleading invoice is itself a professional-conduct issue. The agency cannot cure the problem by calling the work 'process service' after the fact.