Florida GPS Tracking Laws: Is It Legal to Put a Tracker on a Car? (2026)

Florida GPS Tracking Laws: Is It Legal to Put a Tracker on a Car? (2026)

Putting a GPS tracker on someone else's car without their consent is a felony in Florida. That is a recent and dramatic change. Until October 2024, it was a minor misdemeanor that rarely led to real consequences. Today the same act can bring up to 5 years in prison, and up to 15 years if the tracking is tied to stalking or domestic violence.

Florida lawmakers rewrote this law twice in two years, largely in response to AirTag stalking cases. This guide explains Florida Statute 934.425, who is actually allowed to track a vehicle, what employers can and cannot do, and what to do if you find a tracker on your car. It is part of our GPS Tracking Laws by State series.

Is It Legal to Put a GPS Tracker on a Car in Florida?

In most situations, no. Florida Statute 934.425 makes it a crime to knowingly install or place a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property without that person's consent. It is equally illegal to use a tracker or app to determine the location or movement of another person, or their property, without consent.

The key questions are ownership and consent. You can put a tracker on a car you own or lease. You generally cannot put one on a car that belongs to someone else, even your spouse, your ex, or your adult child, unless that person agrees.

The statute is deliberately broad. It covers dedicated GPS hardware, Bluetooth item trackers like Apple AirTags and Tile, and software. Secretly loading a tracking app onto someone's phone counts the same as bolting a GPS unit under their bumper.

Consent also has limits. It must come from the person whose property is being tracked, and it can be withdrawn. If someone agreed to share their location and later revokes that permission, continuing to track them can violate the statute.

Florida Statute 934.425: Now a Felony

Florida has had a tracking device law on the books since 2015, but for years it had little bite. A violation was only a second-degree misdemeanor, capped at 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Victims and prosecutors complained that stalkers treated it like a traffic ticket.

The Legislature responded with two rapid upgrades:

• Effective October 1, 2024, Senate Bill 758 (Chapter 2024-114) reclassified the offense as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The bill passed both chambers without a single no vote.
• Effective October 1, 2025, Senate Bill 1168 (Chapter 2025-71) added a higher tier. When the tracking is committed to facilitate a dangerous crime listed in Statute 907.041, it becomes a second-degree felony with up to 15 years in prison.

The dangerous crime list in Statute 907.041 includes stalking and aggravated stalking, domestic violence, kidnapping, sexual battery, burglary of a dwelling, carjacking, and homicide-related offenses. In practice, a tracker planted by an abusive ex who is following the victim will usually qualify for the 15-year tier.

Florida's stalking statute, Section 784.048, applies on top of the tracking law. A pattern of following or monitoring someone can support separate stalking or aggravated stalking charges, and a judge can issue a stalking injunction based on covert tracking.

Who Can Legally Track a Vehicle in Florida? The Seven Exceptions

Statute 934.425 carves out specific groups. If you do not fit one of these exceptions, you need the other person's consent. Period.

1. Law enforcement. Police and other law enforcement agencies may install and use trackers as part of a criminal investigation. Even then, the U.S. Supreme Court held in United States v. Jones (2012) that attaching a GPS device to a suspect's vehicle is a Fourth Amendment search, so officers generally need a warrant.

2. Corrections and juvenile justice officers. Staff may track people lawfully in their custody or under court-ordered supervision, such as offenders on electronic monitoring.

3. People acting under a court order. If a judge authorizes tracking, the person carrying out that order is protected.

4. Parents and legal guardians of minor children. A parent may track their own minor child, but the statute spells out exactly when. One of these conditions must be true: the parents are married to each other and either one consents; the installing parent is the child's sole surviving parent; the installing parent has sole custody; or the parents are divorced or separated and both consent. A divorced parent who slips a tracker into a child's backpack to monitor the other parent's movements falls outside this exception.

5. Caregivers of elderly or disabled adults. A caregiver may use a tracker when the person's treating physician certifies that it is necessary for their safety. This covers situations like a dementia patient who wanders.

6. Businesses acting in good faith. A person acting in good faith on behalf of a business entity for a legitimate business purpose may use tracking devices. This is the exception that makes fleet tracking legal. The statute expressly states that this exception does not apply to private investigators. A PI cannot plant a tracker on a subject's car and call it business.

7. Vehicle owners and lessees. You may track a vehicle you own or lease. If you sell the car, you must remove the device first, obtain the new owner's consent, or, for factory-installed technology, the manufacturer must have disclosed how to remove or disable it.

Can My Employer Track My Car in Florida?

It depends entirely on whose vehicle it is.

Company vehicles: yes. An employer that owns or leases a vehicle fits the owner exception, and fleet tracking is also a textbook legitimate business purpose. Florida does not require employers to notify drivers of GPS on company-owned vehicles, although most do, and disclosure is the safer practice.

Your personal car: not without your consent. An employer who hides a tracker on an employee's personal vehicle commits a third-degree felony like anyone else. An employer can ask you to consent, for example to a mileage-tracking app used during work hours, and your agreement makes it legal. Because Florida is an at-will employment state, refusing may have job consequences, but the employer cannot lawfully track you in secret.

Personal phones follow the same rule. A required work app that tracks location with your knowledge is lawful. A tracking app installed on your phone without your knowledge is not.

Workplace monitoring rules connect to other Florida privacy laws. Audio recording in vehicles is a separate problem, because Florida is an all-party consent state under its recording laws. Camera monitoring has its own rules under surveillance camera laws.

AirTags and Item Trackers: The Cases That Changed the Law

Florida's felony upgrade was driven largely by Apple AirTags. The devices are cheap, tiny, and accurate, and police across the state began finding them in wheel wells, bumpers, purses, and children's toys. Under the old misdemeanor penalty, prosecutors had little leverage even in clear stalking cases.

The statute now leaves no gap for item trackers. It defines a tracking device as any device that reveals location or movement, and it separately covers tracking applications, meaning software installed on a phone or other device. An AirTag dropped into someone's bag is treated exactly like professional GPS hardware.

The 2025 amendment matters most here. When an AirTag is used to facilitate stalking under Section 784.048, the offense jumps to a second-degree felony. Federal law can also apply: the interstate stalking statute, 18 U.S.C. 2261A, covers using electronic devices to surveil someone with intent to harass, intimidate, or injure.

Both Apple and Google now push unknown-tracker alerts to iPhones and Android phones. If your phone warns you that an unrecognized tracker is moving with you, take it seriously.

Penalties: From a Misdemeanor to 15 Years in Two Years

Few criminal statutes have escalated this fast. Here is how the penalty for tracking someone without consent in Florida has changed:

Maximum terms come from Florida's general sentencing statute, Section 775.082. A conviction also means a permanent felony record, and tracking conduct frequently brings parallel charges for stalking, aggravated stalking, or violating an injunction.

Civil Lawsuits and Injunctions

Statute 934.425 is a criminal statute and does not create its own right to sue. Florida's wiretap remedy, Section 934.10, covers intercepted communications, not location tracking. Victims still have civil options:

• Invasion of privacy. Florida recognizes the tort of intrusion upon seclusion. Secretly monitoring someone's daily movements is the kind of conduct this claim was built for, and victims can seek damages.
• Protective injunctions. A victim can petition for a stalking injunction or a domestic violence injunction, and covert tracking is strong evidence. Our guide to Florida restraining order laws walks through the process, which is free to file.
• Family court consequences. Evidence obtained by illegal tracking can backfire badly in divorce or custody cases, and the tracking itself can be raised against the person who did it.

What to Do If You Find a Tracker on Your Car

Finding a tracker is unnerving. What you do next matters, both for your safety and for any prosecution.

1. Do not destroy it. The device is evidence, and it often carries serial numbers police can trace to a purchaser or linked account.
2. Photograph it in place before touching anything. Capture where and how it was hidden.
3. Think about safety before removing it. If you suspect a stalker or abusive ex, removing the tracker tells them you found it. Many advocates suggest contacting police or a domestic violence advocate first to plan safely.
4. Report it to law enforcement. Reference Florida Statute 934.425. Since the felony upgrade, agencies take these reports far more seriously.
5. Consider an injunction. A stalking or domestic violence injunction adds criminal consequences if the person contacts or follows you again.
6. Turn on tracker alerts on your phone, and have a mechanic or police department sweep the vehicle if you cannot locate a suspected device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Fla. Stat. § 934.425 - Installation or use of tracking devices or tracking applications
• CS/SB 758 (2024) - Tracking Devices and Applications, Chapter 2024-114
• SB 1168 (2025) - Tracking Devices and Applications, Chapter 2025-71
• Fla. Stat. § 784.048 - Stalking
• Fla. Stat. § 907.041 - Pretrial detention and release (dangerous crime definition)
• Fla. Stat. § 775.082 - Penalties
• United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012) - Cornell Law School LII
• 18 U.S.C. § 2261A - Stalking - Cornell Law School LII

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. If you are facing charges or believe you are being tracked, consult a licensed Florida attorney. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Explore tracking rules in other states in our GPS Tracking Laws by State hub.