Using the Create Case wizard

The Create Case wizard walks you through the four pieces of a new Case in order: Basics, Subjects, Members, and Review. Each step saves as you go, and you can step backward to change anything before you submit.

Step 1: Basics

This is where you name and classify the Case.

• Case number. Auto-generated, but you can override with your agency's numbering scheme. Up to 64 characters.
• Case title. Short, human-readable. Shows up on Reports and in the Client portal.
• Case type. Pick from the supported list (surveillance, infidelity, missing person, background, corporate, legal support, insurance, and others).
• Client name and matter description. Optional but recommended. Helps everyone on the Case orient quickly.
• Estimated budget. A number in dollars. For records and Client transparency, not a billing cap.

Required fields are marked. The Case number, title, and type are the bare minimum to advance.

Step 2: Subjects (Persons of Interest)

Add the people the investigation is about. You can add zero, one, or many. Each Subject takes a name and an optional description, photo, role, and known details. Most investigators add the primary Subject during the wizard and any secondary parties after the Case is created. See Adding Persons of Interest for what to include and what to leave for later.

Step 3: Members

Decide who else has access to the Case at creation time. You do not have to invite anyone in this step; you can do it later from the Case's Members tab.

• Investigators and Viewers. Search by email or pick from your existing contacts. Each gets an invitation email and a Case Role: Investigator (full work access on the Case) or Viewer (read-only).
• Client. Invite by email. The Client receives a portal invitation and lands on the Client view of the Case after accepting. See Inviting a Client when creating a Case.
• Simplified role settings. The wizard exposes a curated subset of role toggles (operation create, evidence upload, report view, evidence scope) so you can lock down or open up the Case at creation. The full role configuration lives in Case Settings after creation. See Case roles.

Step 4: Review

A read-only summary of the Case you are about to create. Double-check the Case number, the case type, the invited Members, and the Subjects. If anything is off, click back into the relevant step. When you click Create Case, NearbySpy provisions the Case in your dashboard, sends out any pending invitations, and writes a Case-created entry into the audit trail.

What happens after you submit

• You land on the new Case's overview page.
• Invited Members receive their invitation emails immediately.
• The Operations log is empty and ready for your first Operation.
• Visibility for any Client you invited defaults to "nothing shared". You control what they see Operation by Operation. See Controlling what Clients see on Operations.

Common questions

• Can I create a Case without a Client? Yes. Many Cases start without a Client invitation; you can invite later.
• Can I rename or reclassify a Case after creating? Yes, from Case Settings. See Case Settings: governance and permissions.
• Can I delete a Case? Owners only, from Case Settings. Deletion is heavy and irreversible; soft-delete archive workflows for individual items are usually a better fit. See Why Evidence is immutable.