Lawful basis, recorded on every instruction.
ICO registered. A person checks every instruction before work starts, the purpose and basis are recorded with a dated declaration, the person traced is never told who asked, and the whole audit trail stays with the case for as long as the rules require.
What is recorded on every instruction
- Who instructed it, the capacity (personally, or for an organisation or a client), and for a firm account which user and by which route: portal, bulk upload or API.
- The purpose given and the lawful basis recorded against it.
- The client declaration: identity and truth, use and no harm, acceptance of the terms, with the version of the terms, the date and time, and the network address it was made from.
- The vetting decision made by a person before work started, and any refusal with its reason.
- The result, its confidence rating, the date it was verified and the report as delivered.
The three questions compliance teams ask
Lawful basis
Legitimate interests under UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f), recorded per instruction. The Data Protection Act 2018 recognises processing necessary for legal proceedings, legal advice and the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights. Instructions without a basis we can record are refused and nothing is charged.
The person traced
Not told who instructed the trace. Their rights are handled as the law requires. The result is provided in confidence for the purpose recorded and no other, and the report says so on its face.
Records and retention
The declaration and the audit trail are kept with the case. Firm account records for the life of the account plus six years; other instruction and result data for 12 months. Reports carry the registered company name and number.
What we refuse
The full list is in section 4 of the terms. In short: anyone with an order against them or who has been told not to make contact; personal reasons other than a consent-based reconnection; harassment or intimidation in any form; a child or a protected person other than through a solicitor or a court; instructing for an undisclosed third party; any onward publication, sharing, listing or marketing use; anything we cannot record a lawful basis for. Where a declaration proves false we report it, and obtaining personal data by deception is an offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Security of the account
- Portal sign-in by a single-use emailed link that expires in 30 minutes. No passwords held.
- API keys issued and rotated in the portal. Webhooks signed with a per-account secret.
- Reports downloaded only by users signed in to the account, or by the private tracking link on a single instruction.
The privacy notice covers people who instruct us and people we are asked to find. The terms carry a version number that is recorded on every instruction. Complaints go to [email protected] first, and to the Information Commissioner if we cannot resolve them.
Prices for firms
Every tier is charged only when a current registered address is delivered. Single instructions on the professional list, or a firm account from ten a month.
| Standard | £150 | Within 3 to 5 working days. £125 on a firm account. |
|---|---|---|
| Express | £225 | Within 48 hours. Worked the day it is accepted. |
| Priority | £295 | Within 24 hours. Same working day when instructed before noon. |
| No find | £0 | Nothing invoiced. You receive a short note of what was checked. |
Run by a professional investigator, built for the file.
Trace Bureau was founded and is run by a working UK investigator who has spent years locating people for solicitors, creditors, landlords and executors. Every instruction is read, worked and signed off by a person who knows what a real trail looks like, and the report is written for the person who has to rely on it: dated, rated, referenced to your matter, and priced for the work rather than the letterhead. About Trace Bureau.
Other pages in this section
Service of proceedings
An address for service.
Read moreEnforcement and insolvency
Judgment debtors and insolvency work.
Read moreProbate and estates
Missing beneficiaries and next of kin.
Read moreFamily
Respondents and absent parents.
Read moreThe report
What arrives on the file.
Read moreHow to instruct
Single traces and firm accounts.
Read moreQuestions firms ask
Anything else, email [email protected] and a person replies within one working day.
Is Trace Bureau registered with the ICO?
Yes. The registration number is on the company details page linked from the foot of every page, together with the registered company name and number.
What lawful basis do you rely on?
Legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR, recorded for each instruction against the purpose given: legal proceedings, enforcement of a judgment or debt, administration of an estate, a tenancy, a commercial matter. The Data Protection Act 2018 also recognises processing that is necessary for legal proceedings, for obtaining legal advice or for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.
Does the person traced find out who instructed you?
No. The person is not told who instructed the trace. If they exercise their rights, we respond as the law requires without disclosing your client.
What do you keep, and for how long?
The instruction, the declaration with its date, time, route and network address, the purpose and basis recorded, the result and the report. Firm account records are kept for the life of the account plus six years for audit. Other instruction and result data is kept for 12 months and then deleted.
What does the firm have to do?
Have its own lawful basis for the matter, keep the result on that matter and within the firm and its client, and not publish, share or reuse it. Every instruction on a firm account, by any user, upload or API call, carries the declaration in section 3 of the terms, made by the account holder.
Is the fee a disbursement?
It is a fixed fee per delivered trace, invoiced with the matter reference on the line, so it can be recharged to the client file in the usual way. How your firm treats it is for your firm.
Have the terms been reviewed by a solicitor?
The terms and privacy notice were drafted carefully and are published in full, with a version number recorded on every instruction. They are under independent review. If your firm needs a particular provision confirmed before opening an account, ask and a person will answer.
Open a firm account
Reply within one working day. Accounts open after a short identity and purpose check.