Address tracing terms, explained plainly.

Address for service

The address at which court documents can validly be served on a party to proceedings. Service of proceedings, for solicitors.

Address trace

Establishing where a named person is registered now. The result of a Trace Bureau trace is a dated report giving the current registered UK address and a confidence rating. How it works.

Alternative service

Permission from the court to serve documents by another method or at another place, for example by email, when ordinary service is not possible. The court expects evidence of the steps taken to find the person. Serving documents when the address is unknown.

Beneficiary

A person entitled to receive something from an estate or a trust. Find a beneficiary.

Benjamin order

A court order allowing an estate to be distributed on a stated assumption, for example that a missing beneficiary died before the person whose estate it is. Missing beneficiary insurance, and why a trace comes first.

Charged only on a find

Trace Bureau's payment model. Nothing is paid when you instruct and your card is only held. It is charged only when a result verified by a private investigator is delivered. Not found, no fee. Pricing.

Confidence rating

How strong the evidence for an address is. Confirmed means two or more independent current records agree. Probable means strong evidence from one current record with supporting indicators. Possible means the best available lead, said plainly and never charged at the full fee. How it works.

Consent-based reconnection

How a personal search for a relative or an old friend is handled. The person is found, your message is passed on, and an address or contact details are shared only if they agree. Reconnect with someone.

County court judgment (CCJ)

A court order in England and Wales that a sum of money is owed. Winning one does not collect the money. Enforcement is a separate step, and every route needs to know where the debtor is now. Enforcing a CCJ when the debtor has moved.

Current registered address

The address at which a person is registered now, according to the records checked. It is what a Trace Bureau report states, with the date it was verified. In the great majority of cases it is where the person lives.

Enforcement

The steps a creditor takes to turn a judgment into payment, such as enforcement agents, an attachment of earnings order or a charging order. Trace Bureau supplies the address. It does not enforce judgments or collect money. Enforcement and insolvency, for solicitors.

Enquiry agent

The legal trade's older name for someone a solicitor instructs to make enquiries: tracing people, serving documents and taking statements. In practice it is the same trade as a tracing agent or a private investigator. What is an enquiry agent?.

Firm account

An account for organisations that instruct ten or more traces a month: a portal for every fee earner, bulk upload, an API and one monthly invoice. Firm accounts.

Gone away

A person who has left their last known address without leaving a forwarding address. Post sent there comes back marked "gone away" or "not known at this address".

Guarantor

A person who agreed to pay a tenant's or borrower's debt if they do not. A guarantor can be traced in the same way as the tenant, as a separate instruction. Trace a former tenant.

ICO registration

Organisations that handle personal data must be registered with the Information Commissioner's Office unless an exemption applies. Any tracing service should be, and should say so.

Last known address

The most recent address you hold for someone. In England and Wales a claimant who has reason to believe the defendant has moved is expected to take reasonable steps to find the current address before relying on the last known one. Serving documents when the address is unknown.

Lawful basis

The legal ground for handling someone's personal data under UK GDPR. Tracing a person needs one, and for most traces it is legitimate interests. An instruction without a lawful basis is refused. Is address tracing legal in the UK?.

Legitimate interests

The lawful basis in Article 6(1)(f) of UK GDPR: a genuine need, such as recovering money owed, serving proceedings or administering an estate, that is not outweighed by the rights of the person concerned. Is address tracing legal in the UK?.

Letter before action

The letter a creditor sends before starting a court claim, setting out what is owed and giving time to respond. Also called a letter before claim. It has to reach the debtor, which is why the address comes first. Tracing a debtor before issuing a claim.

Matter reference

Your own file or case reference, shown on the report and on each invoice line so a result can be matched to the matter it belongs to.

Missing beneficiary insurance

Insurance that protects personal representatives if a beneficiary who could not be found, or was not known about, comes forward after the estate has been distributed. Insurers generally expect proper enquiries to have been made first. Missing beneficiary insurance, and why a trace comes first.

Money Claim Online

An online service of the courts of England and Wales for issuing money claims. A claim cannot be issued without an address for the defendant. Finding a defendant's address for a small claim.

No find, no fee

A promise that you do not pay if the person is not found. With most services it means you pay first and are refunded on failure. With Trace Bureau nothing is taken in the first place. What no find, no fee really means.

Personal representative

The executor named in a will, or the administrator appointed where there is no will, who collects in the estate and distributes it to the people entitled. Finding missing beneficiaries.

Private investigator

Someone instructed to establish facts lawfully for a client: where a person is, what happened, who is behind something. Private investigation is not licensed in the UK. Trace Bureau is run by a private investigator, and an address trace is one part of that trade delivered at a fixed price. Tracing agent, private investigator or people-search site.

Process server

Someone who delivers court documents by hand and gives a statement proving it. Finding the address and serving the papers are separate jobs: Trace Bureau does the first.

Re-check

A free second look at a delivered address within 60 days, included for organisations and professionals acting for a client. The report, for solicitors.

Section 27 notice

A notice under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 inviting claims against an estate. It protects personal representatives against claims they did not know about. It does not find a known beneficiary who cannot be located. Finding missing beneficiaries.

Signed statement

A signed statement of the result, available on request to organisations and professionals, for exhibiting when the address is relied on in proceedings. The report, for solicitors.

Skip tracing

The American term for finding someone who has moved without leaving an address. In the UK the same work is called tracing or address tracing. Skip tracing in the UK.

Statutory demand

A formal demand for payment of a debt which, if it is not dealt with, can be the basis for bankruptcy or winding-up proceedings. It has to be brought to the debtor's attention, so a current address matters.

Subject access request

A request anyone can make to an organisation for the personal data it holds about them. A person who believes they have been traced can make one to the service that traced them.

Tracing agent

A person or firm that finds current addresses for people with a lawful reason to know them, such as creditors, landlords, solicitors and executors. There is no licence for tracing in the UK. A reputable agent is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and records a lawful basis for every instruction. What is a tracing agent?.