How to find people lawfully in the UK.
Written for the people who actually have to do it: creditors, landlords, solicitors, executors and anyone with a legal reason to know where someone is now. Straight answers, current prices, no method talk.
No find, no fee address tracing: what it really means
Most no find, no fee tracing is pay first, refund later. Here nothing leaves your account until a current address is delivered. What to check before you pay.
6 minute readHow to choose a tracing agent in the UK
What to look for in a UK tracing agent: charged only on a find, dated and rated reports, a recorded lawful basis, ICO registration and who does the work.
7 minute readHow to find someone's address in the UK
No public lookup gives a current UK address and free search sites rarely do. What you can lawfully do yourself, what a £150 professional trace delivers.
6 minute readWhat is a tracing agent? What they do, what they cost and when you need one
A tracing agent finds a person's current UK address for creditors, solicitors, landlords and executors. What one can lawfully do, how they work, and the cost: £150, nothing if not found.
6 minute readHow much does a tracing agent cost in the UK?
Consumer traces cost tens of pounds, firms pay £150 to £350 and more. What drives the price, what no find no fee means, and Trace Bureau's £150 example.
6 minute readTracing a debtor before court: a creditor's guide
Trace the debtor before the letter before claim, not after judgment. Why the address underpins service, the Pre-Action Protocol and enforcement, from £150.
7 minute readServing court documents when you don't have an address
CPR rule 6.9 allows service at a last known residence only after reasonable steps to find a current address. How a dated trace report meets that duty.
7 minute readLandlord's guide to tracing a former tenant
A landlord can lawfully trace a former tenant who left owing rent or damage. Deposit scheme and guarantor first, then a £150 trace charged only on a find.
6 minute readFinding missing beneficiaries: a guide for executors
Executors must find every beneficiary first. What a section 27 notice does not cover, the options if someone stays missing, and how a £150 trace helps.
6 minute readHow to find a lost relative, family member or old friend in the UK
How to find a lost relative or friend, why no service should sell you a home address, and how a consent-based trace works: the full fee only if they say yes.
6 minute readWhy free people-search sites rarely find a UK address
Free people-search sites are built for US records the UK lacks, so results are stale. The free routes that exist, and when a £150 trace is worth it.
6 minute readHow to find someone's address in the UK from abroad
Outside the UK and need a current address for someone in Britain? What works from a distance, the mistakes to avoid, and how to instruct a £150 UK trace.
7 minute readServing US court documents on someone in England and Wales
How US service on a person in England and Wales works in outline, and why a verified current address comes before any Hague request or process server.
7 minute readTracing UK beneficiaries and heirs for an overseas estate
For executors and estate attorneys outside the UK: how to find a beneficiary or heir living in Britain, show reasonable efforts and instruct a £150 trace.
6 minute readTracing agent, private investigator or people-search site: which finds a UK address?
Three ways people try to find a UK address, what each costs and what you get. Why Trace Bureau is a private investigator's trace at a tracing agent's price.
7 minute readFinding a defendant's address for a small claim (Money Claim Online)
Money Claim Online needs a current address for the defendant. What happens if it is wrong, what the rules allow, and how a £150 trace gets you one.
6 minute readHow to find someone's new address after they have moved (UK)
Post is not forwarded to you and free sites still show the old address. What actually finds a new address after a move, lawfully, and what a trace costs.
6 minute readFinding a company director's home address in the UK
The companies register shows a service address, not a home. When you may look further, and how a trace finds a director's current home address.
6 minute readWhat is an enquiry agent? Enquiry agents and enquiry agencies in the UK explained
An enquiry agent makes enquiries for solicitors and creditors: tracing people, serving documents, taking statements. What one does, what it costs, who to use.
6 minute readMissing beneficiary indemnity insurance: what it covers, when you need it, and why a trace comes first
Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance explained for executors and administrators: what the policy covers, why insurers expect a trace first, what section 27 notices and a Benjamin order do, and the fixed-fee trace that usually settles it.
6 minute readHow to find someone's address by name in the UK: can it be done with just a name?
Finding an address from a name: possible if the name is unusual, but a common name needs a date of birth or an old address. What works in the UK, free and paid, and what to gather first.
6 minute readSkip tracing UK: what a skip tracer does, what it costs and who to use
Skip tracing means finding someone who moved without a forwarding address. In the UK it is called address tracing. Who does it lawfully, what a skip trace costs (£150, nothing if not found).
6 minute readEnforcing a CCJ when the debtor has moved
A CCJ does not enforce itself, and every enforcement route needs to know where the debtor is now. What each method needs and why to trace first.
6 minute readHow long does an address trace take in the UK?
A Standard trace takes 3 to 5 working days and Priority 2 to 3 working days. What sets the timetable, what slows a trace down, and how to plan a trace around a court deadline.
7 minute readCan you find someone's address on the electoral register?
Sometimes, not reliably. What the open and full electoral registers contain, who can see each, why neither is a current-address lookup, and what to do instead.
7 minute readCan you find someone's address from a phone number, email or number plate?
Not directly. Networks, email providers and DVLA do not hand addresses to the public on request. What each route allows, what is lawful, and what a trace needs.
7 minute readHow to trace a guarantor who has moved
A guarantor who has moved can be traced like any other person. What to check in the guarantee, when to pursue the guarantor, and how a £150 trace helps.
8 minute readServing divorce papers when you do not know your spouse's address
You can divorce in England and Wales without your spouse's address. The court's options, what it expects you to have tried, and how solicitors use a trace.
8 minute readWhat to do when an address trace comes back "not found"
A no-find costs nothing, but the matter remains. Why traces fail, what to check, when to look again, and the court and estate options if someone stays missing.
7 minute readHow to check an address is current before sending a letter before action
A letter before action only works if it reaches the person. Signs an address is out of date, free checks and what they prove, and how a dated trace confirms it.
7 minute readHow to find a witness for a court case or tribunal
A witness you need may have moved on. Lawful ways to find them, what a witness summons needs, how to make the first approach, and how a trace helps.
7 minute readHow to return a deposit when the tenant left no forwarding address
You still owe a former tenant their deposit if they left no forwarding address. What the schemes do, what to record, and how a trace gets the money back to them.
7 minute readFinding a debtor's address for a statutory demand or bankruptcy petition
A statutory demand and a bankruptcy petition must reach the debtor, usually in person. What the rules require, why the address picks the court, and when to trace.
8 minute readHeir hunters or a fixed-fee trace: which do you need?
Heir hunters take a share of the inheritance; a trace charges a fee to find a person you can name. How each works, the unclaimed estates list, and which one fits.
7 minute readRecovering a salary overpayment or training costs from a former employee who has moved
A former employee who was overpaid, or who owes training costs, can be asked to repay and, if they do not, sued. What to check, the rules, and how to find them.
7 minute readFinding someone's address in Scotland or Northern Ireland
A UK trace covers Scotland and Northern Ireland, but courts, service, enforcement and records differ. What changes, and why where someone lives can decide the court.
8 minute read"Addressee gone away" on returned post: what it means and what to do next
Royal Mail returned your letter marked "addressee gone away" or "not known at this address"? What it means, what the law expects of you next, and how to find out where the person went.
7 minute readCan a company, council or landlord give me someone's address?
They can in some cases, but rarely have to. What data protection law allows, the legal proceedings exemption, what to put in a request, and what to do if refused.
7 minute readWho lives at an address, and who owns it? How to find out in the UK
Who owns a property is public; who lives there is not. What the title register and electoral register show, why owners often live elsewhere, and what a trace answers.
7 minute readHow accurate is an address trace?
No trace is certain, which is why a good one is rated and dated. What Confirmed, Probable and Possible mean, what causes errors, and how to act on each rating.
7 minute readProcess server or tracing agent: which do you need?
A tracing agent finds where someone lives; a process server hands them the papers and proves it. When you need each, why the trace comes first, and how they fit.
7 minute readHow a private investigator verifies an address, and why a database match is not one
A database can return an address. Only a person can verify it. What verification involves, why it matters before you serve, enforce or write, and how Trace Bureau rates every result.
7 minute readWill the person know I traced them? Confidentiality in a UK address trace
Who is told what in an address trace: the person is not contacted and is not told who instructed it, except in consent-based reconnection. Their rights, your duties, and the moment they do find out.
6 minute readA builder or tradesman took your deposit and disappeared: how to find them and get the money back
What to do when a builder, roofer or other tradesman takes a deposit and stops answering: who you actually paid, the card and bank routes, Trading Standards, a letter before claim, the small claims track, and how to find their current address.
8 minute readLent money to a friend or relative who will not pay, or has moved? What you can do
A personal loan to a friend or relative is still a debt. How to show it was a loan and not a gift, the letter to write, the small claims route, the six-year limit, and how to find their current address lawfully.
8 minute readA client will not pay your invoice and has vanished: how freelancers and small firms find them
For freelancers, contractors and small businesses owed an invoice by a client who has stopped answering: what you can add to the debt, the letter the court expects, Money Claim Online, and how to find the client's current address when it is a person rather than a company.
8 minute readA company has been dissolved owing you money: your options, and finding the director
What happens to a debt when the company that owes it is dissolved, how a creditor can object to a strike-off or restore the company, the narrow cases where a director is personally liable, and how to find a director's current home address lawfully.
8 minute readHow to find your landlord's address: your legal right to it, and what to do when they have vanished
Tenants have a legal right to their landlord's name and address, and rent can be withheld until an address for service is given. The request to make, the registers to check, the deposit route, and how to trace a landlord who has disappeared when you need to claim.
8 minute readBought a car privately and the seller has disappeared? Your rights, and how to find them
A faulty or misdescribed car bought from a private seller who will not answer: the limited rights that apply to private sales, the stronger ones if the seller was really a trader, the DVLA's reasonable-cause route, the small claims track, and how to find the seller's current address.
8 minute readHow to locate an heir or beneficiary abroad: a guide for UK executors
For executors and administrators of a UK estate with a beneficiary or heir believed to be overseas: how to confirm they really left, where to look abroad, section 27 notices, Benjamin orders, insurance, and where a UK trace fits.
8 minute readHow much does missing beneficiary insurance cost?
What missing beneficiary indemnity insurance usually costs in the UK, what moves the premium, whether the estate or the beneficiary pays, how it differs from missing will insurance, and why insurers want a trace first.
7 minute readTracing former clients: residual balances, stored wills and money you need to return
For solicitors, accountants, financial advisers and pension trustees who hold money, wills or documents for clients they can no longer reach: the SRA rules on residual client balances, what reasonable steps to trace look like, and how to trace in bulk.
7 minute readNew to the terms? The glossary defines them in a sentence each.
Need an address now?
Full name plus a date of birth or a previous address is enough to start.