Process server or tracing agent: what each does, which you need, and in what order

Two different jobs

Enquiry agents sit between the two, and some firms do both jobs. What matters is that each step is done properly and in the right order. What is an enquiry agent? explains how the trades overlap.

When a trace is all you need

• Letters before claim, which go by post and, where appropriate, by email as well.
• Most claim forms, which the court serves by post unless you tell it you will serve the claim yourself.
• Witness summonses, which the court serves unless you tell it in writing that you will.
• Estate letters, deposit returns and anything else that only needs to reach the person.

In each of these the risk is an out-of-date address, not a reluctant recipient, and a trace removes it. A claim form sent by first class post is treated as served on the second business day after posting, whether or not anyone reads it, which is exactly why the address has to be right. Finding a defendant's address for a small claim covers the commonest case.

When you need a process server

• Documents that must be served personally. A creditor's bankruptcy petition, an application to commit someone for contempt of court, and an order you may later need to enforce by committal are the usual examples. A statutory demand should be served personally where that is practicable.
• Someone who ignores post. Personal service removes any argument that the papers did not arrive.
• Urgency. An injunction or a short-notice hearing where you cannot wait for the post.
• Proof. Where you expect service to be disputed, a process server's evidence of who they served, when and where is hard to argue with.

The right order

1. Trace. Establish the current address, with a rating and a date, before you spend anything on service.
2. Write. Send the letter before claim to that address, and allow the response time the rules require.
3. Issue and serve. Let the court post the claim form, or serve it yourself by post, unless personal service is needed.
4. Serve in person where it matters. Instruct a process server with the traced address, the rating, a description if you have one and any times the person is likely to be in.
5. If the server reports that the person has gone, treat that as a fresh reason to believe they have moved. Trace again, and if they still cannot be placed, the server's report and the trace both support an application for another method of service under rule 6.15 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The order matters because the expensive step is the visit. The trace is the cheap part, and it decides whether the visit is worth making.

"Trace and serve"

Many process servers offer to find the person and serve them in a single instruction. That can work well, particularly where the server knows the area. Ask two questions first: how the address will be established before the first visit, and how attendances at the wrong address are charged. An address checked first, by a separate trace with a rating, means the server's time is spent at the right door, and you can see what each part costs.

What the process server needs from you

• the documents, sealed by the court where they need to be;
• the current address and any other places the person may be found, such as a workplace;
• a description or a photograph, if you hold one lawfully, so the server can identify the person;
• the deadline for service, and any rule about how many days before a hearing it must happen;
• instructions for what to do if the person is out, or if someone says they have moved.

After service the server provides a certificate of service or a witness statement, depending on the document. Keep it with the trace report: together they show where you served and why you believed the person lived there.

Mistakes that waste a visit

• Sending the server to the address on the original contract without checking it first.
• Giving no description and no likely times, so the server cannot tell the person from a housemate.
• Instructing a few days before the deadline, leaving no time for a second attempt.
• Treating "they don't live here" from whoever opens the door as the end of the matter, rather than as evidence to record and act on.
• Paying for repeated attendances at an address nobody has checked.

Who regulates them

In England and Wales neither tracing agents nor process servers need a licence. The marks of a reputable one are a registered company you can look up, registration with the Information Commissioner's Office where they handle personal data, insurance, and a clear account of what they will do and what they will charge. Scotland is different: formal service is generally carried out by post or by sheriff officers, who are officers of the court. Northern Ireland has its own court rules. How to choose a tracing agent has a checklist.

What Trace Bureau does, and where Investigation Bureau comes in

Trace Bureau finds addresses. It cross-references more than 150 sources, registers and records, a private investigator checks and verifies the result, and you receive a dated PDF report with the person's current registered UK address and a confidence rating: Confirmed, Probable or Possible. Standard is £150, delivered within 3 to 5 working days; Priority is £200, delivered within 2 to 3 working days, and suits service to a deadline. A 24-hour service at £250 is currently unavailable, so Priority is the fastest on offer. Solicitors and anyone acting for a client receive the matter reference on the report, a signed statement on request and a free re-check within 60 days. There is nothing to pay when you instruct. Your card is only saved, and it is charged only when a private investigator has verified a current address. Not found, no fee.

Trace Bureau does not serve documents. Our sister service, Investigation Bureau (investigationbureau.uk), run by the same private investigator, handles process serving, along with asset tracing, due diligence and fraud and workplace investigations. Trace first, then serve with them or with the process server of your choice.

When to instruct a professional trace

Instruct as soon as you know you will have to serve something and are not certain of the address, and always before a process server's first visit. The minimum is the full legal name plus a date of birth or a previous address. Instruct a trace online, or see tracing for service of proceedings.