Is address tracing legal in the UK?

The law that applies

Tracing a person's address means processing their personal data. UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 require a lawful basis for that processing (Article 6), fairness and transparency, data minimisation, security and limited retention. There is no licence for tracing in the UK; there is a duty to do it properly.

Our lawful basis

For most instructions the basis is legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): recovering a debt, pursuing or defending legal claims, serving documents, administering an estate, resolving a tenancy or commercial dispute. We carry out and record a legitimate interests assessment for every instruction: what the purpose is, why tracing is necessary, and why the person's rights do not override it. Where the purpose is personal, such as reconnecting with a relative, we rely on the consent of the person being traced and never disclose an address without it.

What we refuse

• Anything that looks like stalking, harassment, or locating a person who has taken steps to avoid the instructing party without a legal purpose.
• Instructions where the instructing party will not identify themselves or verify their identity.
• Purposes we cannot record a lawful basis for.

What the person being traced can expect

We collect only what is needed to confirm an address, from public and licensed sources. We do not contact them, except in consent-based reconnection cases where contact is the point. Data is deleted after 12 months. They can ask us what we hold about them.

Registration and accountability

Trace Bureau is operated by a limited company registered in England and Wales and registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. The registered name, company number and ICO registration number are on the company details page. Complaints go to hello@tracebureau.co.uk first and to the ICO if we cannot resolve them.