How to Perform a Skip Trace
Skip tracing is a type of investigation used to locate someone, such as a debtor, witness or beneficiary. It's often a last resort, because it can be time-consuming and costly. Creditors often perform skip tracing as they try to recover money from debtors.
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Instructions
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Find out if the information you have on the individual is correct. You may have disconnected phone numbers, incorrect addresses and no way of verifying employment. If you cannot reach the individual, you will need to skip trace. You can skip trace using limited information, but you should try to get as much of the following as possible: full legal name, current address, any previous address, spouse name, current phone number, any previous phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, current employer, any previous employer and driver's license number.
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Determine how you want to begin skip tracing. If you are a creditor, you may want to begin by pulling a credit report file for the debtor you are trying to locate. If not, you can use a public records search or people-search database such as Intellius or Insight Collections. Various search services are available, some of which are free and some of which charge fees.
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Use a skip trace service. Among companies that perform skip traces are Players National, International Tracing Services, Aaron's Research Services and Carolina Skip Trace Agency. Their fees vary but average $50 to $70 per search.
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