What Is Skip Tracing and Why Is It Important?

Skip tracing is the process of formally tracking down a person who is difficult to find.

Usually, people aren’t too hard to find when you need to track them down, especially in the digital age. But usually isn’t always, and there are some legal situations and business scenarios where you might need to find somebody who is very difficult to find—or maybe even someone who doesn’t want to be found.

You might say that they’ve “skipped town,” which is where the “skip” part of skip tracing comes from. It’s an old phrase that refers to someone who has fled the area to avoid consequences or escape their problems.

Why People Can Be Hard to Find

There are several reasons why it might be hard to find a person:

• They don’t answer their phone or e-mail.
• They don’t answer the door at their home.
• They don’t respond to mailed notices.
• Your contact information for them is incorrect or outdated.
• They have changed their phone number, e-mail, and other contact info.
• They didn’t have much contact info to begin with.
• They have moved, either locally or out of town.
• They are sick or have passed away.
• They have hidden with a friend or family member.

• They have gone off-grid.
• They have fled the local area entirely.

As you can see there are plenty of legitimate, lawful reasons why a person might be hard to find, as well as some unlawful reasons.

When Are Skip Tracing Services Useful?

Skip tracing is not the same thing as a “missing person” situation where the police would be involved, such as a scenario where a parent is facing a hostile custody battle and flees with their kids. Skip tracing is a purely private matter.

Here are some common reasons for hiring skip tracing services to track down a person who is hard to find:

• The missing individual is facing a lawsuit or criminal indictment.
• They owe money to a business or another individual.
• Their contact info is bad and they aren’t aware that somebody is looking for them.

Skip tracing services are commonly used by law firms, debt collectors, real estate agents, private investigators, and even bounty hunters.

Where to Get Skip Tracing Services

Skip tracing is usually provided by a law firm, private investigator, or paralegal services company such as a civil process server.

How Skip Tracing Works

The ultimate goal of skip tracing is to make contact with the person who is being sought, which consists of finding contact info and reaching out by those means.

There isn’t a hard-and-fast rulebook for how to find contact info, but here are the different methods roughly from easiest to hardest:

Step 1: Free Search Resources

Most skip tracers start their search by getting information from the client’s own databases as well as searching online for social media accounts and online content, business profiles, personal websites, online contact info directories, or other online mentions. They may also use 411 directory assistance or old-school paper phone books.

Sometimes this is all it takes, especially since skip tracers know how to go very deep on these searches.

Step 2: Paid Information Lookup Services

If online searching doesn’t do the trick, a skip tracer can pull background reports, credit reports, and criminal checks. They can check voter registration. They might conduct reverse phone number lookups. They could even run the person’s Social Security Number or insurance information, if available, to find recent activity and additional information that way.

Step 3: Pounding the Pavement

A skip tracer might also pound some pavement, visiting the local library, courthouse, and local government offices to search for publicly available information that may not exist online.

They may also visit prior workplaces and organizations (such as churches and clubs) that the individual belonged to.

Step 4: Contacting Acquaintances

The next step is to reach out to family members, friends, coworkers, and other acquaintances of the individual being sought.

This step runs the risk of tipping the person off that somebody is looking for them, and may lead to hostile confrontations from people who want to protect that individual or who don’t like strangers asking personal questions, which is why it is important to leave skip tracing to the professionals.

Step 5: Drastic Measures

As a last resort, skip tracers may take more drastic measures such as surveillance and eavesdropping.

All skip tracing services must remain within the law, and it is important to hire a reputable provider who knows their limits. You don’t want to have evidence deemed inadmissible in court, and you certainly don’t want to get in trouble yourself!