What tracing covers
- Family tracing — locating an estranged parent, sibling, or child, where there is no lawful reason for the person to be unfindable;
- Beneficiary tracing — identifying and locating beneficiaries of an estate or trust;
- Judgement debtor tracing — locating a person against whom a court judgement has been made, so the judgement can be enforced;
- Long-standing missing relatives — cases where the person was last seen many years ago and conventional channels have not produced a result.
If the person owes you money, our guide on finding someone who owes you money sets out what you can check yourself, what a trace adds, and what the court can do once you have an address. If you are looking for an estranged relative or birth family, our guide on finding a lost relative covers the free and regulated routes to try first and why contact is made through an intermediary.
When we will not take an instruction
Tracing is misused where the result puts the person traced at risk. Before we take an instruction, we ask why the person is being looked for, how long since last contact, and whether there is any history of estrangement following violence, coercion, or threats. We will decline an instruction where:
- The subject left in fear of, or following a finding against, the person instructing us;
- There is a non-molestation order, restraining order, or similar civil injunction in place;
- The instruction appears to be a pretext for stalking, harassment, or coercive control.
This is not a moral position so much as a legal one. Any disclosure that ended in harm to the subject would expose us, and likely the client, to civil and criminal liability.
How we trace people lawfully
Tracing draws on lawful access to public records, electoral data, business registries, social media, and legitimate commercial databases, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK GDPR, and the Human Rights Act 1998. Where the matter touches on harassment law, we work within the boundaries of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
When we have located someone, we do not disclose their address to the client by default. We make a contact approach to the subject on the client’s behalf, explain who has asked us to find them, and let them decide whether to make contact. This is usually the right answer for everyone.
For our full process, see how we work.
Common questions
Will you give me the person's address?
Not by default. When we locate someone we make a contact approach on your behalf, explain who has asked us to find them, and let them decide whether to get in touch. This protects both sides and is usually the right outcome for everyone.What if the person does not want to be found?
We respect that. Before taking an instruction we ask why the person is being looked for and whether the estrangement followed violence, coercion or threats. We decline where a court order is in place or the search appears to be a pretext for stalking, harassment or coercive control.How likely is a trace to succeed?
It depends on how much is known and how long ago contact was lost. We give you a realistic view before you commit, a written cost estimate before any work starts, and we tell you at the outset if we think a trace is unlikely to succeed.More general questions about cost, timescales and evidence are answered on our FAQs page.