How to find anything
People: Search Guides
Find a person you've lost touch with, or check that someone is who they say they are. Most people searches end with a name in a search engine or a social network. Public records fill the gaps, and the law limits what you can do with what you find.
Before you start, be clear about why you're looking. Reconnecting with an old friend, checking a date or a new landlord, and serving legal papers all call for different tools, and some uses of personal data, such as screening a tenant or an employee, are regulated. The guides here start with free methods and say when an official route is the only proper one.
Guides
What to try first
- Search the full name in quotes with a town, school or employer you know. Add a middle initial or a former surname if you have one.
- Check the social networks the person is likely to use, including LinkedIn for work history and Facebook for family and hometown links.
- Ask people who know them: a mutual friend, a former colleague or an alumni group often gets you further than any database.
- Only then look at public records, such as property and court records, which are held by the offices that created them.
Which guide do I need?
- You've lost touch with someone and want to say hello: How to Find Someone: Free Ways to Track Down a Person. Start with the free steps and the country notes for the US, Canada and the UK.
- You need a postal address, for example to send a letter or legal papers: How to Find Someone's Address (Legally). Covers property records, electoral and directory listings, and when to use a process server or solicitor instead.
- You only have a phone number or an email address: How to Find Out Who Owns a Phone Number. Or the email guide, which covers checking who is behind an address.
- You want to know who owns the house the person lives in: How to Find Out Who Owns a Property. Land registries record owners, not occupants, so treat the result as a lead.
- You're screening a tenant, employee or borrower: How to Find Someone: Free Ways to Track Down a Person. Read the note on regulated uses first: in the US that's the FCRA, and it means using a proper screening service with the person's consent.
Coming next
We're writing these next. They'll appear here once they're checked:
- How to find an old friend or classmate
- How to check if an online contact is real