Guides
Skip Tracing, Explained
Plain-English guides for the professionals who use skip tracing: what it is, when it is legal, and how it fits into serving papers, collecting judgments, and compliant collections.
What Is Skip Tracing?
The anchor guide: where the term comes from, how a professional locate actually works, the three tiers of the market, and what it all costs.
Read the guide ›Is Skip Tracing Legal?
Yes, with conditions. The three federal laws that govern skip tracing, what counts as a permissible purpose, and what no legitimate provider will run.
Read the guide ›How to Find Someone Who Owes You Money
The lawful path from "they disappeared" to "I collected": paper the debt, get the judgment, locate the debtor, map the assets, enforce.
Read the guide ›How to Collect a Judgment
The court confirmed you are owed; it will not chase the debtor for you. The enforcement path: locate, map assets, then garnish, levy, or lien.
Read the guide ›How to Find Someone to Serve Court Papers
A lawsuit does not begin until the defendant is served. Verifying the address before the first attempt, handling dodgers, and the court’s fallbacks.
Read the guide ›FDCPA-Compliant Skip Tracing for Collections
Where the FDCPA touches location work: third-party contact rules, right-party contact as a compliance control, and compliant data sourcing.
Read the guide ›Looking for a definition instead? Browse the skip tracing glossary ›