Your One Stop Shop For Litigation Support Solutions! (800) 687-5003
Your One Stop Shop For Litigation Support Solutions! (800) 687-5003
Skip tracing is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance service of process by saving time, reducing costs, and improving success rates. By embracing this underutilized method, attorneys can overcome the challenges associated with locating parties and ensure a more efficient and stress-free litigation process. With skip tracing at their disposal, attorneys and their clients can navigate the legal system with greater confidence and ease, knowing that the service of process is in capable hands.
Our skip tracing services prioritize precision and accuracy, ensuring that legal documents are served to the correct parties in a timely manner.
We understand the importance of cost-effectiveness in legal proceedings. That's why we offer competitive rates starting at $80.00 for our skip tracing services.
With our skip tracing services, attorneys and their clients can navigate the legal system with confidence, knowing that the service of process is in capable hands.
Electronic filing — or eFiling — has become the standard for submitting court documents in
On October 10, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 747 into law — the Service
Skip tracing is the professional investigation process of locating individuals who have become difficult to find — whether they have moved without forwarding their address, are deliberately evading service of process, or simply cannot be located through standard means. The term originates from the phrase “skipping town,” referring to someone who has left their known address.
For attorneys and law firms, skip tracing is an essential tool in the litigation process. Before a case can proceed, defendants and other parties must be properly served with legal documents. When standard service attempts fail because the individual cannot be found at their last known address, skip tracing becomes the critical next step to keep your case moving forward.
Legal Document Server provides professional skip tracing services nationwide, combining database research, public records analysis, and investigative techniques to locate individuals for service of process. Our skip tracing team works directly with our process serving division, creating a seamless workflow from locate to serve.
When a process server makes multiple attempts at a defendant’s last known address without success — whether because the person has moved, the address is outdated, or neighbors confirm the individual no longer resides there — skip tracing is the logical next step before pursuing alternative service methods.
In cases where significant time has passed between the events giving rise to litigation and the filing of the complaint, the defendant’s address on file may be years out of date. Employment changes, evictions, divorces, and simple relocations can all render an address useless.
Some individuals actively avoid service of process, using mailbox services, staying with friends or relatives, or frequently changing locations. Professional skip tracing can identify patterns, locate workplaces, identify vehicles, and find alternative addresses that a standard search would miss.
California courts require a showing of due diligence before granting orders for alternative service (service by publication, posting, or substitute service at a location other than the defendant’s dwelling). Skip tracing results provide the documented evidence of search efforts that courts expect to see in your declaration of due diligence.
Beyond service of process, skip tracing helps attorneys locate judgment debtors, identify assets for enforcement, and find witnesses who have relocated since the events in question.
Legal Document Server’s skip tracing process is thorough, systematic, and designed for the speed that litigation demands.
Our initial investigation searches across multiple professional databases and public record sources:
When Level 1 research does not produce a serviceable address, our investigators conduct deeper analysis:
For the most evasive subjects, field investigation adds physical surveillance and in-person research to confirm a current address is valid before sending a process server.
Every skip tracing report includes:
Our skip tracing team successfully locates individuals in the majority of cases. When a subject cannot be located, we provide a detailed report of all avenues investigated — which serves as documentation of due diligence for applications seeking alternative service under CCP §415.50.
California Code of Civil Procedure §415.50 permits service by publication when a party “cannot with reasonable diligence be served” by other methods. Courts scrutinize applications for service by publication carefully, and a bare declaration that “the defendant could not be found” is insufficient.
Skip tracing results from Legal Document Server provide the specific, documented evidence courts expect:
This documentation transforms your motion for alternative service from a vague request into a well-supported application that courts are far more likely to grant.
The unique advantage of using Legal Document Server for skip tracing is direct integration with our nationwide process serving team. Once we locate your subject:
This integration eliminates the weeks typically lost when firms use separate vendors for skip tracing and process serving.
Legal Document Server provides skip tracing services across all 50 states. Whether your defendant relocated across town or across the country, our database access and investigative network cover the entire United States. For subjects who may have left the country, we can conduct international skip tracing through our network of overseas investigators and international database resources.
Skip tracing is the professional investigation process of locating individuals who cannot be found at their last known address for the purpose of serving legal documents. It involves searching databases, public records, and conducting targeted research to identify current addresses and contact information.
Standard skip tracing produces results within 24-48 hours for most subjects. Rush service with same-day preliminary results is available for urgent matters. Complex investigations involving evasive subjects may require 3-5 business days.
At minimum, we need the subject’s full legal name and last known address. Additional information improves results: date of birth, Social Security number (last four digits), prior addresses, known employers, vehicle information, or names of relatives and associates.
Yes. Skip tracing using publicly available records and legitimate databases is legal. Legal Document Server conducts all skip tracing in compliance with applicable federal and state privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
If our investigation does not produce a current address, we provide a comprehensive report documenting all research conducted. This report serves as evidence of due diligence for applications seeking alternative service (service by publication) under CCP §415.50.
Yes. Legal Document Server provides skip tracing services nationwide across all 50 states, with international search capabilities available for subjects who may have relocated abroad.
Skip tracing reports from Legal Document Server are regularly used as supporting documentation in declarations of due diligence filed with California courts. Our reports document the specific steps taken to locate the subject, satisfying judicial requirements for demonstrating reasonable diligence.
When you use Legal Document Server for both skip tracing and process serving, results transfer directly to our serving team with no delay. This eliminates the weeks typically lost coordinating between separate vendors and allows immediate service attempts at newly identified addresses.
