How to Trace a Person's Address History

Friends using a tablet to check public records database
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Whether you want to find a lost love or check on the person who is renting your cottage for the summer, doing a residence history search is simple, fast and inexpensive. In fact, if you just want to find out in which cities a person has lived, you can usually get this information for free using any website that amalgamates publicly available information on just about any individual you know.

Go to a Public Records Database

Go to any public information search engine like Intelius.com, PeopleFinders.com or Spokeo.com. These websites gather publicly available information about anyone and bring them all together. Information includes current and past addresses, phone numbers, date of birth, aliases, relatives, neighbors, email addresses and more.

Search for the Person by Name

Enter as much information about the person as you know. At minimum, you need the person's last name and first initial. If you know the person's full name and current state and city, it will be easier to find the person you are looking for.

Find the Person in the Available List

Scroll through the search results for the person. In many cases, the person's age, employers and last known cities are presented so you can select the right individual, which is helpful when there is more than one person in a state with the same name.

Gather the Data

Select the person whose address history you want. It may take a minute or so for the website to gather all the information about that person from its databases. When it's finished, it will display the information it has found, but not all of the details. If the address history is available for that person, it should have a check mark beside it.

Get the Report

Click the "Get a Report" option. In most cases, this is where the website tells you how much the full report costs. Pricing varies depending on which package you select and can range anywhere from $1 to $100. The address history is usually available in the less expensive packages. The more expensive packages include more information, like email addresses, criminal checks, lawsuits and liens.

Select the information package you want, pay the requested fee and provide your contact information. The information you requested should normally be emailed to you within a few minutes.

Protecting Your Own Privacy

If you do not want people to be able to easily find your address history, or other personal details contained in these public database reports, you do have the option to opt out. Use the company's contact information or opt-out form to find out what they require. Be prepared to prove your identity with a copy of your photo ID as well as a notarized identity verification form.

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