Miami Private InvestigationsSkip tracing at a glance
- What it is: locating a person whose current address, phone or workplace is unknown, and verifying it before it is relied on.
- Who uses it: attorneys (service of process, witnesses, judgment debtors, heirs), families searching for relatives, businesses and insurers.
- Sources: court and clerk records, property and corporate filings, open-source research, records released only for a legally permitted purpose, and field checks.
- What we never do: pretext calls, impersonation, account hacking, hidden trackers or recorded phone calls.
- What you receive: a written report of verified addresses and contact points, each tied to its source, plus a log of every search step.
- Credentials: Florida agency license A1800135, veteran-led, bilingual, office in Coral Gables.
A "skip" is someone who skipped town; the "trace" is the trail they left. The hard part is rarely finding an address. It is proving the address is current and belongs to the right person, without breaking a privacy law along the way.
What is skip tracing, and how is it different from an online people search?
Florida law counts locating people as core investigative work. Its definition of private investigation covers a person's "whereabouts," and separately the "whereabouts of missing persons, owners of unclaimed or escheated property, or heirs" (s. 493.6101, F.S.). A licensed agency does this for a fee; an unlicensed person who advertises it is breaking the law (s. 493.6120, F.S.).
Consumer people-search websites compile old data. One name can return a dozen addresses, some stale and some belonging to a namesake. That is a starting list, not an answer. A skip trace tests each lead against independent records, discards the ones that fail, and confirms the survivor on the ground, so you get one address you can act on and the reasons we trust it.
Who needs to locate someone?
- Attorneys and law firms. Defendants who must be served, witnesses to an accident or a contract, judgment debtors, former employees with knowledge of a dispute, and heirs or beneficiaries in probate matters. See our attorney services.
- Families and individuals. An estranged parent or sibling, a friend lost after a move, or adoptees and birth relatives who want to reconnect. When someone may be in danger rather than simply out of touch, the matter becomes a missing persons investigation.
- Businesses and landlords. A customer or tenant who left owing money, a former partner who took records, or the owner of a property you need to contact.
- Insurers. Claimants who stopped responding and witnesses needed before memories fade.
When is it time to hire an investigator?
After a web search and a call to the last known number fail, an investigator makes sense when:
- The person has moved more than once, or left Florida or the country.
- The name is common, or appears in records under different spellings. In Miami that often means double surnames recorded as one surname in some places and both in others.
- A court deadline, a hearing date or a statute of limitations is approaching.
- You need findings an attorney or judge can rely on.
South Florida adds its own difficulty: seasonal residents split the year between addresses, new arrivals have a thin local paper trail, and family ties often run to Latin America and the Caribbean. Bilingual investigators can read Spanish-language records and talk with relatives in their own language.
How does a skip trace work, step by step?
- Confidential intake. We collect every identifier you have: names, date of birth, old addresses and numbers, emails, relatives, employers and vehicles. We also ask why you need the person found, because the purpose determines which records may lawfully be used.
- Records research. Court dockets, property and lien filings, corporate registrations, public posts and data sources available to a licensed agency for a permitted purpose.
- Analysis and cross-checking. Dates, middle names, relatives and prior addresses separate the right person from a namesake; stale leads are dropped.
- Field verification. An investigator visits the address, observes from public places and, where appropriate, speaks with neighbors who choose to talk, to confirm the person really lives or works there.
- Report and next steps. You receive verified findings with the source for each, ready to hand to a process server.
Which records do investigators use in Florida?
Much of the work starts with public records. In Miami-Dade, the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller offers a civil, family and probate case search and an official records search for recorded documents such as deeds and liens. Every other county has its own clerk, so a person who moved leaves filings in several places.
- Business filings. The state's Sunbiz search covers corporations, officers, registered agents, fictitious names and judgment liens, and often shows a newer address.
- Custody status. The Department of Corrections offender search can explain why someone has been unreachable.
- Open sources. Public posts, obituaries and professional listings often name relatives or a current city. Our social media investigations are limited to what the person or their contacts have made public.
How are heirs and beneficiaries located?
Estates stall when a beneficiary cannot be found. Heir work means building a family tree from probate files, obituaries and vital records, then tracing each branch forward to a living person. In Miami-Dade, probate matters are handled at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 N.W. 1st Avenue, according to the Clerk's location page. We confirm identity carefully before reporting any heir.
What a Florida PI can and can't legally do when locating someone
A Chapter 493 license, issued through the FDACS Division of Licensing, does not unlock private records. It gives an agency no more access than the lawful purpose behind the search.
What the law allows
- Public records held by clerks, property appraisers and state agencies.
- Motor vehicle records for a permitted purpose. Florida keeps personal information in these records confidential and releases it "only as authorized by" the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (s. 119.0712, F.S.). That act lists permitted uses, including use "in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding" and use by a "licensed private investigative agency" for any purpose the act itself permits (18 U.S.C. § 2721). No permitted purpose, no access.
- Interviews with people who agree to talk, and observation from public places to confirm a residence.
What we will not do
- No pretexting. Getting a bank's customer information through false statements violates federal law (15 U.S.C. § 6821), and so does obtaining phone records that way (18 U.S.C. § 1039). Florida separately bans obtaining calling records by fraud (s. 817.484, F.S.).
- No impersonation. Posing as a police officer is a felony (s. 843.08, F.S.) and a ground for license discipline (s. 493.6118(1)(i), F.S.).
- No hacking. Getting into someone's email or social media without permission is not research. Florida's definition of cyberstalking specifically includes accessing another person's online accounts without permission (s. 784.048, F.S.).
- No hidden trackers or recorded calls. Placing a tracking device on another person's property without consent is a felony (s. 934.425, F.S.), and recording a private conversation requires every party's consent (s. 934.03, F.S.).
- No searches that serve harassment. Florida's stalking law targets conduct that "serves no legitimate purpose." We decline a search when the reason for it does not hold up.
For a fuller explanation of these limits, read our guide to Florida Statute 493 and what a PI may do.
How does skip tracing support service of process?
A lawsuit cannot move until the defendant is served, and a bad address wastes weeks. We confirm where the person lives or works now and, where lawful, when they are usually there. For defendants who actively avoid service, our difficult-case process service picks up where the locate leaves off.
When a person truly cannot be found, attorneys often need to show what was tried. Our report lists every record set, address visit and interview attempt with its date and result. Whether that satisfies the court is for your attorney to judge.
What is in a skip trace report?
- The verified location: current residential or work address, how it was confirmed and on what date.
- Contact points found through lawful sources, such as phone numbers, email addresses and public profiles.
- Supporting records: address history, relatives and associates, employers, court cases, and property or business filings that tie the person to the location.
- Field notes, photographs and a search log of every source consulted, including dead ends.
Public records and field observations are admissible like other evidence if they are relevant and authenticated (s. 90.901, F.S.), and the investigator can testify. We report uncertainty honestly and never promise a person will be found.
What affects the timeline and cost of a skip trace?
We scope each case individually and do not publish a price list. Time depends on:
- Starting information. A date of birth and recent address narrow a search fast; a common name alone does not.
- Time and distance. A move across town last month is easier than a move abroad years ago.
- Deliberate avoidance. People who change numbers or use relatives' addresses leave a thinner trail.
- Field verification in person or in another county adds time and travel.
- Number of people, such as a set of heirs or several witnesses.
- Documentation. A court-ready search log and testimony take more work.
You approve the scope before we start. For more on following a paper trail, read how investigators locate people who don't want to be found.
Why attorneys and families work with us
- FDACS agency license A1800135
- ★ 4.9 from 88 Google reviews
- Veteran-led team
- Investigators who work in English and Spanish
Attorneys from firms including Morgan & Morgan, Cornish Hernandez Gonzalez, Asilia Law, Goldberg & Rosen and Scheer Legal have recorded video testimonials about our work. Hear from those attorneys.
What you tell us stays confidential. Florida treats an investigator's unauthorized release of client information as grounds for license discipline (s. 493.6118(1)(e), F.S.).
Related services
When a relative's safety, not just their address, is the concern.
Serving defendants who dodge the usual attempts.
Finding and approaching witnesses for litigation and claims.
Locates, records research and testimony for litigators.
Identity, history and records once the person is found.
A closer look at how investigators follow a trail.
Available across Florida
Locate work is run from our office at 4000 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 470, Coral Gables. Records research reaches every Florida county, and our investigators travel where field verification is needed.