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Checklist for Locating “Invisible” Defendants

1. If you are trying to ascertain the registered agent for service of process on a
corporation, either call or use the secretary of state’s corporate division’s Internet site
for your state and the state in which the corporation is likely to be incorporated or have
its principal place of business. Many of the techniques used to lo- cate individuals are
applicable to corporations and other business organizations

2. Check telephone and city or county directories. Use Internet directories such as
www.switchboard.com, www.whowhere.lycos.com, and locator services through
Westlaw and Lexis, or try a fee service such as www.ussearch.com or
www.gisusdata.com. The fees are reasonable, and some services do not charge if the
search is unsuccessful.

3. Send an envelope addressed to the last known address of the defendant with the words
“Forwarding Address Requested” written in the lower left-hand corner of the envelope.
The envelope should have the firm’s return address on it and the necessary return
postage enclosed. The post office may require the submission of Form 1478 for a
forwarding address under the Freedom of Information Act

4. Send a plain envelope addressed to the defendant by registered mail marked “Return
Receipt Requested” and check the box on the green card entitled “Show to whom, date,
and address of delivery.” The mail carrier will request the defendant to sign the card.

5. Contact the defendant’s former landlord or neighbors to obtain a new address, the
name of the moving company, or the names of relatives or friends who might know the
new address or provide additional information. Sources providing such information
include churches, schools, or colleges attended; former employers, present employer,
co-workers; professional or trade associations; health insurance carriers; sports clubs,
civic clubs, country clubs, and veterans’ organizations; and banking institution

6. Check voter registration lists, tax rolls, land transfer records (for names of persons
involved in recent property transfers who might know the defendant’s whereabouts,
such as a buyer, a real estate agent, or a bank employee), civil and criminal court
records, and vital statistics records.

7. Check with utility, telephone, cable television, newspaper, and other community-based
companies for the address.
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8. Contact the pertinent state’s auto registration and driver’s licensing division.

9. Place an ad in the newspaper with a reward for information that leads to the location of
the defendant.

10. Hire a private investigator. Consider having the investigator appointed to serve process
under relevant state or federal [4(c)(2)] rules, especially where the sheriff or marshal
cannot locate the defendant.

- A word of caution is in order here. Prior to contacting employers, neighbors,

relatives, and so on, review the consumer protection and collection laws for your
jurisdiction, including the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (15 U.S.C. § 1692). Note
especially the section on what constitutes harassment or otherwise illegal collection
practices. If you do not, you may find yourself in violation of the law and subject to
serious penalty.