How to Find Someone's Address in the UK, Lawfully

Updated 5 October 2026 by Investigation Bureau

Finding out where someone lives in the UK is possible, lawful and routine when the reason is legitimate: a debt to recover, papers to serve, a beneficiary to pay, a relative or friend to reach. It is unlawful, and it is refused, when the reason is to arrive at the door of someone who does not want you there. This guide covers the public sources that really do reveal addresses, the ones people wrongly assume will, the law that governs the search, and what a professional address trace costs and delivers.

An investigator's first question is not "what is their name?" It is "why do you need the address?" The honest answer decides everything after it. Bear that in mind as you read. Every route below is lawful for a legitimate purpose, and none of them is meant for any other.

Public records that can reveal an address

The open electoral register. Every council publishes an edited version of the electoral roll, and directory sites such as 192.com gather those versions together. Only people who did not opt out are listed, and a large share do opt out, so a miss proves nothing. A hit gives a current or recent address and the names of the other adults living there.
Companies House. Directors and people with significant control appear on the free register with a correspondence address and a month and year of birth. The address is often a registered office or an accountant and not a home. The birth details separate two people of the same name. Older filings sometimes show a residential address that was replaced later.
HM Land Registry. For a few pounds, the title register for any property in England and Wales names the registered owner and gives an address for service. It tells you who owns a property, which is not always who lives there. It also works the other way round: a paid name search across registered titles can show property that a person owns.
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. County court judgments are public and can be searched for a small fee. The entry shows the defendant's name and the address the judgment was entered against. In a debtor trace this is often the freshest address on record.
Probate records, planning applications and licensing registers. All of these name individuals with addresses in the ordinary course of public administration, and all are searched as a matter of routine in tracing work.
Social media, indirectly. Few people post their address. Plenty post photographs of the front door, the street, the view from a window, the gym, the school run and the local pub. Open-source investigators read those clues methodically.

The sources that will not give you an address

The DVLA, HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions, the NHS, banks, utility companies, mobile networks and the police do not release addresses to members of the public. Any website that claims to search them is either selling you the open electoral register or lying. Two lawful exceptions matter. The DVLA will release a vehicle keeper's details, through its formal application process, to someone who can show reasonable cause, such as pursuing the driver responsible for damage. And in family proceedings a court can require government departments to disclose where a party is. That route runs through your solicitor and not through an investigator.

Anyone who offers to get an address by ringing a utility company and posing as the account holder is describing an offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018. Evidence obtained that way is worthless. The offer is also a reliable sign of a firm you should not hire.

The reasons that justify a professional trace

Tracing agents process personal data under UK GDPR on the basis of a legitimate interest or a legal claim, and that basis has to be real. The instructions we accept look like this:

A debtor to be located before enforcement. Our guide on finding someone who owes you money covers this in detail.
A respondent or witness to be served with court papers, which is the subject of our guide to process serving.
A former tenant who left owing rent, or with a deposit dispute unresolved.
A beneficiary whom an executor has to pay.
A third party to a motor accident.
A relative or old friend you have lost touch with, where contact is made through us and the address is not handed over.

The instructions we refuse look like this: an ex-partner who ended contact, anyone protected by a restraining order or a non-molestation order, a person who has blocked the enquirer, or an enquirer who cannot give a straight account of why they are asking. We ask, we check, and we decline. That part of the job keeps the rest of it lawful. It is also why an address from a professional trace can be relied on in court, while an address from a stranger on a forum cannot.

What a professional address trace involves

Our address traces add three layers to the public records above, none of which the public can reach. The first is licensed data, with dates of birth and address histories that link a person through every move they have made. The second is open-source research in depth, using our in-house OSINT tooling. The third, where the paper trail thins, is discreet field enquiries. What you receive is a confirmed current address, not a list of possibles. We say how we know, with a confidence rating and the evidence behind it, because an address where papers will be served has to be right. Our guide on how investigators find people explains the method more fully.

Across the UK market an address trace is typically a fixed fee of £150 to £500. We quote a fixed price in writing before any work begins, and no trace, no fee applies on suitable cases. Most traces finish within a few days. Give us the full name, an approximate age or date of birth, a last known address and anything else you hold, and the trail is usually short.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private investigator find someone's address from just a name?

Often, if there is something to anchor the name: an approximate age, a last known area, a former employer or a linked relative. A common name with nothing else is the one starting point that can defeat a trace. We say so in the free first conversation and do not take a fee to find it out.

Is it legal to find out where someone lives in the UK?

Yes, for a legitimate purpose and by lawful means: public records, licensed data processed under UK GDPR, open-source research and enquiries. It is unlawful to obtain an address by deception, by getting into accounts or systems without authority, or in order to harass or stalk someone. That is exactly why tracing agents screen every instruction.

Can I find out who lives at an address?

In part. The open electoral register lists the adults at an address who did not opt out, and the Land Registry names the owner. Where a confirmed answer is needed, for a landlord, an insurer or a solicitor for example, a professional occupancy check combines those records with enquiries and is quoted as a fixed price.

Can you find the address of someone who has blocked me?

No. A person who has blocked you has told you they do not want contact. Tracing them would be the start of harassment, not the end of a search. We decline these instructions, and so does every reputable investigator.

How much does an address trace cost?

In the UK it is typically a fixed fee of between £150 and £500, depending on how cold the trail is. We agree the price in writing first, and no trace, no fee applies on suitable cases. Overseas traces are quoted individually.

Need a confirmed address for a legitimate reason? The first conversation is free, carries no obligation and is honest about whether the public records will do. Send a confidential enquiry.