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Skip tracing for service of process

Defendant moved?
We find them, then we serve.

A bad address shouldn't stall your case. When a party has moved, Sapphire Legal searches public-record sources for a current address and sends a licensed Manhattan server to the right door. $75 per search, and you pay the search fee only if we find and serve them. Your regular service fee applies either way.

Send a job How it works

Pricing

Pay for the search
only when it works.

Pay per job

$75per search

The search fee is charged only if we find and serve the party. Your regular job fee still applies.

Authorize it on your account or per job
Invoiced with the job
Service at a new Manhattan address is billed as a new job

Monthly subscription

Includedthen $60

Every plan includes address searches each month.

Starter 2, Essentials 5, Professional 10, Firm 20
Extra searches $60 each, Net 15
Search fee only if found and served

Why it matters

People move.
Your deadline doesn't.

~13%of people in the U.S. move in a given yearU.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2021

2 in 3New York City households rent their home2023 NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey

120 daysto serve after filing in New YorkCPLR 306-b

$75per search, only if we find and serve. Regular service fees apply.Sapphire Legal pricing

What is skip tracing?

Finding the person
behind the old address.

Skip tracing means locating someone who has moved or can't be found at the address on file. In process serving, it's what turns a dead end into a completed serve.

Without it, a moved defendant usually means an affidavit of non-service, and your firm starts over. With it, the job keeps moving, often with the same agency and the same records.

Same defendant, two outcomes

Without skip tracingNon-service

Your next stepFind a new address yourself

With Sapphire's address searchNew address found

Your next stepWe serve it

How we do it

Search. Verify.
Serve.

You authorize it

Check the address search box when you set up your account, or ask on any job.

We search

Our team searches commercial public-record and data sources for the party's current address.

We verify

Results are cross-checked so a server is only sent to the most likely current address.

We serve

In Manhattan, a licensed server attempts service, GPS-documented as always. Outside Manhattan, we give you the address at no search charge.

Address searches are used solely to locate a party for service of legal papers. They are database searches, not private investigations, and a current address can't always be found.

Skip tracing FAQ

Questions,
answered.

What is skip tracing?

Skip tracing is the process of finding a person's current address when they have moved or can't be found at the address you have. For service of process, it means locating the defendant so the papers can be served and the case can move forward.

How does Sapphire Legal skip trace?

We search commercial public-record and data sources, such as address histories, property and utility records, and other public filings, for a current address. We cross-check what we find and confirm the most likely address before a server is sent. Searches are used solely to serve legal papers.

How much does skip tracing cost?

An address search is $75 on pay-per-job billing, and the search fee is charged only if we find and serve the party. The regular service or non-service fee for the job still applies. Monthly subscription plans include 2 to 20 searches a month, then $60 each.

Is skip tracing the same as a private investigation?

No. Our address search is a database search to locate a party for service of process. It is not a private investigation, and we don't guarantee that a current address will be found.

Do you skip trace outside Manhattan?

Our searches can locate a party anywhere, but our service area is Manhattan (New York County). If the new address is in Manhattan, we serve it. If the new address is outside Manhattan, we'll give it to you at no search charge so you can arrange service there. The original job closes under our standard rules: free if no attempt was made yet, or as a non-service if it was.

Have a defendant who moved?

Set up your account and authorize an address search. We'll find them and serve them in Manhattan.

Get started See subscription plans

Pay for the searchonly when it works.

People move.Your deadline doesn't.

Finding the personbehind the old address.

Search. Verify.Serve.