Skip tracing is the work of locating a person who cannot be found through ordinary means — someone who has moved without a forwarding address, changed their number, stopped answering, or in some cases taken deliberate steps not to be found.
Blueline Investigative Services conducts skip tracing and locate work throughout Virginia and eastern North Carolina. Before you read any further about how it works, there is one thing you need to know, because it decides whether we can help you at all.
We Need a Reason Before We Look
We do not hand out a person’s location to whoever asks for it.
There must be a valid, documented legal reason for the information to be released. Not a good story, not a sympathetic explanation — a lawful purpose you can document. That is the threshold, and it applies before we run a single search.
Reasons that typically qualify include:
- A judgment, debt or lien you are lawfully entitled to collect on
- A pending or anticipated legal action where the person must be located to be served, deposed or named
- Location of a witness in a case you are a party to
- A court order, custody order or support order that bears on the person’s whereabouts
- Attorney-directed work in an active matter
- Heir search, estate and probate matters
- A missing person, or a family member whose welfare is genuinely in question
We will tell you on the consultation whether what you have meets the threshold, before you pay anything.
If you cannot document a legal reason
That does not automatically end the conversation, but it changes what the work looks like.
Where there is no documented lawful purpose, we contact the person being sought and obtain their consent before releasing any information about them to you. In plain terms: if you do not have documentation, the search cannot be discreet. The person will know someone is looking, and they decide whether their information is passed on.
Some people are entirely comfortable with that — a lost relative, an old friend, a birth family search. Others are not, and if the whole point of your request is that the person must not find out you are looking, then you need the documentation. There is no third option here, and any firm that tells you otherwise is either not licensed or not being straight with you.
And occasionally we decline anyway
The vast majority of the time it is one or the other: documented purpose, or notification and consent. Both paths are open, both are lawful, and we work them regularly.
But we are a licensed firm exercising professional judgment, and once in a while a request simply reads wrong to us — something in the circumstances suggests locating this person would put them in danger. That is rare, and it is case by case. When it happens we decline the assignment. We would rather turn down work than be the reason someone gets hurt.
What Skip Tracing Actually Involves
Most of it is records and database work rather than time in the field, which is why it usually costs less than surveillance.
- Licensed investigative database searches not available to the public
- Public records — property, court, civil filings, business registrations, licensing
- Address and utility history, and known associates
- Vehicle and employment indicators where lawfully accessible
- Field verification — physically confirming the person is actually at the address the records point to, which is the step most online services skip entirely
That last item is the difference between a report and an answer. A database can tell you where someone was on paper. Confirming they are there now is investigative work, and it is what your attorney, the court or the process server actually needs.
What We Locate People For
- Judgment recovery and collections — locating a debtor and their assets so a judgment can be enforced
- Service of process support — we do not serve papers, but we find the person so that someone else can
- Witness location — for attorneys, insurers and other investigative agencies
- Family law matters — locating a parent for a support or custody proceeding
- Heir search, probate and estate work
- Missing persons — adult family members who have dropped contact, subject to the standard above
- Old friends, military contacts and birth family — typically through the notification-and-consent path
Missing Persons
If you believe someone is in immediate danger, or the person missing is a minor, call law enforcement first. That is not us deflecting — police have access, authority and resources in an active emergency that no private firm has, and every hour matters.
Where we are useful is the case that is not an active police emergency: an adult who left of their own accord, a relative who has not been heard from in months, a case that has gone cold and where a licensed investigator can work records and locations that a family cannot access on their own. We can also work alongside an open case rather than in place of it.
What We Do Not Do
- We do not serve process. We locate the person; someone else serves them. We can usually point you to a server.
- We do not access financial accounts, phone records or protected data. Pretexting a bank or a carrier for someone’s records is a federal problem, not a technique.
- We do not release information without a lawful basis or the subject’s consent. Stated above, and it is not negotiable.
- We do not locate people for someone subject to a protective order against the person being sought, or where the request appears intended to enable harassment, stalking or intimidation.
What It Costs
Skip tracing is records-based work, so it does not carry the four-hour surveillance minimum. These cases are quoted up front, individually, based on how much work locating the person is actually going to take — a current address in the same city is a different job from someone who left the state two years ago and does not want to be found.
Where field verification or surveillance is required, that portion is billed at our standard rate: $100 per hour paying cash, $125 by any other method, with no travel or mileage charges in our service area. Our full rate schedule is published at what a private investigator costs in Virginia.
You will know the number before we start. Law firms and companies with an established account are invoiced through normal accounts payable rather than prepaying.
Service Area
Headquartered in Chesapeake and licensed statewide in both Virginia and North Carolina. We regularly work Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg, along with Greater Richmond, the Virginia Eastern Shore, the Outer Banks and eastern North Carolina.
Database and records work is not limited by geography. Field verification is, which is why we are honest about where we can physically put someone on the ground.
Credentials
- Virginia DCJS License #11-9802
- North Carolina PPS License #140229
- $1,000,000 professional liability — certificate available on request
- Over 25 years of law enforcement and private investigation experience
Attorneys and agencies: our investigative support page for law firms covers reporting, testimony and billing on account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a private investigator find someone for me?
Yes, if there is a lawful basis for it. Blueline conducts skip tracing throughout Virginia and eastern North Carolina using licensed investigative databases, public records and field verification. What we require first is either a valid documented legal reason for the information to be released, or the consent of the person being located.
What is a permissible purpose for skip tracing?
A documented lawful reason to receive someone’s location — a judgment you are collecting, a legal action requiring service, a court or support order, attorney-directed work in an active matter, probate and heir search, or a genuine welfare concern. We will tell you on the free consultation whether what you have qualifies, before you spend anything.
What if I do not have a legal reason but still want to find someone?
Then we contact the person and get their consent before releasing anything about them to you. That means the search cannot be discreet — they will know someone is looking, and the decision is theirs. For reconnecting with family or an old friend that is usually fine. If your situation requires that the person not know, you need documentation of a lawful purpose instead.
How much does skip tracing cost?
It is quoted individually, up front, because the work varies enormously. A locate in the same city is a different job from someone who left the state and does not want to be found. Records-based work does not carry our four-hour surveillance minimum. Where field verification is needed, it is billed at $100 per hour cash or $125 by other methods, with no travel or mileage charge.
Can you find someone who does not want to be found?
Often, yes — that is precisely what skip tracing is for, and it is why database work alone usually is not enough. Someone actively avoiding contact tends to leave a stale paper trail, which is where records work, known associates and physical verification matter. We will tell you honestly if we do not think we can get there.
Do you serve the papers once you find the person?
No. We do not offer service of process. We locate and verify, and can usually refer you to a process server who works the same area.
Can you find a missing family member?
If the person is in immediate danger or is a minor, call law enforcement first — they have authority and resources in an emergency that no private firm has. For an adult who has dropped contact, or a case that has gone cold, we can work records and locations a family cannot access on their own, either alongside an open case or independently.
Is skip tracing legal in Virginia?
Yes, when conducted by a licensed investigator with a lawful basis. Investigators in Virginia are licensed by the Department of Criminal Justice Services; Blueline holds DCJS License #11-9802 and North Carolina PPS License #140229. What is not lawful is obtaining financial or telephone records under false pretenses, or releasing someone’s whereabouts with no permissible purpose and no consent — and we do neither.
Talk to an Investigator
Free, confidential consultation. Tell us what you have, and we will tell you honestly which path your case falls under — before you pay anything. Call or text 757-689-7453. For a Spanish-speaking investigator, call 757-493-1699.
Blueline Investigative Services — 237 Hanbury Rd, Suite 17, Chesapeake, VA 23322. Serving Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Greater Richmond, the Virginia Eastern Shore, the Outer Banks and eastern North Carolina.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Consult a licensed Virginia attorney about your specific matter.