There are dozens of reasons why you may need to find a street address — maybe you’re looking to mail a holiday card or check in on where a distant relative has relocated. Once upon a time, you could just open the phone book and scan the listings to find out that the Scott Johanson you’re looking for resides on the east side of town. These days, it’s not that easy for two reasons – Scott has likely moved five times since you’ve known him, and you haven’t personally seen a phone book since 2004 (although you suspect your grandparents might have one in the attic).
The best and most reliable way to find the answer is to ask the person directly. But maybe you want to surprise them. Or perhaps you feel awkward asking. You may have no contact information for them at all. In that case, the internet will be your best buddy. You can search for their social media accounts — both Facebook and LinkedIn are among the most popular, and you may be able to reconnect with your friend there.
If they have an unusual first and last name, a relatively strong internet presence and a face that you recognize, Google may return a link or two. You can also try Google Reverse Image Search if you have a recent picture. This will help you find online sites that mention your friend. While a Google search is not likely to lead you to their address, if you follow the links and poke around some, you’ll probably find the city where they currently live. But how can you find their exact address?
What Information Do You Have Already?
The location is key. Plus, the more information you have, the easier it will be to find the person you’re searching for. Write down everything you know about your friend. This includes:
- First, middle and last name, whatever you have.
- Approximate age.
- City and state where they currently live or have lived in the past.
- Other names they may have used.
- Phone number.
- Email address.
- Names of relatives.
Spokeo’s People Search
Using the people search engine Spokeo you can easily look up someone’s current address. Start with the People Search tool. Enter the person’s name and, if you know it, the city, separated by a comma. If that returns too many results, you can further refine your search using the advanced filters (Spokeo’s Advanced Search feature can be found in the dropdown menu that appears after clicking into the search bar). You recall that Scott’s mom’s name is Irene and that he’s around 45. Enter what you know.
Once you’ve located the profile that most closely matches the information you have, unlock it in order to view available records that can show you the person’s current and previous addresses, contact info, and even social profiles.
For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can get the address and more in a name report. This report may also include:
- Marital status
- Names of spouse & other family members
- Work history
- Wealth info
Fast, Convenient Public Sources
With all of this historical information, you can verify that you have found the correct person. Need more addresses? Spokeo has an affordable membership plan that allows you to run up to 100 searches each month. The data is aggregated from government and state agency records, social media accounts and other public places. It’s fast and convenient, saving you the trouble of manually scouring publicly available sources to find what you need.
During these times of mostly electronic communications, it’s nice — surprising even — to receive an actual handwritten card in the mail. It’s nearly a forgotten nicety. Spokeo can help you rebuild your mailing list, find the people you love and easily get back in touch. They’ll be pleased to hear from you.