What do you know already?

• Bring to mind everything you can remember about the person you are looking for - even a small detail may prove useful
• For example, do you know....the town or county where the person is living?....the person’s full name, including any middle names?....the names of the people he or she may be living with?....roughly how old the person is?

If you know the area and enough name detail and if the person is an adult, you may be lucky and find him/her quickly in a telephone directory or in an electoral register

• Do you know....the names of any of the person's relatives or friends?

If you cannot easily find the person you are looking for, maybe you could find a member of the person's family or one of his or her close friends in case they might be in contact with the person you are seeking

• Do you know....any past addresses and when the person lived there?

Neighbours at the last known address, or the person currently living at the last known address, might be able to help. They might have a forwarding address or be able to tell you which estate agent the person used so you could then ask whether the estate agent has a forwarding address

• Do you know....where the person worked?....where the person went to school or college?....any clubs, associations or trade union to which the person belonged?

Former employers, work colleagues, schools and colleges, clubs, associations and trade unions might be able to give you some help (although organisations would not normally give you the person's address)

• If you need contact details for businesses and other organisations, you may find them on the Gateway to the Internet or you can contact us
• Return to Finding people for more topics