Fact Finding: Locating & Researching Persons, Companies, and Property: Researching People

Not clear where the information is coming from and tries to drive traffic to paid sites but could be useful as a second source to confirm information found elsewhere (like phone number, spouse, ethnicity, political affiliation etc). Offers a "reputation score" for each person.

Free people search that searches across the web including social media. Search by name, phone number or social media user name. Amount of free information returned depends on the sites searched but does allow for age range & location confirmation. Offers links to paid reports as well. Assigns a "PeekScore" from 1-10 which rates the individual's "digital footprint" or amount information available about them on the web with 10 being the most information available.

Enter email address to find associated name and sometimes a photo. Good for confirming that an email address is associated with a particular person. Links to paid reports if wish to see social media user names, blog links and other related information.

Search by name, phone number or address. Number of results varies depending on what search info is entered. Be sure to click on the "view all" links under addresses and phone numbers to see the full list of available info. Results should give you addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, associated names (or alternate spellings), possible relatives, possible associates, and possible businesses owned/associated with the person. Avoid the "View Background Report" links which take you out to sites required payment for access however if you do need more information, those links take you to PeopleFinders which is relatively inexpensive ($2-$10 per report, depending on the complexity of the report).

Reverse address lookup that lets you enter address and see contact information for people living nearby

See names (and their ages) associated with a particular phone number. Works best for land lines as most cell phone numbers are not included.

Bills itself as a "virtual cemetery experience" and includes over 150 million grave and final disposition records from around the world.

Records are PDFs organized by year and then by first letter of last name. Record gives child's name, mother's name, county of birth, date of birth and state file number.

Marriage licenses (since 1885) have been issued by the Clerk of Orphans Court in each county courthouse and must be requested from that individual courthouse.

From the PA Historical and Museum Commission

The Division of Vital Records issues copies of birth certificates only to legal representatives, family members or those with Power of Attorney for the named person and they can be ordered either online or via mail. View the complete list of eligible persons here: http://www.health.pa.gov/MyRecords/Certificates/Pages/610829.aspx#.V4aOtOsrK70

The Division of Vital Statistics also issues death certificates but only to "eligible persons" (Legal representative of estate, immediate family members, extended family members who indicate a direct relationship to the decedent, those with Power of Attorney or person retained by state/county/city that has assumed administration of a state). Can be requested online or via mail

This company offers paid reports but you can also run a quick name & location search for free. Add an age if you have it or to pare down results for common names. Results offer the age of persons matching that name/location, and a list of relatives.

Search by name or keyword. A NOTE OF CAUTION: may return photos of related or associated persons of the individual you searched for (example: photos of Facebook friends or colleagues whose profiles appear on the same page as your name etc.)

App that monitors a company or brand across multiple social media outlets(Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and others). Free 14-day demo available and pricing plans that start at $29/mo. Pricing is based on the number of keyword searches/alerts you want to set up, how many results you wish to receive and how many user licenses you need.

Create a free account to see results from more platforms (without account only searches LinkedIn, Venmo and three others). Free search across 80+ social media platforms to find mentions of your search term/name including Reddit, Wordpress blogs, Twitter, Photobucket, Ask.com, Facebook, Youtube etc. Offers analysis of those mentions to determine whether the response to that person/topic is positive, negative of neutral and offers a list of hashtags associated with that search term, users who have posted about that person/company and scores the "brand" on reach, passion and strength (see the FAQ link from the search page for an explanation of what each of these mean). Works better for companies than persons but does offer some news links not found elsewhere.

Enter company name (or person's name) in search bar to see 7 days worth of information (TalkWalker subscribers get access to more historical information than the free search allows). In addition to the mentions and links to that information, the site provides you with a strength rating for the company/brand, whether sentiment about the brand is positive, negative or neutral and the keywords, users, hashtags and other information associated with the brand. Also shows the breakdown of how many comments came from each social media site. Can sort or restrict results by date and by source (news, blogs etc.) You can also set up email alerts from the search results page (see icon on far right).

Use Peek You or Social Mention database to locate a twitter handle or search posts for the name of individual or company. You may be required to set up a free X account before you can search the platform.

Detailed list with information about when each started, how to join and number of users.

Search by individual name to locate contributions made by individuals, partnerships and LLCs to individual politicians and to Super PACs and Hybrid PACs. Results show contributor's name, location, employer, occupation, who donation was made to, donation date and amount. Note: there is approximately a 30-day lag between contribution and recording so contributions made in the last month will NOT appear in this list. Clicking on the Advanced Search link lets you enter an employer name, location or occupation to narrow down your search.

Check license status and date of expiration by name, location, type of insurance or license type. Results list individual's full name, city where located, license number and date of expiration. See list of links under Resources on right side of the page.

Linked In is great for locating a person's employment history, education, and description of their skills but many LinkedIn users also include descriptions or even links to their major presentations and papers. Volunteer work and hobbies or interests may also be listed. CAUTION: Note that LinkedIn DOES notify the person that their profile has been viewed unless you have a LinkedIn Premium account which masks views OR you change your settings (go to your Account--> Settings & Privacy-->Visibility--> Profile Viewing Options-->Change--> select Private Mode-->Anonymous Linked In Member)

Search by individual name or business

Look up bar licenses and disciplinary actions.

Select by type of contractor to view list. Gives contractor name, company name and address.

Search by name, phone number or address. Number of results varies depending on what search info is entered. Be sure to click on the "view all" links under addresses and phone numbers to see the full list of available info. Results should give you addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, associated names (or alternate spellings), possible relatives, possible associates, and possible businesses owned/associated with the person. Avoid the "View Background Report" links which take you out to sites required payment for access however if you do need more information, those links take you to PeopleFinders which is relatively inexpensive ($2-$10 per report, depending on the complexity of the report).

Search by name, inmate number, committing county, location etc.

Search by individual name or property/school address to see registered sex offenders living in that area. Results give you offender's full name, DOB, physical description (including tattoos or scars/markings), aliases, and home or any other associated addresses. Some records display offender's mug shot or other photo. Also displays charges and date of conviction as well as state that required the registration.

Overview of reality that there is not one comprehensive source for criminal background information. Includes information on what is available by state.

Table showing Nature of Suit (NOS) codes and their corresponding federal statutes, grouped by type of case.

To find high school or college information. Must create free account to be able to search. Look for the "remove visit" link on a profile otherwise your visit is recorded and the person will see who visited their profile on the site.

Linked In is great for locating a person's employment history, education, and description of their skills but many LinkedIn users also include descriptions or even links to their major presentations and papers. Volunteer work and hobbies or interests may also be listed. Note that LinkedIn DOES notify the person that their profile has been viewed unless you change your security settings to private search mode.

Linked In is great for locating a person's employment history, education, and description of their skills but many LinkedIn users also include descriptions or even links to their major presentations and papers. Volunteer work and hobbies or interests may also be listed. Note that LinkedIn DOES notify the person that their profile has been viewed unless you change your security settings to private search mode.

Use Peek You or Social Mention database to locate a twitter handle or search posts for the name of individual or company. You may be required to set up a free X account before you can search the platform.

Search by individual name to locate contributions made by individuals, partnerships and LLCs to individual politicians and to Super PACs and Hybrid PACs. Results show contributor's name, location, employer, occupation, who donation was made to, donation date and amount. Note: there is approximately a 30-day lag between contribution and recording so contributions made in the last month will NOT appear in this list. Clicking on the Advanced Search link lets you enter an employer name, location or occupation to narrow down your search.

Database is intended for individuals to check their own registration status. Search requires first and last name, full birth date and county of residence.

Clearinghouse of links to Social Media portals for all branches of the US Military. Links to Facebook pages and other social media accounts for individual battallions and other groups.

Search for medal of valor, service medal and other awards coming from all four branches of the military. Records give full name, rank, and conflict in which the veteran served. Can not search across branches by name--must conduct separate search in each branch and by type of award.

Records must be requested via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request. See the link above for what information will be released from military personnel files in response to such a request.

Links to free and subscription newspapers from around the world.

Some limited access available for free.

"The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months" thru annualcreditreport.com. Read how to avoid "imposter" sites.

Individuals may request their own credit report at this site. Explore this site for information about credit reports, requesting reports in special situations, and answers to frequently asked questions.

This information is from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit advocacy group.

"Upon request and with proper identification (as explained [at this link]), LexisNexis Risk Solutions FL Inc. ("LexisNexis") will provide individuals with a copy of the Accurint Comprehensive Report or with a copy of the Accurint for Collections Contact & Locate Comprehensive Report."

"See what information about you is maintained in our [LexisNexis] files by requesting a Consumer Disclosure Report. The report includes items such as real estate transaction and ownership data, lien, judgment, and bankruptcy records, professional license information, and historical addresses. "