Skip tracing is conducted by collecting as much information as possible about the subject. The information is then analyzed, reduced, and verified. Obtaining new and correct points of contact is key. Sometimes the subject’s current whereabouts are in the data but are obfuscated by the sheer amount of information or disinformation. More often, the data will be used to identify third parties who might be able to assist in the process. This is where the job becomes more than mere research.

Records that skip tracers use may include phone‑number databases, credit reports (including information provided on loan applications, credit‑card applications, and other debt‑collector databases), job‑application information, criminal background checks, utility bills (electricity, gas, water, sewage, phone, internet, and cable), Social Security, disability, and public tax information. While some of these records may be publicly available, others cannot be accessed without a lawful search warrant, which is generally only available to law enforcement.

Even when no specific information is returned, public databases exist that cross‑reference skip‑tracing information with others the “skip” may have lived with in the recent past. For instance, if previous records show a “skip” lived in the same house as a third party, the third party may also be skip traced to help locate the “skip.”