Skip tracing guides
Skip tracing guides for real estate investors, grouped by the job in front of you: what skip tracing is and costs, how to prepare a list, which owner and list types need extra steps, what the phones in a result mean, and how services compare. Each link below says what that page answers.
Key facts
- Price
- a flat $0.03 a record at any list size from 50 to 100,000 records.
- Unit
- Priced per matched record.
- Minimum order
- 50 records
- Minimum charge
- Minimum charge $0.50 when any record matches.
- Single search
- Single search: $0.10, charged only on a match, paid from prepaid credit ($10 minimum top-up).
- Prepaid credit
- Prepaid credit expires 12 months after your last credit purchase, single search or credit-paid list, and unused credit is refundable on request within 90 days of purchase.
- Free tool
- Check your list free at /tools/skip-trace-csv-checker. Check columns, split addresses and download a fixed CSV in your browser before tracing at $0.03 a record. No account needed.
- Subscription
- None. A list order is paid for on its own by card or prepaid credit.
- Max per order
- 100,000 rows or 50 MB per file
- Output
- Up to 10 phones per owner, each with its line type (mobile, landline or VoIP), plus emails where found
- Sources
- 3 core providers: idiCORE, Enformion and Delvepoint
- Not for
- FCRA uses: credit, insurance, employment or tenant screening
- Prices last changed
- Last updated
Start here
Skip tracing turns a list of owner names and addresses into phone numbers and emails you can use to reach them. If you already have a list, skip ahead to Preparing your list. None of these guides is legal advice: the rules on how contact data may be used are on the permissible use page. Read these four in order: what it is, the words people use for it, how to reach one owner, and what free and paid tracing each cover.
- What is skip tracing?What skip tracing is in real estate, what you upload and what comes back, in plain terms.
- Skip tracing glossaryPlain definitions of hit, match, miss, per record vs per match, situs vs mailing address, APN and more.
- Find a property owner's phone numberThree routes to one number: the county assessor, a people-search site for one owner, a skip trace for a list.
- Free vs paid skip tracingWhat free single lookups cover, what "free with a plan" usually means, and what a whole list costs to trace.
Where to start, by what you have
| What you have | Read first | Then |
|---|---|---|
| A question, no list yet | What is skip tracing? | Skip tracing glossary |
| One property and the owner's name | Find a property owner's phone number | Mailing vs property address |
| A list from the county or a list tool | Skip tracing CSV format | Skip trace CSV checker |
| Owners that are LLCs | Skip trace an LLC-owned property | Skip tracing CSV format |
| Vacant land parcels | Skip tracing vacant land owners | Mailing vs property address |
| A budget to set | How much does skip tracing cost? | Skip tracing services compared |
| A result file to work through | Mobile, landline or VoIP | Sample result file |
Cost and pricing
Skip tracing is sold per record, per match, per hit or inside a monthly plan. These pages turn each into a bill for your list.
- How much does skip tracing cost?Every way skip tracing is priced, what each unit means, and what a list costs at common sizes.
- Skip tracing cost calculatorEnter a record count and see the most Skipmatch can charge for that list before you upload anything.
- Cheap skip tracingPer-record vs per-hit pricing, and why a low unit price can cost more per owner reached.
- Bulk skip tracing by priceThe cost of 10,000, 25,000 and 100,000 records at each service that publishes enough to price it, from its own pricing page, dated.
- DealMachine skip tracing costWhat DealMachine's seat plans and monthly data credits cost per credit, from its pricing page, and why it publishes no price per trace.
- BatchLeads skip tracing costBatchLeads' current and legacy plan terms for phones and emails, from its pricing page and help center.
- Before you cancel a subscriptionWhat to export, which renewal date to note and which refund clause to read before you cancel a plan.
Preparing your list
A trace can only use what the file gives it. Get the columns and the address right before you pay for anything.
- Skip tracing CSV formatThe columns an upload needs, which are optional, how to split names, and what to do with LLC rows.
- Skip trace CSV checkerDrop in your CSV to see how its columns map and how many exact duplicates it holds. It is read in your browser.
- Mailing vs property addressWhich address to trace, why records follow where the owner lives, and where the property address fails.
- Skip trace by parcel number (APN)A parcel number alone cannot be traced: how to turn an APN list into owner names and mailing addresses.
- Driving for dollars to skip tracingFrom addresses noted in the field to a traceable owner file, without an app subscription.
Owner types and list types
Some owners cannot be traced from the list as it comes. These pages cover the extra step each one needs.
- Skip trace an LLC-owned propertyAn LLC has no phone of its own: the deed, Secretary of State and annual-report steps to the person behind it.
- Skip tracing vacant land ownersNo house address to trace: running the owner's mailing address and preparing a county parcel export.
- Find the heirs of a deceased ownerThe public-record steps from deed and probate court to a named heir or personal representative.
- Probate list skip tracingWhose name and address to upload from a probate list, and what a bulk trace brings back.
- Absentee owner skip tracingOwners who live somewhere else: which address to trace and where absentee lists come from.
- Tax delinquent list skip tracingTurning the county's delinquent list, often a PDF, into a CSV of owners with the right address to trace.
- Returned mail skip tracingBuilding a file from the mail that came back and acting on the owner's new address first.
Results and phones
What a result file holds, what the labels on each phone mean, and how to judge what a service found.
- Mobile, landline or VoIPWhat each line type means on a result, why a text to a landline fails, and how to sort a call list by type.
- How many phone numbers a skip trace returnsHow many phones and emails come back per owner, and what other services publish as their maximum.
- Judging a skip tracing hit rateHit, match and right-party contact are different numbers. How to test two services on the same records.
- Sample result fileA real result layout with invented records, column by column, before you sign up.
Comparisons
Each page quotes other services' own published prices with a link and the date it was checked. The full table is on the compare page. Skipmatch is one of the services compared. Skipmatch publishes these pages and none of them rates another company's data. The compare page names every service with a lower pay-as-you-go unit price than Skipmatch, and the plan rates that sit below it.
- Skip tracing services comparedEvery service we track, with its published price, billing unit, minimum and plan, sourced and dated.
- Best skip tracing services (2026)Which service fits which kind of buyer, with each one's published price and source.
- PropStream alternatives for skip tracingWays to trace a list without a PropStream plan, each with its published price and unit.
- BatchLeads vs PropStream for skip tracingHow each platform packages skip tracing, from its own pages: included contacts, extra-contact prices, plan floors.
- BatchData vs REISkip vs TracerfyOne list of 500 to 100,000 records on a monthly plan, a per-match price and credits, each from its own pricing page.
- Tracerfy vs BatchDataTracerfy's credits against BatchData's monthly plans at 10,000 to 300,000 records a month, from their own pages.
- Skip tracing alternativesEvery tracked service grouped by how you pay today: a subscription platform, a credit balance or a per-match price, with the dated master table.
FAQ
Where should I start if I am new to skip tracing?
Start with what skip tracing is, then the glossary for the words results and price lists use. When you have a list, read the CSV format guide and run the file through the free CSV checker, which reads it in your browser without uploading it. Read the cost guide before you pay anyone.
Should I skip trace the mailing address or the property address?
Lead with the mailing address: it is the owner's address on the county record, so the name and the address describe the same person. Add the property address when you have it; it is the right one when the owner lives there. For absentee owners and vacant land, the property address is not where the owner lives.
How much does skip tracing cost?
It depends on the unit: services charge per record, per match, per hit or through a monthly plan, so compare the whole bill for your list rather than the unit price. Skipmatch charges per matched record: a flat $0.03 a record at any list size from 50 to 100,000 records. Minimum charge $0.50 when any record matches. The compare page lists other services' published prices with sources.
Are these guides legal advice?
No. They explain how skip tracing works and what public records show; they are not legal advice. The rules every Skipmatch account accepts on how contact data may be used are on the permissible use page, and a lawyer in your state is the right source for questions about calling, texting or mailing owners.
Who writes these guides, and can I trust the comparisons?
Skipmatch writes them, and Skipmatch sells skip tracing, so read the comparisons with that in mind. They quote each company's own pricing page with a link and the date it was checked, rate no one's data, and the compare page names every service with a lower pay-as-you-go unit price than Skipmatch, and the plan rates that sit below it. Each guide shows its last updated date.
Price your list before you pay for it.
Create an account, upload the file, and see your total before you pay. Records with no phone and no email are never charged.