Skip tracing software finds contact details, such as phone numbers, emails and mailing addresses, for the owner behind a property or a name on a record. It comes in three forms: bulk skip tracing services and APIs, investor platforms with skip tracing built in, and investigative research tools made for legal and collections work. Ten options follow in no particular order.
A probate file, a tax roll or a vacant house gives you an address and maybe a name. Skip tracing is the step that turns that into a way to reach the person, and the tools that do it range from a CSV upload to software built for investigators.
The ten tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own website, read as of Oct 2026. This page describes what each tool says it does. It isn't legal advice, and the rules on how you contact people are yours to check before you use any of them.
Skip tracing tools compared
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| BatchData | Property data and skip tracing APIs | Skip tracing and reverse skip tracing by API |
| DealMachine | Property data and owner search | Owner lookups with contact details on every row |
| IDI | Identity intelligence platform | Investigations, identity checks and debt recovery |
| Lead Sherpa | Skip tracing and SMS for investors | Finding the people behind LLCs and trusts |
| PropStream | Real estate data platform | Property lists with skip tracing on higher plans |
| REsimpli | Investor CRM with skip tracing | Skip tracing inside an investor CRM |
| Skip Genie | Skip tracing for real estate and oil and gas | Name searches returning phones, emails and address history |
| Skip Trace Pros | Professional skip tracing service | Having a licensed firm locate a person for you |
| Tracerfy | Real estate skip tracing and data | Bulk skip tracing from a CSV, plus DNC checks |
| Tracers | Investigative research software | Batch skip tracing for legal and collections work |
Ten skip tracing services and platforms
BatchData
Best for: Developers and data teams who want skip tracing, reverse skip tracing and contact enrichment delivered through real-time API endpoints.
DealMachine
Best for: Anyone who wants property search and owner contact details in one tool, instead of piecing together several data providers by hand.
IDI
Best for: Businesses in fraud prevention, identity verification, investigations or debt recovery that need an identity data platform with skip tracing among its uses.
Lead Sherpa
Best for: Real estate investors who upload their own leads and want them skip traced, including owners behind LLCs and trusts, with texting in the same platform.
PropStream
Best for: Investors already pulling property lists who want skip tracing, click-to-dial and lead automation inside the same data platform on its higher plans.
REsimpli
Best for: Investing teams who'd rather skip trace inside their CRM, alongside list stacking, a dialer and follow-up, than run a separate service.
Skip Genie
Best for: Real estate and oil and gas researchers starting from a deed, tax roll or probate file who want a name search returning phones, emails and address history.
Skip Trace Pros
Best for: Law firms, collection agencies and lenders that want a firm to locate an individual for them, working under the licence of Express Investigations, LLC.
Tracerfy
Best for: Investors, wholesalers and home-service sales teams who want bulk skip tracing from a spreadsheet, single lookups by address or parcel, and DNC status checks.
Tracers
Best for: Legal, collections and public-safety professionals who want investigative research software with skip tracing, batch skip tracing and phone append tools.
Bulk service, built-in feature or investigator software
The vendor pages split into three camps. Tracerfy offers bulk skip tracing from an uploaded file and says its property data covers US properties only, BatchData lists skip tracing and reverse skip tracing among its APIs, and Skip Genie says it has been skip tracing since 2014, searching by name for phones, emails and address history.
Then there are investor platforms that bundle it in. PropStream's page lists free skip tracing in its Connect bundle on its Pro and Elite plans, REsimpli lists skip tracing inside its CRM, and DealMachine's page says investors waste hours on manual skip tracing, which is the problem its owner search sets out to fix. Lead Sherpa adds a separate data set for skip tracing LLCs and trusts.
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The third camp wasn't built for property at all. Tracers calls itself Investigative Research Software and names law enforcement agencies and skip tracing professionals among its users, IDI describes identity intelligence for investigations, fraud prevention and debt recovery, and Skip Trace Pros works for law firms, collection agencies and lenders. So the split is a service that returns contacts in bulk, an investor platform that bundles it, or research software made for other professions.
What a skip trace can return
A search usually starts from an address, a parcel number or a name, and the results vary by provider. Across the vendor pages on this list, the fields named include:
- Phone numbers, mobile and landline, sometimes with a verification flag.
- Email addresses for the owner or resident.
- Mailing address and address history, which helps when the owner no longer lives at the property.
- Possible relatives and associates, which matters for probate and inherited property.
- Owners behind LLCs and trusts, offered as a separate data set by at least one investor tool.
- Do Not Call flags, which some services check alongside the contact details.
Checks to make before you upload a list
- Decide whether you need single lookups, bulk uploads or an API, and pick the format first.
- Run a small test file you already know the answers to, and compare what each service returns.
- Ask how unmatched records are handled and what counts against your plan.
- Check which country the data covers before you sign up; several pages here describe US records.
- Read each vendor's own compliance pages, terms and do-not-call guidance before you contact anyone, and take legal advice where you're unsure.
- Keep the results in your CRM rather than in scattered spreadsheets, so you can see who's been contacted and when.
Once you've got contacts, a CRM keeps the follow-up in one place (my guide shows how to use a CRM to retain real estate clients), and my guide to AI lead generation covers finding the leads in the first place.
Do you make skip tracing or owner lookup software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing skip tracing software
Start with where your leads already live. If you're working inside an investor platform or CRM that includes skip tracing, test that first, because it saves exporting and re-importing every list. If you've got large files or your own software, a bulk service or API makes more sense. If your work is legal, collections or investigations rather than property, the investigator tools are built for you. Whatever you use, run the same test list through two options, and read each vendor's compliance pages before anyone picks up the phone.
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Frequently asked questions
What is skip tracing software?
It's software that looks up contact details, such as phone numbers, emails and current addresses, for a person linked to a property or record, so you can reach them.
What do I need to run a skip trace?
Usually a name, a property address or a parcel number. Bulk services accept a spreadsheet of records and return the matches as a file.
Can I skip trace owners behind an LLC or trust?
Some providers say they offer data sets for the people behind LLCs and trusts. Check what each one returns before you rely on it.
Is skip tracing built into investor software?
Several investor platforms and CRMs list skip tracing as a built-in feature. Others leave it to separate services you connect.
What's reverse skip tracing?
It starts from contact information, such as a phone number, and works back to the person or property linked to it. At least one API provider on this list names it as a separate product.
Who uses skip tracing besides real estate investors?
Law firms, collection agencies, lenders, investigators and home-service sales teams all appear on the vendor pages here, alongside wholesalers and agents.
