Witness Location Services: Find Witnesses for Litigation & Depositions
Critical witnesses move, change jobs, and become difficult to contact. When you need testimony for trial, depositions, or legal proceedings, professional witness location services find the people your case depends on—before deadlines pass and opportunities close.
📌 Key Takeaways
- Witnesses commonly become unreachable due to moves, job changes, or reluctance to participate
- Skip tracing techniques locate most witnesses within 24-72 hours
- Professional services work with court deadlines and can coordinate subpoena service
- Information about the witness (name, DOB, last address) improves search success
- Even reluctant witnesses can often be found through database searches and associate analysis
- Documentation of location efforts may be needed for court filings
📑 Table of Contents
⚖️ Why Witness Location Matters
What is witness location? Witness location is the process of finding and identifying the current whereabouts of individuals who have relevant testimony for legal proceedings. This includes eyewitnesses, character witnesses, expert witnesses who have relocated, and any person whose testimony is needed for litigation, depositions, arbitration, or trial.
Cases often span years from incident to trial. During that time, witnesses move, change phone numbers, switch jobs, get married and change names, or simply become difficult to reach. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 27 million Americans move annually—meaning any witness has roughly a 1-in-12 chance of moving in any given year.
Without key witnesses, cases can collapse. Critical testimony goes unheard. Depositions can’t proceed. Trials get postponed or decided on incomplete evidence. The opposing side gains advantage. Professional witness location ensures that when your case depends on someone’s testimony, you can actually reach them.
👥 Types of Witnesses We Locate
Our witness location services help attorneys and legal teams find various types of witnesses:
Eyewitnesses
People who directly observed the incident, accident, or events in question. Often critical to establishing facts and timelines. May have moved since the incident occurred.
Former Employees
Past employees with knowledge relevant to employment disputes, corporate litigation, or workplace incidents. Frequently change contact information after leaving.
Medical Witnesses
Treating physicians, nurses, or healthcare workers involved in medical malpractice cases or personal injury claims. May have changed practices or retired.
Expert Witnesses
Previously retained experts who need to testify about prior opinions or work. Academics and consultants who relocate or change affiliations.
Character Witnesses
Friends, colleagues, or acquaintances who can speak to someone’s character, reputation, or habits relevant to the case.
Document Custodians
Individuals who created, maintained, or have knowledge of documents needed for litigation. May have left the organization that holds records.
🚧 Common Challenges
Witness location presents unique challenges that standard contact methods can’t solve:
🏠 Moved Without Forwarding
Witnesses relocate without leaving forwarding information. Mail returns undeliverable. Phone disconnected.
📵 Changed Contact Info
Phone numbers and emails change frequently. The contact information in your file may be years old and useless.
👰 Name Changes
Marriage, divorce, or legal name changes make witnesses hard to find under their new names.
🙈 Reluctant to Participate
Some witnesses avoid involvement in litigation. They may not respond to calls or letters.
⏰ Time Has Passed
Years between incident and trial mean extensive changes in circumstances. Records become outdated.
📝 Common Names
Witnesses with common names are difficult to distinguish from others with similar names.
💡 Why Standard Methods Fail
Simply searching Google or social media often fails for witnesses. Privacy settings hide profiles. Common names return thousands of results. People use nicknames or maiden names online. Professional skip tracing accesses databases unavailable publicly and applies investigative expertise to find the right person—not just anyone with that name.
🔍 How Witness Location Works
Professional witness location uses systematic investigation to find witnesses:
Information Collection
We gather all available information about the witness: full name, last known address, date of birth, Social Security Number if available, employer at time of incident, phone numbers, and any other identifying details. Police reports, prior deposition transcripts, and case files often contain useful starting information.
Database Searches
We search multiple proprietary databases including credit headers, utility connection records, vehicle registrations, property records, and aggregated public records. These databases contain address histories and current information not available through standard searches.
Cross-Reference & Verify
Results are cross-referenced across sources to confirm accuracy and identify the correct individual. We distinguish between people with similar names using DOB, address history, and other identifiers. Verification ensures we’ve found the right person.
Associate Analysis
For difficult cases, we analyze the witness’s known associates—family members, former employers, friends—who may know current whereabouts. Sometimes locating the witness means first locating someone who knows where they are.
Deliver Verified Results
We provide current address, phone numbers, and other contact information. Results include confidence level and source verification. For subpoena service, we can coordinate with process servers to complete service.
📋 Information Needed
The more information you provide, the faster and more accurate your results:
| Information | Importance | Where to Find It |
|---|---|---|
| Full Legal Name | Essential | Police reports, prior depositions, case files |
| Date of Birth | Very High | Driver’s license, deposition transcripts, employment records |
| Last Known Address | High | Case files, correspondence, police reports |
| Social Security Number | High | Employment records, court documents (if disclosed) |
| Employer (at time) | Helpful | Deposition transcripts, investigation notes |
| Phone Numbers (old) | Helpful | Prior contact records, police reports |
| Vehicle Information | Helpful | Police reports, insurance claims |
| Known Associates | Sometimes | Investigation notes, social media |
⚖️ Mining Your Case Files
Police reports, accident reports, prior depositions, interrogatory answers, employment records, and insurance claims often contain witness identifying information beyond just name and address. Review these documents for DOBs, SSNs (sometimes partially redacted), vehicle information, employers, and other details that improve search success.
📬 After the Witness Is Located
Finding the witness is the first step. Here’s what typically happens next:
Subpoena Service
For witnesses who need to be compelled to testify, you’ll need to serve a subpoena. This requires proper legal service per your jurisdiction’s rules. We can coordinate with process servers familiar with your area to complete service once we’ve verified the witness’s location.
Initial Contact
For friendly witnesses, we provide contact information so your office can reach out directly. Many witnesses are willing to cooperate—they’ve simply become hard to reach due to moves or changed numbers.
Interview Coordination
Some attorneys prefer that investigators make initial contact to assess witness cooperation level and availability before scheduling formal depositions. We can facilitate these preliminary conversations.
Documentation for Court
If witnesses can’t be located despite diligent efforts, our documentation of search attempts may support motions for continuance, requests to use prior testimony, or other court filings. We provide detailed reports of what was searched and when.
⚠️ Handle Reluctant Witnesses Carefully
Some witnesses avoid legal involvement for various reasons—inconvenience, fear of retaliation, distaste for litigation, or loyalty to the opposing party. Professional handling of these situations is crucial. Heavy-handed approaches can backfire. We advise on strategies for engaging reluctant witnesses while staying within legal and ethical bounds.
⏱️ Timelines & Deadlines
Court deadlines don’t wait. Understanding realistic timelines helps you plan:
| Case Complexity | Typical Timeline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard search, good info | 24-48 hours | Witness moved but not hiding; current databases have address |
| Common name, limited info | 3-5 business days | Need to distinguish from multiple matches |
| Name change (marriage/divorce) | 3-7 business days | Tracing through name change records |
| Reluctant/avoiding | 1-2 weeks | May require associate interviews |
| Out of state relocation | 24-72 hours | No additional delay for interstate |
| Rush/urgent deadline | Same day possible | Additional fees apply; depends on case |
Working With Court Deadlines
Discovery cutoffs, deposition schedules, and trial dates create real pressure. We understand legal timelines and prioritize accordingly. If you have an urgent deadline, communicate it upfront so we can allocate appropriate resources. Rush services are available for time-sensitive matters.
💡 Start Early
Don’t wait until the week before depositions to locate witnesses. Start the search as soon as you know a witness may be difficult to reach. Early searches cost the same but eliminate deadline pressure and allow time for extended investigation if initial searches don’t succeed.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
We use skip tracing techniques including database searches of address records, utility connections, vehicle registrations, and employment records. We also analyze associates and relatives who may know the witness’s current location. Most witnesses who have simply moved (not deliberately hiding) can be located within 24-72 hours with good starting information.
Standard skip tracing starts at $129 flat rate and locates most witnesses who aren’t deliberately hiding. More complex cases requiring extended investigation, field work, or interviews with associates cost $75-150 per hour. Rush services for urgent court deadlines may carry additional fees. We provide estimates upfront so there are no surprises.
We can coordinate with process servers to serve subpoenas once we’ve located the witness. Some investigators are also certified process servers and can handle both location and service. We work with attorneys to ensure proper service that will hold up in court, following all applicable rules of civil procedure.
Reluctant witnesses are common in litigation. Professional investigators can often locate them through database searches and associate interviews even when they’re avoiding contact. Once located, subpoena power can compel testimony. We handle these situations with discretion and professionalism, and can advise on strategies for engaging reluctant witnesses.
Timeline depends on case complexity. Simple cases with good information often resolve in 24-48 hours. Witnesses who have moved multiple times or have common names may take 3-7 days. Witnesses actively avoiding detection require extended investigation. We offer rush services for urgent court deadlines when cases allow.
At minimum: full name and any known prior address. Helpful additional information includes date of birth, Social Security Number, employer name, phone numbers (even old ones), vehicle information, and names of associates. The more information you provide, the faster and more accurate our results. Police reports and prior depositions often contain useful identifying information.
Yes. Our database access and search capabilities cover all 50 states. We work with law firms, corporate legal departments, insurance companies, and government agencies throughout the country. Witnesses who have relocated to other states don’t require additional time—our searches are nationwide regardless of where the witness may have moved.
👁️ Need to Locate a Witness?
Professional witness location with 20+ years experience. Fast results, court-deadline aware. We find the witnesses your case depends on.
