You do not have someone’s current address — where do you start?

Which address do you need, and for what decision?

“I need a current address” may mean you need to make formal contact, check an older address reference or clarify a business connection. Those questions call for different sources. A clear purpose helps avoid treating any address found as the answer.

An old address or document may provide a starting point for assessing feasibility. A name alone can be ambiguous. After clarifying the purpose, we assess whether the information can distinguish the right person and which details are actually needed. For the first email, simply describe the type of information and its approximate age.

• A historical address: a reference relating to a particular time. A business address, correspondence address or former residence can all be historical; the word describes timing, not a separate use of an address.
• A business address: a place where business is conducted, as identified in a particular source for a particular period.
• A correspondence or service address: an address designated for that purpose in the document concerned. Whether it is effective for a particular procedure is a separate question.
• A place of residence: this should not be inferred solely from a business address, an organisation's entry or a contact point.

Polish official sources also distinguish address categories. Article 5(1)(6) of the Act governing CEIDG, the business register for individual entrepreneurs (Polish PDF), lists an address for service separately from a permanent place of business, where the entrepreneur has one. Reading either category does not, by itself, establish where the person lives.

Recency: the event date, entry date and access date

A source opened today may still contain information from years ago. Keep three dates separate in your notes: the period to which the address relates, when the entry was published or changed, and when you read it. Record an unknown date as unknown instead of supplying an assumption.

A current year in a website footer need not mean its contact details were updated. A recent article may cite an older document. An old publication can still help reconstruct a history, even though it cannot establish the present position. See the guide to assessing public sources for more on these differences.

What to organise privately before a conversation

This checklist is for your own preparation. It is not a list of attachments for the first email. Use information you already lawfully hold; do not obtain additional personal documents just in case.

• Purpose: why contact is needed and how you intend to use the findings.
• The last reference: the source type and the period when the address was known to be current. Distinguish your own knowledge from information someone else supplied.
• The reason for doubt: what actually suggests a change, such as a newer publication or returned correspondence. One signal does not establish a new address.
• Mistaken-identity risk: whether you hold information that could distinguish people with the same name. Any necessary details will be agreed only after qualification.
• The relevant period: whether you need the current position or an address reference connected to a past event.
• The useful output: a check of one reference, a chronology of changes or a comparison of sources and unresolved points.

When commissioning from abroad, also identify the connection to Poland and your preferred language for the written output. Different spellings of names or places may need clarification later. At first contact, it is enough to say that spelling variants exist; do not send them yet. Remote discussion of the scope does not require sending the underlying documents in advance.

Example: two addresses may describe different things

Synthetic example — no real person or assignment is described. A client's note links Person A to Address X four years ago. A newer business publication lists Address Y. A search engine also returns a copy of an old directory containing X.

This does not establish that A moved from X to Y. Y may concern business activity, while the directory containing X may repeat old information. First check whether the entries concern the same person, what type of address each describes and which period it covers. The copied directory is not independent confirmation that X remains current.

A useful finding might read: “The business source lists Y in connection with business activity. The material does not establish A's current residence.” This states the precise limit of the finding; it does not mean no work was done.

What affects the scope and cost?

The fee depends on the number and recency of address references, the risk of confusing people with the same name, the period covered, source availability and the required form of the output. Comparing one entry involves different work from reconstructing several years of conflicting addresses. A quote follows the feasibility assessment, without a promise of finding a current address.

We agree the question, lawful source scope, period, form of the output, price and timing before starting. It also matters whether the task is to test an address reference you already hold or look for newer public information. These are different scopes of work. The language and contents of the written findings need agreement too.

When reviewing the output, look for four elements alongside each reference: the connection to the right person, address type, date and information source. Conflicts and missing information should also be visible. Address tracing in Poland does not guarantee a confirmed current residence or successful service of documents.

When source analysis is not enough

We do not have privileged access to Poland's PESEL population register. The official guidance on requesting another person's data (in Polish) describes a separate procedure. It distinguishes a demonstrated legal interest from a factual interest, for which the person's consent is required. A wish to contact someone does not automatically create an entitlement to their data.

A matter involving a claim or service of documents requires the appropriate procedure to be assessed by counsel or the competent authority. This guide helps define information analysis; it is not a guide to court procedure. OSINT findings do not replace official steps or confirmation of facts on the ground. The service boundaries explain the distinction from fieldwork.

If the matter needs facts checked beyond available publications, such as verification on the ground, Pomorskie Biuro Detektywistyczne can separately assess the possibility of broader investigative work. The scope, lawfulness and fee for that service require a separate agreement. OSINT analysis does not include those activities.

Requests involving harassment, control of a partner, retaliation or bypassing privacy will be refused. Even public information requires assessment of purpose, legal basis and proportionality; Articles 5–6 of the GDPR set out the relevant data-protection principles.

First contact without the person's details

Synthetic example of a general enquiry: “I need to assess whether contact information for a person in Poland is current, for a justified formal-contact purpose. I hold an older address reference and a newer business publication. I would like to know whether available sources can help compare them and explain the limitations.”

This is enough to begin qualification. Do not add the person's name, full addresses, PESEL number, identity scans, returned correspondence or case files. After assessing feasibility, we agree the scope and fee and enter into a contract. You then share the necessary materials through an individually agreed channel. Use the contact page to discuss your general need.