Is skip tracing legal? Generally, yes. Here are the rules that apply.

This is not legal advice. Generally, yes. Looking up a property owner's contact information in public and commercial records is generally legal, but some sources are restricted: the Driver's Privacy Protection Act makes it unlawful to knowingly obtain personal information from a motor vehicle record for a use it doesn't permit (18 U.S.C. §2722(a)). The main rules cover how you use the data and how you contact people. The Fair Credit Reporting Act covers consumer reports used for credit, insurance, employment and the other purposes it lists (15 U.S.C. §1681a(d)(1)); Tracer data is marketing contact data only. For calls, the FCC's rules (47 CFR 64.1200) and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR Part 310; the calling rules this guide cites are in 16 CFR 310.4) set calling hours, the National Do Not Call Registry and consent for autodialed and prerecorded calls.

Not Tracer data. Tracer isn't a consumer reporting agency and its data isn't a consumer report. Our acceptable use policy forbids using it to decide anyone's eligibility for credit or loans, employment, insurance underwriting, housing or tenancy, or any other purpose the Fair Credit Reporting Act covers. Use it to reach owners about their property.

For telephone solicitations, yes. The FCC's rule bars them to residential subscribers on the national registry (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)). Its safe harbor, for a call made in error, asks for all of these: written procedures, trained staff, a recorded list of numbers you may not call, a registry copy no more than 31 days old and registry access bought from its administrator (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i)). The FTC's rule bars sales calls to registered numbers unless the seller has the person's written agreement or an established business relationship (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)). Tracer flags Phone 1 against your do-not-call list and ours; it doesn't check the National registry, so that part is yours.

Under federal rules, no telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time where the person you're calling is (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); the FTC's rule sets the same hours in 16 CFR 310.4(c)). The FCC applies its hours and do-not-call rules to cell phones too, to the extent its 2003 order describes (47 CFR 64.1200(e)). The federal law leaves room for stricter state rules on calls within a state (47 U.S.C. §227(f)(1)), so check the state's law too. For Florida numbers, the Florida Telemarketing Act (section 501.616, Florida Statutes) has its own rules. Its text didn't open for us on Sept 30, 2026, so this guide doesn't summarize it: read it before you set your calling hours.

Not without consent. For a telemarketing call made with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice to a cell phone, the FCC's rule asks for the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)). Texts are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act too, with consent rules this guide doesn't cover. Tracer sends no texts, and our done-for-you service calls the list; it doesn't text it.

No. The Driver's Privacy Protection Act restricts personal information from motor vehicle records: a state DMV may disclose it only for the uses the act lists (18 U.S.C. §2721), and knowingly obtaining it for any other use is unlawful (18 U.S.C. §2722(a)). Tracer uses no DMV or vehicle data.

Florida keeps its own do-not-call list, run by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and has its own laws on sales calls: the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (section 501.059, Florida Statutes) and the Florida Telemarketing Act, whose section 501.616 has its own rules for calls to Florida numbers. The Legislature's statute sites didn't open for us on Sept 30, 2026, so this guide doesn't summarize either one. Read both before you call Florida numbers.