How To Find Name Or Address Of Person Or Business

To find the owner of real property in Santa Clara County:

County Assessor's Office

70 West Hedding Street, 5th Floor, East Wing,
San Jose, California 95110

(408) 299-5500

Website: www.sccassessor.org

Give them the address of the property and ask for the names and addresses of the owners.

County Office of the Clerk-Recorder

70 West Hedding Street, 1st Floor, West Wing,
San Jose, California 95110

(408) 299-2481

Website: clerkrecorder.sccgov.org

Use the public records in this office to find the names and addresses of the owners of real property as they appear on the deed.

To find out how a business is owned in Santa Clara County:

County Office of the Clerk-Recorder

70 West Hedding Street, West Wing,
San Jose, Ca. 95110

(They won't give you information over the phone)

Website: clerkrecorder.sccgov.org

1. Look at the microfiche under the business name.
2. Copy the "certificate number." It's to the left of the business name.
3. Give the clerk that number.
4. Ask the clerk for the "Fictitious Business Name Statement."
5. You can buy a copy of the statement. You'll have to pay a small fee.

If you want information by mail, send a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check or money order to pay the fee.

Or search for a “Fictitious Business Name” at Office of the Clerk-Record Public Access Retrieval Information System . Click on the link "Fictitious Business Names" in the lower left side of the page.

Call (408) 299-5688 for more information and to find out how much the fee is.

To get information about contractors:

Contractor's State License Board

(408) 277-1244 or (800) 321-CSLB

Website: www.cslb.ca.gov/

Give them the Contractor’s name or their business name and license number, if you have it. Ask for the latest information, including the name and address of the contractor’s bonding company and the bond number. You can get this information online at www.cslb.ca.gov .

To find out about Corporate Status and get information about Limited Partnerships:

Secretary of State - Corporate Status Unit

1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California 95814

To find out how to get copies and how much you have to pay: (916) 657-5448 .

Give name and address of the corporation and ask for:

1. The names and addresses of the corporate officers
2. The name and address of "Agent for Service of Process"

Secretary of State - Limited Partnership Status Unit

1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California 95814

To find out how to get copies and how much you have to pay call: (916) 657-5448 .

Give them the name of the company. Ask for:

1. The full name and address of the limited partnership
2. The name and address of the General Managing Partner
3. The name and address of the Agent for Service

You can get this information online. Go to the California Secretary of State Business Search page.

To find out who owns a car repair shop:

Bureau of Automotive Repair

(800) 952- 5210

Website: www.bar.ca.gov

Give them the name of the business. Ask for the names and addresses of the owners.

For information about a car

State of California, Dept. of Motor Vehicles

(800) 777- 0133

The Department of Motor Vehicles doesn’t give out home addresses to people in lawsuits or process servers anymore.

Web site: www.dmv.ca.gov

U.S. Post Office

Change of address:

If the person moved, the post office won’t just give out a person’s new address. You can get a business’ new address for a $3.00 fee. After you file your case, you can get a person or business’ forwarding address so you can serve them. Visit the United States Post Office website .

Get records from the Post Office:

The Post Office will give you the street address of someone who has a P.O. box if they use the box to get or do business. Go to or write the post office where the box is. Show them an ad or some other proof that the box is being used as a business.

The post office will give you the forwarding address or the street address of a P.O. box for a business or a person if you can prove that you need that information to serve a party and that you’ll only use it to do this. Go to or write the post office where that box is and fill out a form. Or write them a letter asking for the information. The letter should say:

• Your name and address.
• The box holder’s name.
• The P.O. box number.
• The zip code.
• That you're representing yourself in a lawsuit.
• The name of the court.
• The title of the case.
• The case number.
• A short description of what the case is about.
• The names of all the other parties in the case.
• The box holder is a party in the case, a defendant or the person who lost the case.
• The information will only be used to serve a court paper (for example, Service of Process or Order to Appear for Examination).
• The citation of the law (for a Service of Process, CCP Section 116.340 , and for an Order to Appear for Examination, CCP Section 708.110 ). See Post Office Manual Section 352.44, sub. [e] to find the citation for your case.

Find a business through the City Clerk's Office:

The tax and permit division of the city clerk's office, has a list of names and addresses for most of the people who have a business license in a city. Find the address and phone number of the city clerk's office in the Government Pages of your phone book. It's usually in the city section under "Clerk." Here is a list of some of the cities in Santa Clara County that will give you the name of the owner over the phone :

Campbell (408) 866-2100	Cupertino (408) 777-3200	Gilroy (408) 846-0221
Milpitas (408) 586-3100	Morgan Hill (408) 779-7237	Los Altos (650) 948-1491
Mt. View (650) 902-6317	Saratoga (408) 868-1260	Sunnyvale (408) 730-7620

Other Ways to Get the Names of Business Owners Names:

Los Gatos	Go to the Town Clerk’s Office in person, 110 E. Main Street. Get a form called “Request For Records”.
Santa Clara	Send a request by mail, with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a check for $5.00 to the City of Santa Clara-Business Tax Division, 1500 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara, Ca. 95050

To Find Out the Names of a Corporation's Directors and their Agents for Service of Process

The Secretary of State keeps a record of the names and addresses of the officers of corporations and their agents for service of process. These are the people you can serve with the claim. To find out how to get this information, call (916) 657-5448 (recorded message).

You can search online or obtain written reports of business entities from the Secretary of State Records Request page . See the information request form . The Secretary of State can fax you the information. You’ll have to pay extra.

The Internet

There are a lot of ways to find people or businesses on the Internet. Most browsers can look for a person’s name. There are also reverse directories online. This means that if you have an address you can find out the name of the person or business. Most of the regulatory agencies have websites with a list of the people they license. Internet resources change all the time. Try search engines on the Internet.