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How to Find Name or Address of Person or Business

How to Find Name or Address of Person or Business

This is a list of places that can help you find the right name and address of the person or business you want to sue: 

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

County Assessor's Office

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

County Office of the Clerk-Recorder

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

Go to their website:

  • To get information in person at the Clerk-Recorder Office, it is suggested to make an appointment.
  • To find how to get information by mail or e-mail.
  • To search online for a Fictitious Business Name (FBN).

To get information about contractors:

Contractor's State License Board

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.

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

Secretary of State - Business Entities

You can get information about businesses online, go to the California Secretary of State Business Search.

To find out who owns a car repair shop:

Bureau of Automotive Repair

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

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

Find information from the 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 on the internet or in the Government Pages of your phone book (it's usually in the city section under "Clerk").

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 Business Entities Records Request page.

Search 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.