How Much Does Skip Tracing Cost in New York? Real Prices from a Licensed Investigator

You need to find someone.

Maybe it is a former tenant who left owing rent. A defendant your process server cannot locate. A debtor hiding from a judgment. A witness who moved twice since the accident.

So you searched "skip tracing cost" and found the same thing everyone finds. Twenty websites, zero prices. "Call for a quote." "Every case is different."

Here is something different. Real numbers, published, from a licensed New York private investigator.

The Short Answer: What Skip Tracing Costs

At Easton Secure Solutions LLC, skip tracing is flat-rate, per subject:

▪ Basic Skip Trace: $169
▪ Investigative Skip Trace: $399
▪ In-Person Locate Investigation: $120 per hour

No hidden fees. Pricing is confirmed in writing before any work begins, and consultations are free.

The rest of this article explains what separates those tiers, why the price gap exists, and how to pick the right one for your situation, because paying $399 when $169 would do is wasteful, and paying $169 when your case needs more can cost you far more than the difference.

Why Most Investigators Won't Publish Prices

Walk through the websites of private investigators across New York City and Long Island and you will notice the pattern. Services listed everywhere. Prices listed nowhere.

Some of that is habit. Some of it is strategy, getting you on the phone before talking money.

We publish our rates for a simple reason. The people who need a skip trace, attorneys with stalled cases, landlords chasing former tenants, families trying to reconnect, are already dealing with enough uncertainty. The cost of solving the problem should not be one more unknown.

What Each Tier Actually Gets You

Basic Skip Trace: $169

The Basic Skip Trace is a professional records-based search conducted under a New York State PI license.

It is built for straightforward cases. The subject is not actively hiding, you have accurate identifying information, and you need a current address developed from professional-grade sources rather than the recycled data on free people-search sites.

Typical uses: locating a former tenant for a security deposit dispute, finding a contact address for an estate matter, confirming where a subject currently resides before sending formal correspondence.

Investigative Skip Trace: $399

This is the tier most legal matters actually need.

An Investigative Skip Trace does not stop at the first address that comes back. Multiple professional sources are developed and cross-referenced. Inconsistencies get flagged and run down. Subjects with common names are separated from wrong matches. Digital footprint research supports and confirms the findings. A retired NYPD Lieutenant reviews the case before anything is delivered.

The result is a verified current address supported by more than one indicator, delivered in a structured written report suitable for legal use.

Typical uses: defendant locates for service of process, post-judgment debtor locates, witness locates, missing heir searches for Surrogate's Court, and any case where the address needs to hold up under scrutiny. If your case involves a defendant dodging service, we covered exactly how courts evaluate those situations in our article on what New York courts require before nail-and-mail.

In-Person Locate Investigation: $120 Per Hour

Some subjects cannot be confirmed from records alone. The paper trail goes cold, the subject is deliberately evading, or the matter requires verified physical presence.

A person locate includes everything in the Investigative Skip Trace, then adds field investigation: physical verification, neighborhood inquiries, and surveillance where warranted, conducted in New York City and Long Island. You can see the full breakdown on our person locating services page.

Typical uses: confirming a subject actually lives at a developed address before a critical service attempt, locating someone who has gone completely off the records grid, and matters where a family needs certainty, not a printout.

What Drives the Price of a Locate

Three factors, honestly stated:

▪ How much accurate information you start with. A full name and date of birth is a running start. A first name and an old neighborhood is not.
▪ Whether the subject is avoiding being found. Passive relocation is one problem. Active evasion is a different one.
▪ Whether the result needs to survive a courtroom. An address for reconnecting with an old friend and an address supporting a motion for alternative service carry different verification burdens.

That third factor is the real dividing line between the $169 and $399 tiers. When a judge, an opposing attorney, or a traverse hearing might examine how the address was developed, the verification work is not optional.

The $29 Alternative, and What It Actually Buys

You have seen the people-search websites. Twenty or thirty dollars, instant results.

What those sites sell is compiled data, often years stale, frequently mixing records from different people who share a name. There is no verification, no analysis, no accountability, and no one who reviewed the file.

For satisfying curiosity, that may be fine. For a legal matter in New York, a stale or wrong address does real damage. Service gets attempted at the wrong door. The 120-day service clock keeps burning. A default judgment gets built on defective service and later vacated.

The gap between $29 and $169 is not markup. It is the difference between a data dump and an investigation conducted under New York State PI license #11000228434, with a licensed investigator accountable for the result.

What New York Clients Should Expect for the Money

Whatever investigator you hire, in Nassau County, Suffolk County, or the five boroughs, a legitimate skip trace should come with:

▪ A licensed New York private investigator conducting the work, with a license number you can verify with the state
▪ Pricing confirmed in writing before work begins
▪ A structured written report, not a screenshot or a raw printout
▪ Clear communication about what was found and how confident the finding is

If any of those are missing, keep looking.

Getting a Locate Started

Every case begins the same way here. A free consultation to understand what you are trying to accomplish, a straight answer about which tier fits, and a written price before anything starts.

Skip tracing is conducted throughout New York State and nationwide. In-person locate investigations cover New York City and Long Island. Most cases begin within one business day.

Call, schedule a consultation, or complete the intake form below. The person you are looking for has an address. Finding it is the job.

About Easton Secure Solutions LLC

Easton Secure Solutions LLC is a Licensed NYS Private Investigator #11000228434 serving Long Island, NYC, and nationwide skip tracing. Services: skip tracing, person locates, missing persons, asset searches, identity verification, litigation support for attorneys, corporations, and private clients. Every case handled with discretion and accuracy.

☎️ Call: 516-962-1267
✉️ Email: [email protected]
💻 Website: https://eastonsecuresolutions.com
📅 Schedule: https://calendly.com/eastonpro-eastonsecuresolutions/30min
📝 Intake: https://eastonsecuresolutions.com/client-intake
🔎 Verify: https://appext20.dos.ny.gov/lcns_public/id_search_frm