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Address History Search | How to Find My Previous Addresses

clock Updated: 2 months ago

Address History Search | How to Find My Previous Addresses

You may need to find all your past addresses…

Your previous addresses can be used for various purposes, especially when filling out paperwork that requires a background check. As illustrated in a forum post1, if you are applying for immigration, the application form typically demands a detailed map of where you’ve lived for the past five or even ten years.

The same is true when applying for a job, even if it is just a part-time job, as another forum user discovered2. And when applying for an apartment that you really want, you may also be asked to provide your address history.

…but sometimes it can be really tricky

Who can still remember the specific address of the apartment they lived in for half a year during their internship years ago? Or maybe you have moved frequently in the past few years, making it difficult to remember those addresses. Well, it’s perfectly normal. In fact, many people have admitted that they can’t accurately remember their exact address from three years ago.

Fortunately, memory isn’t the only resource we have to track down our past addresses. This guide will unveil multiple ways to uncover those forgotten addresses, from checking your credit report to utilizing people search engines.

Method 1: Check Your Credit Report

Your credit reports aren’t just for checking your credit score; they can also hold clues to your past addresses. Thanks to federal law, you can get a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) every 12 months. To get your report, just head over to annualcreditreport.com.

Some people have shared their success stories of obtaining their past addresses for the past ten years by checking their credit reports3. However, not everyone has had the same experience. Some people have reported that their addresses did not show up after checking their reports. Regardless, it is worth a try. If you do not find the information you are looking for, you can try other methods in this article.

Method 2: Check old documents

Listed below are some documents that may contain your past address information:

  • Personal financial records, such as bank statements, credit card statements, and loan documents.
  • Tax forms: W-2 forms, tax returns, and other tax-related documents
  • Utility bills: Past utility bills, such as those for electricity, water, or gas
  • School records: Report cards, school transcripts, or other educational records.
  • Personal correspondence: Letters, packages, or cards sent to you or by you.

How to find previous address by tax return

If you’ve saved your tax returns, check them for past addresses. If not, contact the IRS for copies of your tax returns from the past six years ($57 per copy). You’ll need to fill out Form 4506 (available on IRS.gov) and mail it to the local IRS office listed on the form.

Alternatively, request free tax transcripts from the IRS. However, these transcripts only show the first six characters of your past addresses. If you’re a puzzle pro, this might be enough to recall your old addresses. To obtain a transcript, you can visit the Get Transcript page of the IRS website. Most transcripts allow you to see the current tax year and the previous 3 years.

Method 3: Search Your Online Accounts

Another way to find your previous addresses is by searching your online shopping accounts. Online shopping sites such as Amazon, eBay, or Best Buy often save information about your purchase history, from which you can find your old shipping address.

In a Reddit thread, someone commented about successfully finding all his/her past addresses since 2006 using Amazon4

Method 4: Use a People Search Engine

One of the quickest and easiest ways to find your previous addresses is by using a public records search engine. Unlike general-purpose search engines, these dedicated people search engines are mainly used to search for public data about people online. With just a name and state, you may uncover a wealth of information about someone, including possibly their full name, contact info, address history, social media profiles, educational history, and more.

Here are some best people search engines we have tested and recommended:

1. BeenVerified

When looking for someone’s public records, BeenVerified can be your go-to choice. BeenVerified’s people search tool sifts through billions of data points to offer you a detailed report that may include current and past addresses, contact information, employment history, social media accounts, and potentially more.

To find your past addresses with BeenVerified:

  1. Go to BeenVerified.
  2. Enter your name, city and state. Then hit SEARCH
  3. Wait a few seconds for BeenVerified to scan its database. Once done, click your own report to view your address history.

2. Spokeo

Spokeo is one of the most popular people search engines in the United States. It collects people-related information from a large variety of public online and offline sources. With Spokeo, you can confidentially look up information about people by name, phone, address, email or username.

To find your previous address with Spokeo:

  1. Go to Spokeo.
  2. Enter your name and click SEARCH NOW.
  3. Then wait for Spokeo to search the database. Once finished, select your own report to view and then you should be able to see your address history.

3. TruthFinder

TruthFinder is a people search engine that allows users to search for nearly anyone in the United States by name, phone number, address or email address. With TruthFinder, you could find possible contact information, criminal and traffic records, assets, local information and history, and other public records.

To search for your address history with TruthFinder:

  1. Go to TruthFinder.
  2. Type in your name, city and state. Then click SEARCH.
  3. Within minutes, TruthFinder will generate a detailed report which may include your current and past addresses. In order to view the report, you will need to purchase a membership plan that best fits your needs.

    The above image is from a sample TruthFinder report. Actual TruthFinder reports may contain more or less information.

DISCLAIMER: You may not use TruthFinder or the information it provides to make decisions about consumer credit, employment, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. TruthFinder does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency. (These terms have special meanings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq., (“FCRA”), which are incorporated herein by reference.)”

Try more search options

Apart from name search, you might need other search options to help you find someone’s previous addresses. One is reverse phone lookup. Simply enter a phone number, search and find the phone owner’s full name, address history, and more.

Another way to search is with an email address. A reverse email lookup can provide information about the owner, including the owner’s name, location, social media profiles, and other personal info.

Method 5: Check Your Social Media Accounts

If you’re active on social media platforms and like to share your life online, it’s possible that you can find out where you’ve lived in the past from your social media accounts.

Many sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram allow users to display location information when making a post. So with a little detective work, you may get an idea of your previous addresses.

Method 6: Contact your previous landlord or property manager

If you are able to recall the name of the company or individual who managed your previous residence, reaching out to them can be a fruitful approach to locating your past address. These individuals often maintain records of their tenants, including their contact and address information. Kindly approach them with a polite request for your previous address details.

  1. r/personalfinance [Deleted user]. (2016, Nov 12). What’s the best way to find your old addresses in the USA? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/5cff4p/whats_the_best_way_to_find_your_old_addresses_in/ ↩︎
  2. r/jobs [PerfictSpellur]. (2013, Oct 21). Application asks for ALL of my previous addresses. I can’t remember them all. What to do? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1ouwbh/application_asks_for_all_of_my_previous_addresses/ ↩︎
  3. r/personalfinance [ronin722]. (2017, Aug 23). It’s there. There should be a section called “Address Information”. It should go back well over 10 years. [Comment on the online forum post How do I find out what my previous residences are?]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/6vbi9w/how_do_i_find_out_what_my_previous_residences_are/ ↩︎
  4. r/personalfinance [SEJeff]. (2016, Nov 12). Are you an Amazon user by chance? I found out through sheer luck that I’ve got addresses for everywhere I [Comment on the online forum post What’s the best way to find your old addresses in the USA?]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/5cff4p/whats_the_best_way_to_find_your_old_addresses_in/ ↩︎

Credit: Photo by oxana v on Unsplash

All product names, logos, brands, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

exclamation-blueThere’s no guarantee you’ll find the information you’re looking for with the tools discussed in this article. They all source their information from publicly available data sources, such as county, state and federal courts, government departments, and police records, and those sources may contain incorrect or incomplete data. It’s illegal to use these tools to make decisions about employment, admission, consumer credit, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. Read the Fair Credit Reporting Act to learn more....

About this article

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Lily Qiu

IT Technical Support

Lily is a Level 1 technical support agent for Driver Easy. As the first point of contact for all support tickets, she addresses payment and subscription questions directly, and for highly technical questions, she ensures we have all necessary information before escalating the ticket to our Level 2 technical support agents.

Contributors

About this article

round-success 40 Revisions

file-success Reviewed by BeenVerified

Lily Qiu

IT Technical Support

Lily is a Level 1 technical support agent for Driver Easy. As the first point of contact for all support tickets, she addresses payment and subscription questions directly, and for highly technical questions, she ensures we have all necessary information before escalating the ticket to our Level 2 technical support agents.

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Contributors