Address History: How to Find Your Previous Addresses

Dave Moore - November 30, 2024

Looking up your address history doesn’t need to be as complicated as you might think. It is important to keep your previous addresses in mind, and you may need this information when filling out various documents such as job applications and background check report requests. Our article gives you an overview of your address history and tells you the best ways to find your complete address history so you have all of the address information you need.

What Is My Address History?

Your address history is the history of all of the addresses you have ever lived at. When you look at your address history, you should be able to see all of your previous houses, apartments, or other housing units. You may need this information as you fill out various applications, government forms, and background check report requests. 

Additionally, you can look at someone else’s address history to learn more about them as a person and to verify if the information they may have listed on any kind of application is correct and truthful.

Are My Addresses in the Public Record?

Your addresses are a part of the public record, and this means that they will be visible on background check reports and when someone searches various property records. In most cases, your address history will stay on the public record unless a specific request is made to remove this information from background check reports and other personal history reports. Generally, it takes a court order or another legal initiative to remove someone’s information from the public record; this removal is often done in cases where a person’s safety is at risk.

What Is the Best Way to Find My Address History?

There are a few different ways to find your specific address history, and you may need to use online tools or official forums and documents. The three methods below are some of the best ways to discover your complete address history.

People Search Tool

A people search tool is a tool that looks through the public record using someone’s name and their general location, like a city or state. When you type your own name into this kind of online tool, you will be able to search through public records and discover any of the previous addresses connected to your name. This can help give you a convenient and easy-to-read report of your previous addresses in one place without you having to dig up old documents and forms.

Additionally, if you are curious about the history of a specific address that you have lived at, you can put this address into a reverse address search tool. This online search tool will perform a similar search to the people search tool, looking through public records to see all of the individuals who may be connected with a certain address.

Government Forms

Tax and government forms often list your address along with other personal incentive information. You can look at previous years’ tax returns to discover your address history, as you will need to file a tax return each year. This means that your address, if it changes year to year, will be listed on your tax return documents, and all you need to do is look at the page detailing all of your personal information for each year.

If you cannot easily access your tax returns, you may be able to look through W2 forms from your employer or paperwork establishing accounts for your financial institutions.

Property Tax Records

Generally, if you own your home or another property, you will be required to pay property tax on it in your jurisdiction. Each county or specific jurisdiction will have records of people who are paying taxes, and you can use these records to look up any previous property taxes you paid and the addresses they are associated with.

The best way to find property tax records is to look on the County Clerk’s website in the area where any property you have lived on is located. You can typically perform your search by name to find the information you need.

Can I Find Someone Else’s Address History?

It is possible to find someone else’s address history, so you will not be able to use specific tax and employment forms to find these details, as these are personal forms with sensitive information. Instead of taxing government forms, your options for finding someone else’s address history are to use public property records, a people search tool, or general internet searches.

We recommend starting with the people’s search tool, as all you need to do to search for someone’s address history is to type in their name and general location. However, if you aren’t sure what their general location is, you can perform an internet search of their name and look through any connected social media, employment, or education websites to discover the information you need to utilize the people search tool.

Is It Legal to Research Someone’s Addresses?

It is perfectly legal to research someone else’s addresses. This is because most addresses are part of the public record, and you have access to the public record. However, it is not legal to use the information you learn about someone’s address to act in any manner that is harassing, threatening, or legal. As long as you are using the information you learn about someone’s address history responsibly, you will not run into any serious legal consequences.

What If I Can’t Find Someone’s Address History?

If you can’t find someone’s address history, there is a good chance that you are searching using the wrong name or that the person does not have much of an online presence. This typically happens when someone goes by a different name in person than the legal name that is connected to their properties or if they have much of their personal information set to private and they are careful with the types of details they hand out online or in person.

Alternatively, a person may not have much of an address history and may only have lived in one or two different places. If you are very concerned about someone else’s address history and you cannot find these details, you can always ask them directly to learn more about their previous addresses.

Will Social Media Give Me Someone’s Address?

While social media can tell you the general location of where someone lives, as people generally put this information on their profile and post pictures tagged with the location of where they live, social media might not give you someone’s full address or address history. This is because most people know that it is somewhat dangerous to put your full address online, and people will generally not put their street numbers, street names, or zip code information on their social media profiles.

That being said, you can search the social media website where someone has a profile and click on their profile’s ‘About’ section to learn more about the person’s address and where they are living.

Keeping Tabs on Your Address History

Keeping tabs on your address history might seem overwhelming, but keeping your previous addresses in mind can help you when you are filling out various documents where this information might be applicable. 

If you are having trouble remembering all of the addresses you have previously lived at, you can use the methods in our article to find your specific address history. You could also use people search tools to find someone else’s address history and verify the information they may have communicated to you about their previous addresses.