An Expert Guide to Address History Search
Thomas Fine - November 15, 2024
Searching for previous addresses can be difficult, even if you’ve only moved a couple of times. Unless you kept records of the addresses you’ve lived at, you will need to do some digging to find your previous addresses.
You may need to provide your previous addresses and conduct an address history search for several reasons. A bank can ask for your old addresses when applying for a loan, or a landlord may request recent addresses to assess your credibility, to name a few.
Our article will guide you through the process regardless of why you want to run an address history search. Read to the end to discover how you can create a list of your previous addresses.
Can I Find My Address History?
Yes, you can find your address history. However, there isn’t one place where you can pull up your previous addresses. Due to this, most people find themselves looking for their address history from multiple sources to prepare a complete list.
Some of the places to look for previous addresses are your credit reports, tax records, public records, and social media accounts. You might have added an address at one point. We’ll cover all of these in the following sections.
How Far Back Can I Search My Address History?
There isn’t a standard timeframe for how far back you can search address history. It more or less depends on the source you’re looking at. For instance, credit reports typically go as far back as seven years, and tax transcripts are available for the past ten years.
With all this said, how far back you can search for your address history depends on the source. However, certain information, including address details in some cases, may remain available in public records indefinitely.
How to Find Previous Addresses
There are various sources that can help you find your previous addresses. Depending on how extensive your address history is, taking advantage of all is the most effective way to prepare a complete list of your previous addresses. Below, you’ll discover five sources to begin your address history search.
1) Credit Reports
Credit reports are one of the sources you can utilize to look for your previous addresses. These documents include identifying information, including your full name, date of birth, and address. When you apply for a line of credit or open a new account, it will keep the address you’ve applied under in the records.
To begin your address history search through credit reports, you can request documents from the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
If you’ve previously requested credit reports from these credit bureaus, you can look at them for your address information. Although you typically need to pay for new credit reports, federal law allows you to get a free credit report from these credit bureaus each year.
To get a free credit report and look for your previous addresses, visit AnnualCreditReport.com. This website is authorized by the federal government to issue free annual credit reports that aren’t any different from the ones you would receive directly from each of the three credit bureaus.
One thing to note when searching for your address history through credit reports is that your address information will only be available if you’ve updated your address or applied for a credit under that address. That said, any address you haven’t informed a financial institution at the time of application or opening a new account won’t appear on your credit report.
2) Tax Records
Tax records are another way to find previous addresses. If you’ve kept your tax records, they will include the addresses you’ve entered on your tax return. For those who don’t keep records of their tax returns, the easiest way to obtain address information is to request their tax return copies from the IRS.
If you’re wondering about tax transcripts, you can obtain them online. Tax transcripts included the address entered on the tax return at the time of filing. However, since 2021, the IRS no longer shares address information on tax transcripts. You must get copies of your tax return to see the address entered on your tax return.
You can request copies of your tax return by filing Form 4506, Request Copy of Tax Return with the IRS. Keep in mind that there’s a $43 fee for each copy requested.
Since copies of tax returns aren’t free, the cost can add up to a significant amount depending on how many copies you request to find previous addresses. We’ll also cover more cost-effective ways to find previous addresses below.
3) Social Media Accounts
A completely free way to make a previous address history search is through your social media accounts. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and many other social media platforms allow users to share their address information on their profile.
If you’ve entered any of your previous addresses on your social media accounts, they might still be there, even if you’ve restricted the visibility to yourself. Even the social media accounts you’ve forgotten about can give you clues about your previous addresses.
Your email can be an excellent place to start if it has been a while since you’ve logged into your social media accounts and forgot your login information. You can also enter your email in the forgot password section of every major social media platform to recover old accounts.
4) Public Records
Another source for making an address history search is public records. Everything from property records to voter registrations can provide details of your previous addresses.
To access public records to get your address history, visit local government offices or access public records online if available. Most local governments have online databases where you can look up public records.
In addition to public records, utility bills, rental history, employment records, postal office records, school documents, and vehicle registration papers are helpful sources for an address history search.
5) People Search
Perhaps the most convenient way to make an address history search is through a people search lookup tool, like Information.com. You can enter your details (name, city, and state) on our people lookup tool, and it will search public records and web pages to prepare a report that includes a complete list of your previous addresses.
One of the best features of our people search for locating previous addresses is that it will display current, past, and alternate addresses. By using our people search, you won’t need to obtain credit reports, tax records, or other documents to see if they include your previous addresses. It essentially works as a complete address history search tool to get a list of your address history.
Moreover, our people search can help you find additional information about yourself beyond address history. It essentially works like running a background check on yourself, enabling you to see your criminal records, financial information, public contact details, and more.
Knowing these details from the same perspective as someone running a background check on yourself can better prepare you for future inquiries about your past.
How to Prove Previous Addresses
Now that we’ve gone over various sources for making an address history search, you should be able to prepare an extensive list of your previous addresses. However, simply writing down your previous addresses might not be enough for organizations that request these details.
If the party that requested your previous address details asks for documentation that proves your address history, you can use the same sources you’ve found your address at the time to prove it.
For example, if you’ve found an address you lived at ten years ago from public records, the same document is enough to prove it. You won’t need to go to an extra length to find other documents to prove that you’ve lived at that address for a specific period.
Simple Address History Search
While there are various ways to make an address history search to find previous addresses, the easiest way to do this is through our people search.
Why bother digging through multiple documents to look for previous addresses when you can simply enter your name in our people search to get your address history? It is the easiest way to locate your previous addresses, whether you only have a few or a dozen.
Plus, you’ll learn other valuable information about yourself. Our people search will scan public records and essentially bring the same information consumer reporting agencies provide. Think of it as a background check you can run on yourself that brings more than just your address history.
