Skip Tracing, Utah Law, and the PI Licensing Question

Federal DPPA permits process servers to access certain records, but Utah's PI statute may capture skip tracing as a licensed activity. What clients need to know before hiring.

Clients who hire a process-serving firm often ask whether the firm can also locate a defendant whose whereabouts are unknown — a service commonly called skip tracing. The answer in Utah involves a federal statute, a state licensing framework, and a line that clients should understand before making any hiring decision.

What the Federal Statute Permits

The Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2721, restricts the disclosure and use of personal information maintained in state motor vehicle records. Section 2721(b)(4) creates a specific permitted purpose: use "in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any Federal, State, or local court or agency or before any self-regulatory body, including the service of process." This means a process server — or an attorney's authorized agent — may access DMV records to locate a defendant for the purpose of serving process in an active legal proceeding.

DPPA access is not a general license to investigate. It is a narrow permitted purpose tied to a specific proceeding. Using DPPA-accessed information for any purpose outside of that proceeding, or accessing records without a proceeding underway, would fall outside the permitted purpose and expose the accessor to civil and criminal liability.

Utah's PI Statute and What It Captures

Utah Code § 53-9-102(18)(a) defines "private investigator" to include a person who, for compensation, investigates matters including "locating missing persons." The same section in the broader private investigator statute does not contain a blanket exemption for process servers performing location work. Utah Code § 53-9-107 requires persons engaging in private investigative work to hold a license issued by the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification.

The practical implication is that a process server who, for a fee, conducts investigative work to locate a person — beyond simply verifying an existing address against DMV records for a pending proceeding — may be operating in territory the Utah statute defines as PI work. Whether a specific activity crosses that line depends on the facts and is ultimately a legal question, not one a process server can answer definitively.

Why This Matters When Hiring

If you are working with an attorney on a matter that involves locating a defendant, the attorney can retain a licensed Utah private investigator for skip-tracing work. The PI is licensed, bonded, and operating within a clear legal framework. The process server handles service once a valid address is identified. These are complementary rather than competing services, and keeping them in their proper roles protects the integrity of the case and the lawfulness of the investigation.

Clients who ask a process server to conduct location work that goes beyond what DPPA and the process-server role authorize may inadvertently expose the serve to a challenge — or expose themselves and the server to liability — if the investigation is later scrutinized. The question to ask any prospective service provider is direct: do you hold a Utah PI license for skip-tracing engagements? If the answer is no, the scope of what they can lawfully do on your matter is limited accordingly.

What Process Servers Lawfully Do

A process server without a PI license can verify and attempt service at known addresses, review publicly available records (court filings, property records, business registrations), and access DMV records under the DPPA permitted purpose for an active proceeding. These activities support service of process without crossing into the investigative territory the PI statute covers.

Rocky Mountain Protective Group does not offer skip-tracing services that would require a PI license, and we do not represent that our location capabilities extend beyond the process-server role. When a client's matter requires investigative location work, coordinating with a licensed PI through the client's attorney is the appropriate path.

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Category: Legal Guidance · Published: 2027-03-08 · 5 min read · By Christopher Zamora, Rocky Mountain Protective Group

Skip Tracing, Utah Law, and the PI Licensing Question — Rocky Mountain Protective Group