We need to say this clearly because the calls keep coming. Every week, law firms, paralegals, and other process servers contact EasyProServe asking us to locate a defendant who has disappeared, run a background check, or track down a current address from an old one. The answer is always the same: we do not do that work.
EasyProServe is a process serving company. We are not a skip tracing firm. We are not licensed private investigators. We do not perform surveillance, locate services, background checks, or any form of investigative work.
What Skip Tracing Actually Is
Skip tracing is the process of locating a person who has “skipped” — moved, changed their phone number, or otherwise made themselves difficult to find. It involves searching databases, cross-referencing public records, contacting known associates, and sometimes conducting physical surveillance.
In Alberta, this work falls under the Security Services and Investigators Act. Skip tracing and locate services are investigative activities that require a Private Investigator licence issued by the Alberta government. Operating without one is illegal — and for good reason. These activities involve accessing sensitive personal information and conducting surveillance that the law tightly regulates.
Process serving is a different service entirely. A process server delivers legal documents to a known person at a known (or reasonably known) address. We do not investigate. We do not search databases. We do not conduct surveillance.
Why We Get These Requests
The reason is straightforward: cost. A licensed private investigator or skip tracer in Alberta typically charges $500 to $2,000+ for a locate, depending on complexity. Process servers charge a fraction of that for a serve.
Some firms try to bridge the gap by asking their process server to “just knock on a few doors” or “try calling around” to find a defendant — effectively asking us to perform unlicensed investigative work at process serving rates. We understand the budget pressure, but EasyProServe will not do this. It is outside our licensing, outside our expertise, and outside our scope of service.
We Are Not Licensed Private Investigators
To be absolutely explicit:
- EasyProServe does not hold a Private Investigator licence in Alberta
- We do not perform skip tracing or locate services
- We do not conduct surveillance of any kind
- We do not run background checks or database searches
- We do not contact associates, employers, or references to locate a person
- We will not perform investigative work under any circumstances, regardless of how it is framed
If you send us an address and a name, we will serve your documents professionally and thoroughly. If you need someone found first, that is a different service provided by a different type of professional.
Introducing Process Skip
That said, we understand that sometimes a defendant is not at the address provided and you need a reasonable next step before escalating to a full skip trace. That is why EasyProServe now offers Process Skip as an add-on to any active serve.
Process Skip is not skip tracing. It is a limited, supplementary effort that involves:
- Knocking on neighbours’ doors at and around the service address to ask if they have any information on the defendant’s whereabouts
- Calling up to 3 phone numbers provided by the client to attempt contact or gather information
That is the full scope. No database searches. No surveillance. No investigative techniques. Just boots on the ground asking straightforward questions.
Process Skip pricing:
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Process Skip (add-on to active serve) | $250 + GST |
PROCESS SKIP IS A BEST-EFFORT SERVICE. INFORMATION IS NOT GUARANTEED TO BE COLLECTED. NEIGHBOURS MAY NOT BE HOME, MAY NOT ANSWER, OR MAY NOT HAVE ANY USEFUL INFORMATION. PHONE NUMBERS MAY BE DISCONNECTED OR GO UNANSWERED. EASYPROSERVE MAKES NO PROMISES ABOUT THE OUTCOME.
Process Skip is still significantly cheaper than hiring a licensed skip tracer — and for many cases, a few neighbour conversations and phone calls are enough to get the information you need to proceed with service.
When You Actually Need a Skip Tracer
Process Skip is not a replacement for professional skip tracing. If your situation involves any of the following, you need a licensed private investigator:
- The defendant has no known current address
- You have exhausted all known contact information
- The defendant is actively hiding or has changed their identity
- You need database searches, public record analysis, or social media investigation
- You need surveillance or physical tracking
EasyProServe can recommend reputable licensed investigators in Calgary and Edmonton if you need a referral. We would rather point you to the right professional than take on work that is outside our scope.
The Bottom Line
EasyProServe serves legal documents across Alberta — Calgary, Edmonton, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Strathmore, Canmore, and everywhere in between. That is what we do, and we do it with precision, documentation, and legal compliance.
We are not skip tracers. We are not private investigators. If you need documents served, contact us. If you want to add Process Skip to an existing serve, let us know when you submit your file. And if you need a full skip trace, we will happily point you in the right direction.