Track clients whose messages could not be delivered due to bad contact information, opt-outs, or disconnected numbers. Use eCourtDate to generate postal notifications and create follow-up workflows so no client falls through the cracks.

### Overview

Unreachable clients are individuals whose messages failed to deliver across one or more communication channels. This can happen when a phone number is disconnected, an email address bounces, a client has opted out of notifications, or contact information is missing entirely. Identifying and following up with these clients is essential for government agencies that have a legal or procedural obligation to provide notice.

- Identify clients whose messages failed to deliver across SMS, email, and voice channels
- Notify staff automatically when clients become unreachable so follow-up action can begin immediately
- Generate postal letters and postcards for clients who have no working digital contact information
- Spot patterns in unreachable contacts to improve data quality and reduce future delivery failures
- Create follow-up workflows that escalate unreachable clients to supervisors or alternative notification methods

Court clerks use unreachable tracking to ensure defendants receive hearing notices. Probation officers use it to flag clients who may have changed addresses. Administrators review unreachable trends to identify systemic data quality issues and take corrective action.

### Prerequisites

Before following up with unreachable clients, make sure you have:

- An active eCourtDate agency account with Admin, Manager, or Supervisor role access
- Outbound messages that have been sent and processed (delivery statuses must be available)
- Familiarity with the **Clients**, **Contacts**, and **Messages** sections of eCourtDate
- (Optional) Postal letter or postcard templates configured if you plan to generate physical mail
- (Optional) Auto message rules configured for automatic staff notifications

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Identify Unreachable Clients

1. Sign in to your eCourtDate agency.
2. Click **Clients** in the top navigation bar.
3. Click the **Contacts** tab to view all client contact records.
4. In the **Search Contacts** form, select **Invalid** or **Unreachable** from the **Status** dropdown.
5. Click **Search** to filter the results.

The table displays all contacts that have been flagged as unreachable, along with the reason (bounced, disconnected, invalid, or opted out).

#### Step 2: Review Delivery Failures for a Specific Client

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation bar.
2. Search for and click **Edit** on the client you want to review.
3. On the client profile screen, scroll to the **Messages** section.
4. Look for messages with a delivery status of **Failed**, **Bounced**, or **Undelivered**.
5. Click on a failed message to view the failure reason, which may include:
   - **Invalid number**: The phone number does not exist or is not in service.
   - **Opted out**: The client previously opted out of receiving messages.
   - **Bounced**: The email address rejected the message.
   - **Carrier blocked**: The carrier filtered the message as spam.

Understanding the failure reason helps you determine the correct follow-up action.

#### Step 3: Set Up Automatic Staff Notifications

Configure eCourtDate to notify your staff whenever a client becomes unreachable.

1. Click **Admin** > **Settings** in the top navigation bar.
2. Navigate to the **Notifications** section.
3. Enable the **Notify on Unreachable Client** setting.
4. Select which staff members or roles should receive the notification.
5. Choose the notification channel (email, in-app alert, or Slack).
6. Click **Save** to apply your changes.

When a message fails to deliver and the client has no remaining valid contacts, the designated staff members receive an alert with the client's name, case details, and the reason for the failure.

#### Step 4: Generate Postal Notifications

For clients with no working digital contact information, you can generate physical mail directly from eCourtDate.

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation bar.
2. Search for the unreachable client and click **Edit**.
3. Verify that the client's **Mailing Address** is on file. If not, enter the address in the client profile and click **Save**.
4. Click the **Tools** button on the client profile.
5. Select **Generate Postal Letter** or **Generate Postcard** from the dropdown.
6. Choose a template from the available postal templates.
7. Review the generated letter or postcard, which auto-populates with the client's name, case number, and relevant details.
8. Click **Send** to submit the postal notification for mailing.

Postal notifications are queued and processed through eCourtDate's mailing service. You can track the mailing status on the client profile.

#### Step 5: Use Bulk Actions for Multiple Unreachable Clients

If you need to follow up with a large number of unreachable clients at once:

1. Click **Bulk Actions** in the top navigation bar.
2. Select **Clients** as the bulk action type.
3. Apply filters to target unreachable clients (for example, filter by contact status **Invalid** or message status **Failed**).
4. Choose the desired action:
   - **Send Mass Message**: Attempt delivery through an alternative contact channel.
   - **Generate Postal Letters**: Create physical mail for all selected clients.
   - **Assign to User**: Route unreachable clients to a specific staff member for manual follow-up.
5. Click **Run** to execute the bulk action.

#### Step 6: Run Reverse Lookups to Update Contact Information

If client contact information is outdated or invalid, use reverse lookups to find updated phone numbers or addresses.

1. Click **Bulk Actions** in the top navigation bar.
2. Select **Reverse Lookups** as the action type.
3. Upload or filter the list of clients whose contact information needs updating.
4. Click **Run** to initiate the lookup process.
5. Review the results and update client records with any new contact information found.

For detailed instructions, see [How to Run Reverse Lookups](/how-to-run-reverse-lookups).

### What to Expect

After completing these steps, your agency will have a clear workflow for handling unreachable clients. Staff receive automatic notifications when clients become unreachable, unreachable clients are flagged in the system for easy identification, and postal notifications provide a fallback channel when digital delivery fails.

Reverse lookup results typically return within a few minutes depending on the volume of records. Postal notifications are queued and mailed within 1 to 3 business days. Updates to client contact information take effect immediately for future message delivery.

### Best Practices

- **Review unreachable contacts weekly** to prevent a backlog of clients who need follow-up. Set a recurring calendar reminder or assign a team member to this task.
- **Use multiple contact channels** for important notifications. If a client's phone number fails, attempt email delivery before escalating to postal mail.
- **Keep mailing addresses current** by requesting address updates during check-ins, portal logins, and form submissions. A valid mailing address is your last resort for reaching unreachable clients.
- **Run reverse lookups proactively** before major notification campaigns (such as jury summons or court hearing reminders) to catch outdated contact information before messages fail.
- **Document all follow-up attempts** on the client profile. This creates an audit trail that demonstrates your agency took reasonable steps to provide notice.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What qualifies a client as "unreachable" in eCourtDate?**
A: A client is considered unreachable when all of their contact records have a status of **Invalid**, **Opted Out**, **Bounced**, or **Disconnected**, and no successful delivery has occurred on any channel. The system flags these clients automatically based on delivery status data.

**Q: Can I set up automatic postal mail for unreachable clients without manual intervention?**
A: You can configure auto message rules that trigger postal notifications when all digital channels fail. Contact your eCourtDate administrator or support team to set up this automation based on your agency's specific workflow.

**Q: How does eCourtDate determine that a phone number is disconnected?**
A: When a message fails to deliver, eCourtDate receives a delivery status callback from the carrier. If the carrier reports the number as disconnected, invalid, or not in service, the contact is flagged accordingly. Reverse lookups can also identify disconnected numbers before you attempt to send a message.

**Q: What happens if a client re-activates a previously disconnected number?**
A: You can manually update the contact status by navigating to the client's profile, clicking the contact, and changing the status. Alternatively, running a reverse lookup on the client will detect re-activated numbers and update the record.

**Q: Does opting out on one channel affect all channels?**
A: No. Opt-outs are channel-specific. If a client opts out of SMS, you can still send email or postal notifications. However, you should always respect the client's communication preferences and your agency's compliance policies.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Staff are not receiving notifications when clients become unreachable.
**Symptoms:** Unreachable clients appear in the contacts table, but no one on the team received an alert.
**Solution:**

1. Go to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Notifications** and verify that the **Notify on Unreachable Client** setting is enabled.
2. Confirm that the correct staff members or roles are selected to receive notifications.
3. Check the notification channel (email, in-app, Slack) and verify it is configured correctly.
4. Review the staff member's notification preferences under their user profile to ensure they have not disabled alerts.

**Issue:** Postal notification shows "Address Invalid" when attempting to generate a letter.
**Symptoms:** The system rejects the postal notification and displays an address validation error.
**Solution:**

1. Open the client profile and verify the mailing address is complete, including street, city, state, and ZIP code.
2. Check for typos or formatting issues in the address fields.
3. If the address was entered recently, allow a few moments for validation to complete and try again.
4. If the address is genuinely invalid, use a reverse lookup or contact the client through an alternative method to obtain an updated address.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Manage Contacts](/how-to-manage-contacts)
- [How to Manage Clients](/how-to-manage-clients)
- [How to Run Reverse Lookups](/how-to-run-reverse-lookups)
- [How to Send a Mass Message Using Bulk Actions](/how-to-send-a-mass-message-using-bulk-actions)
- [How to Search for Outbound Messages Using Filters](/how-to-search-for-outbound-messages-using-filters)