How to follow up with unreachable clients

When a message cannot reach a client, eCourtDate leaves a record you can act on. This article shows you where those records live, how to check whether a phone number or email address is still usable, and how to produce a printable letter or postcard when no digital channel works.

### Overview

eCourtDate flags the problem in a few different places rather than in one client-level list, and each place answers a different question.

- The **Contacts** page under **Clients** lists contact records and lets you filter for the ones marked **Invalid** or **Opted out**
- The **Unreachables** page under **Events** lists events by **Reached Status**, so you can see which events the client was never reached for
- A client record shows a red **Unreachable** badge next to the client name
- The **Run Lookup** card on a contact record tells you what a carrier or email provider reports about that phone number or address
- The **Generate Mail Template** card on an address record produces a **Letter** or **Postcard** PDF you can print and mail

Court clerks use this workflow to confirm a notice attempt before a hearing. Program staff use it to catch clients whose phone numbers changed. Administrators use the **Contacts** filters to measure how much of the agency contact data is unusable.

### Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

- An eCourtDate account with access to **Clients**, **Events**, and **Dashboard**
- Outbound messages that have already been sent, so delivery statuses and **Reached Status** values exist
- An address record attached to the client if you plan to generate mail
- At least one auto message with a saved template if you want to prefill the mail content
- Permission to create lookups if you plan to use the **Create Lookup** form on the **Lookups** page

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Filter contacts that cannot receive messages

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Contacts** tab.
3. Check **Invalid** in the **Search Contacts** form.
4. Check **Opted out** as well if you want to include clients who stopped messages themselves.
5. Click **Search**.

The results table includes the **Contact**, **Channel**, **Name**, **Client**, **Type**, **Opt-in**, **Valid**, and **Notify** columns. It does not show a carrier failure reason, so use the lookup in Step 3 when you need to know why a number failed.

#### Step 2: Review events where the client was not reached

1. Click **Events** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Unreachables** tab.
3. Select a value from the **Reached Status** dropdown to narrow the list to one outcome.
4. Enter an **Event From Date** and an **Event To Date** to limit the range.
5. Click **Search**.
6. Click the red badge in the **Reached Status** column to open that event.

Each row shows **Event Date**, **Event Time**, **Case Number**, **Client Reference**, **Event Type**, and **Location** by default. Use the **Fields** dropdown to add columns such as **First Name** and **Last Name**.

#### Step 3: Run a lookup on the failing contact

1. Click **Edit** on the contact in the **Contacts** results table.
2. Review the badges at the top of the contact, which include **VALID**, **INVALID**, **OPTED-OUT**, and **NOTIFY OFF**.
3. Click **Run Lookup** in the **Run Lookup** card.
4. Read the returned details, which include the carrier **Type** and **Name** for a phone number, or **Disposable Email**, **Is Free Email**, and **ISP** for an email address.
5. Click **View Lookup** to open the full lookup record.

If the contact was opted out, the opts card on the same screen lists each opt record. Click one to see the **Type**, **Reason**, and **Comments** recorded for it.

#### Step 4: Correct the contact record

1. Enter a corrected phone number or email address in the **Contact** field.
2. Click **Save**.
3. Click **Opt In** if the client has given permission again and the contact is opted out.
4. Open the **Tools** dropdown and click **Turn On Notifications** if the contact shows **NOTIFY OFF**.

#### Step 5: Generate a letter or postcard

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Addresses** tab.
3. Click **Edit** on the address you want to mail to.
4. Confirm the correct client appears in the client card, or search for the client and click **Attach**.
5. Click **Auto Messages** in the **Generate Mail Template** card and select an auto message if you want to prefill the **Subject** and **Message** fields.
6. Select **Letter** or **Postcard** under **Mail Template**.
7. Enter or confirm the **Name**, **Subject**, and **Message** fields, which are all required.
8. Click **Generate PDF**.

#### Step 6: Turn on automatic lookups for your agency

1. Click **Admin** > **Settings**.
2. Enter `Auto Run Lookups` in the **Search Settings** box.
3. Check **Auto Run Lookups** under **Automation**.
4. Click **Save**.

### What to Expect

Filtering and searching happen immediately. Both the **Contacts** and **Unreachables** tables show the first page of results, and a **Load more** button appears below the table when more records match. A lookup runs as soon as you click **Run Lookup**, and its results stay on the contact record, so anyone who opens that contact later sees the same information.

**Generate PDF** downloads a file named `mail.pdf` to your computer. eCourtDate creates the document only. It does not print the piece, buy postage, or hand it to a mailing service, so your agency prints and mails it through your existing process.

**Auto Run Lookups** is a single checkbox that applies to your whole agency, so it takes effect for everyone once you click **Save**.

### Best Practices

- **Filter contacts on a set schedule** so invalid records do not build up between notice cycles. The **Invalid** checkbox on the **Contacts** page is the fastest view of the problem.
- **Run a lookup before you replace a number**, because the lookup reports the carrier **Type** and **Name** behind that number.
- **Check the Unreachables page before a hearing date**, not after, so you still have time to mail a notice.
- **Keep one address attached to each client** so the **Generate Mail Template** card can prefill the **Name** field from the client record.
- **Record the outcome of every attempt** in a comment on the client, which gives your agency an audit trail of the notice attempts you made.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Is there a filter that shows only unreachable clients?**

A: No. The **Search Contacts** form offers **Opted in**, **Opted out**, **Valid**, and **Invalid** checkboxes, and the **Unreachables** page under **Events** filters events by **Reached Status**. There is no client-level unreachable filter.

**Q: Does eCourtDate mail the letter or postcard for me?**

A: No. **Generate PDF** downloads a `mail.pdf` file for you to print and mail. There is no mailing queue or delivery tracking for physical mail in eCourtDate.

**Q: Can I generate mail as a bulk action?**

A: No. The bulk action types are **Send a Message**, **Assign Users**, **Trash Clients**, **Archive Clients**, **Restore Clients**, **Transfer Clients**, **Update Clients**, **Create Events**, **Create Payments**, and **Assign Tasks**. Mail is generated one address at a time.

**Q: Does opting out of one channel stop every channel?**

A: No. Opt-in is stored on each contact record, so a client who opts out of a phone number still receives messages sent to a valid email contact.

**Q: How do I check the exact delivery status of a failed message?**

A: Go to **Dashboard** > **Messages** and select a value from the **Status** dropdown, or open the client record and read the status badge on each message in the feed. A failed message shows its status and, when the carrier returns one, an error code.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** You cannot find an Unreachable option in the contact filters.

**Symptoms:** The **Search Contacts** form offers **Opted in**, **Opted out**, **Valid**, and **Invalid** checkboxes, with no unreachable option.

**Solution:**

1. Check **Invalid** to find contacts the system could not use.
2. Check **Opted out** to find clients who stopped their own messages.
3. Go to **Events** > **Unreachables** and use the **Reached Status** dropdown for event-level outcomes.

**Issue:** Clicking **Generate PDF** does nothing.

**Symptoms:** The form stays on screen and no file downloads.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the **Name**, **Subject**, and **Message** fields are all filled in, since each one is required.
2. Select **Letter** or **Postcard** under **Mail Template**.
3. Check that your browser is not blocking the download.

**Issue:** You are unsure whether an address can actually receive mail.

**Symptoms:** Mail sent to the address comes back, but the address looks correct on screen.

**Solution:**

1. Open the address record.
2. Read the **Address Verification** card.
3. Check **USPS Deliverable**, **Address Complete**, and **Vacant** before you print anything for that 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 unreachable clients](/how-to-manage-unreachable-clients)
- [How to Manage Contacts](/how-to-manage-contacts)
- [How to manage client addresses](/how-to-manage-client-addresses)
- [How to Run Reverse Lookups](/how-to-run-reverse-lookups)
- [Message Troubleshooting for Clients](/message-troubleshooting-for-clients)
- [How to Search for Outbound Messages Using Filters](/how-to-search-for-outbound-messages-using-filters)