How to Run Reverse Lookups

Reverse lookups return carrier, validity, and caller detail for a phone number or email address without sending a message to your client.

### Overview

The **Lookups** page holds four lookup tools in one place, and every lookup you run is saved as a record you can search, review, and export later.

- **What it does:** Looks up a phone number, an email address, a person by name and location, or an IP address, and stores the returned data on a lookup record
- **Why it matters:** Checking a number or address before you send saves failed deliveries, and the saved record gives you carrier, line type, and caller name detail when you investigate a contact
- **Who uses it:** Agency staff who manage client contact information and hold the create lookups permission
- **Expected outcome:** A lookup record marked **VALID** or **INVALID**, with a **Lookup Data** card listing whatever the provider returned

### Prerequisites

Before you run a lookup, make sure you have:

- Access to **Dashboard** > **Lookups**
- The create lookups permission on your role, which controls whether the **Create Lookup** and **Person Lookup** cards appear (super admins always see them)
- The phone number, email address, name and location, or IP address you want to check
- Access to **Admin** > **Settings** if you want to turn on **Auto Run Lookups**

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the Lookups page

1. Click **Dashboard** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Lookups** tab.

#### Step 2: Create a phone or email lookup

1. Enter the value in the **Lookup** field of the **Create Lookup** card, which accepts a phone number or an email address.
2. Clear the **Social Media** checkbox if you do not want social profile data with an email lookup. It is selected by default.
3. Click **Create**.

#### Step 3: Review the lookup record

eCourtDate opens the new lookup record as soon as it is created.

1. Check the **VALID** or **INVALID** badge next to the value at the top of the page.
2. Read the **Lookup Data** card, which lists the returned fields such as **Carrier**, **Line Type**, **Caller Name**, **Country Code**, **National Format**, **Phone Number**, **Fraud**, **Portability Location**, and **Portability OSN** for a phone, and **Disposable Email**, **Is Free Email**, and **ISP** for an email address.
3. Click the **LinkedIn**, **X (Twitter)**, or **Facebook** buttons in the **Lookup Data** card to open any social profile the lookup matched.
4. Review the **Area Code** card, which appears for a phone lookup with a recognized area code and shows the **Code**, **City**, **State**, and **Country** on a map.
5. Click **Inbound Messages** or **Outbound Messages** to see the messages recorded for that value.
6. Add context in the **Internal Notes** field of the **Edit Lookup** card and click **Save**.

![Lookup Data Example for Phone Number](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/lookup-data-phone-example.png)

If the provider returns nothing, the **Lookup Data** card shows a **No data found** alert.

#### Step 4: Create a Person Lookup

Use this card when you are looking for a person rather than validating a number or address.

1. Enter a first and last name in the **Name** field of the **Person Lookup** card.
2. Enter a city and/or state in the **Location** field.
3. Click **Create**.

The record is saved with the type person, and anything returned appears in the **Lookup Data** card.

#### Step 5: Geolocate an IP address

1. Enter the address in the **IP Address** field of the **IP Address Lookup** card.
2. Click **Geolocate**.

eCourtDate opens the **IP Lookup** page for that address, listing values such as **LOCATION**, **COUNTRY**, **TIME ZONE**, **CONNECTION TYPE**, **ISP**, and **ASN ORG** next to a map.

#### Step 6: Run a lookup from a contact record

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Contacts** tab.
3. Click the **Edit** button on the contact you want to check.
4. Find the **Run Lookup** card in the middle column.
5. Click **Run Lookup** if no lookup exists yet for that phone number or email address.
6. Click **View Lookup** to open the full lookup record in a new tab.

![Run Lookup Button](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/run-lookup-button.png)

![Lookup Data after clicking Run Lookup example](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/lookup-data-card-example.png)

The card shows the most recent lookup for that contact, with a **VALID** or **INVALID** badge and a short list covering **Status**, **Created**, **Type**, **Name**, and **Caller Name**.

#### Step 7: Search and export your lookups

1. Enter a value in the **Search** field of the **Search Lookups** card.
2. Select **Phone**, **Email**, or **Person** in the **Type** dropdown.
3. Select the **Valid**, **Invalid**, **Archived**, or **Trashed** checkboxes to narrow the list.
4. Click **Search**.
5. Click **PDF** or **CSV** above the results table to download the list.

#### Step 8: Turn on Auto Run Lookups

1. Click **Admin** in the top navigation bar and select **Settings**.
2. Click **Automation** in the settings navigation, or type Auto Run Lookups in **Search Settings**.
3. Select the **Auto Run Lookups** checkbox.
4. Click **Save**.

![Auto Run Lookups Setting](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/auto-run-lookups-general-setting.png)

With **Auto Run Lookups** on, an inbound call from a phone number with no matching contact triggers a phone lookup, and the result is saved as a lookup record for your agency. If a lookup already exists for that number, eCourtDate reuses it instead of running a new one.

### What to Expect

Lookup results are available on the record as soon as it is created, so a phone lookup shows carrier and line type right away and an email lookup shows whether the address is disposable or free. Results are cached for about 30 days, so if you look up the same value again in that window you land on the existing record instead of a new one. Social profile data applies to email lookups only, so a phone lookup never returns LinkedIn, X (Twitter), or Facebook links.

### Best Practices

- **Check the line type before you text a number.** A landline in the **Line Type** field of the **Lookup Data** card explains why text messages to that contact fail.
- **Search by Type and Invalid together.** This gives you a working list of the phone numbers or email addresses in your agency that need to be corrected.
- **Record what you found in Internal Notes.** The note stays on the lookup record, so the next person who opens it sees why the number was flagged.
- **Leave Social Media selected for email lookups.** It is the only lookup type that returns profile links, and clearing it gives you less to work with.
- **Download the CSV before a bulk send.** Exporting the list lets you compare validity across many contacts at once rather than opening each record.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: How often can I run a lookup for the same phone number or email address?**

A: Results are cached for about 30 days. Creating a lookup for a value that was already checked in that window opens the existing record instead of creating a new one.

**Q: Does running a lookup notify the person?**

A: No. A lookup queries carrier and provider data only. No message is sent and nothing appears to your client.

**Q: Why does my phone lookup have no social profile links?**

A: Social profile data is retrieved for email lookups only. The **Social Media** checkbox has no effect on a phone lookup.

**Q: Why can I only see the IP Address Lookup and Search Lookups cards?**

A: The **Create Lookup** and **Person Lookup** cards require the create lookups permission on your role. Ask your agency administrator to add it.

**Q: What does Auto Run Lookups actually run?**

A: It runs a phone lookup when an inbound call arrives from a number that does not match any contact in your agency, and saves the result as a lookup record.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The lookup record shows No data found.

**Symptoms:** The **Lookup Data** card displays a **No data found** alert and the record is badged **INVALID**.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the value you entered, including the country code for an international number.
2. Create a new lookup with the corrected value, since editing the **Lookup** field on an existing record does not run the lookup again.
3. Expect an **INVALID** badge for an email address whose domain has no mail server, since eCourtDate checks the mail records for the domain as part of the lookup.

**Issue:** Creating a lookup opens a record your agency already has.

**Symptoms:** After you click **Create**, the record that opens is an earlier lookup for the same value rather than a new one.

**Solution:**

1. Check the **Created** column for that value on the **Lookups** list.
2. Wait for the roughly 30 day cache window to pass if you need fresh data for that number or email address.
3. Use the data on the existing record in the meantime, since it is the last result your agency retrieved for that value.

> **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 Add Contact Information for a Client](/how-to-add-contact-information-for-a-client)
- [Message Troubleshooting for Clients](/message-troubleshooting-for-clients)
- [How to Configure Inbound Voice and Text Settings](/how-to-configure-inbound-voice-and-text-settings)