Not long ago, everyone had a landline phone in their home and locating a number or address simply required opening the yellow pages and locating the name. This has become more complicated now that cell phones are in common use and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unpublished.

Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most landlines, a lot of numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to stop their details from appearing. Reverse phone lookup services have responded to these changing demands to provide a very timely service to modern phone users.

There are two typical functions for these directories.

Finding Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number comes up on your caller ID, or you need to identify cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can assist in finding the name listed to the phone number in question. Just by entering the phone number you will have access to whoever is behind those calls of concern.

People looking for this service include those wanting to check up on a number frequently texting their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no accessible directory for cell phone numbers. Others may use lookup directories when they want to know a name registered to a landline that may be unlisted. If you have a phone number but are uncertain who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup directory can deliver the information.

Finding Addresses

The other typical purpose is to locate an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you plug into the information connected with a particular number most directories will deliver additional data as well, which includes the address of the landline or an address connected to a cell phone number.

This may not be an everyday need for most people, but it does have its uses in quite a few situations. Such as a parent desperate to find a teenager who has run away or is still out long after curfew. If they can find phone numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly tell them addresses as well as names of locations the child may be at that time.

More common circumstances may be looking for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have a phone number you can find their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy people.

These services can also give you access to other kinds of information, including income brackets and address histories, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of where the home or business is located.

There will be a nominal price for any legitimate reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal life requires certain information it is money well spent in the end. The fee is necessary because this variety of information is not easy or free to research, pull together, and save, so issuing it immediately to people like you must also include a charge to make up for such working expenditures.

There probably will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled most likely many of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The best way to get access to such phone numbers is to give a nominal charge either to complete a one time phone number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will need to access the directory long term.