What Is a Sweep?

A sweep is a full automated search run for a single debtor. When a sweep is triggered — either by our continuous monitoring engine or manually by you — the system queries multiple public data sources simultaneously using your debtor's name and state, collects every result, filters for genuine matches, and surfaces anything new as an alert in your dashboard.

Most sweeps complete within a few minutes. Complex business entity sweeps that involve secondary lookups (registered agent details, filing histories, associated entities) may take longer.

The 5-Stage Sweep Pipeline

1
Query — data sources are searched simultaneously
The system fires parallel requests to all applicable data sources: county property records, court filing databases, secretary of state / business registries, FAA aircraft records, USCG vessel records, and federal bankruptcy records. Individual and Business debtors query different source sets — see What Data Sources Are Searched? for the full breakdown.
2
Match — results are filtered against the debtor's identity
Raw results are scored against the debtor's name and state. The matching logic handles common variations: initials vs. full names, name order reversals, suffix differences (Jr./Sr./II), and common misspellings. Business searches additionally check DBA names and alternate entity names against known aliases.
3
Deduplicate — previously seen results are suppressed
The system compares each match against your existing alert history for this debtor. Anything that has already been surfaced and stored is not shown again. Only genuinely new findings — new property acquisitions, new court filings, new business formations, new aircraft registrations — become active alerts.
4
Enrich — additional detail is fetched for key findings
For high-value results like new business entities, the system performs secondary lookups to pull enriched data: registered agent name and address, company formation details, filing history, and alternative names. This enrichment is what makes alert cards actionable rather than just a name match.
5
Alert — new findings are stored and you're notified
New matches are saved to your debtor's report as categorized alerts (Property, Court Records, Business Entities, FAA/USCG, Bankruptcy). If your account has email notifications enabled, a digest email is sent when new findings are detected. No new findings means no alert — your report stays quiet when there's nothing to report.

What the System Is Looking For

The sweep is specifically designed to surface events that indicate a debtor has acquirable assets or has taken financial actions worth acting on:

  • New real property — deeds, conveyances, and title transfers showing the debtor acquired land, a home, or commercial property
  • Business formation or re-activation — new LLC or corporation filings, which may indicate new revenue-generating activity or asset sheltering attempts
  • Court activity — cases where the debtor is named as a plaintiff (meaning they may be receiving a settlement or judgment themselves) or new civil matters
  • Aircraft or vessel registration — FAA and USCG records showing ownership of registered aircraft or boats, which are seizable personal property in many states
  • Bankruptcy filing — Chapter 7, 11, or 13 filings that trigger the automatic stay and affect your collection timeline
Tip

Court record sweeps surface cases where your debtor is the plaintiff — this is often the highest-value signal. A debtor pursuing their own lawsuit may be about to receive a settlement that you can move to intercept through proper legal channels.

What the Sweep Does Not Do

Understanding the scope of a sweep helps you set accurate expectations:

  • It does not access private financial records. Bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement funds are not in any public database — these require a separate legal process (bank levy, charging order) after you identify the debtor has assets.
  • It does not guarantee real-time data. Public records have update latency — a property transfer recorded today may not appear in searchable county databases for days or weeks depending on the county's indexing speed.
  • It does not constitute legal advice. Sweep results are information only. What to do with that information — filing a writ of execution, renewing a judgment, requesting a bank levy — is a legal question for your attorney.
  • Property searches cover all 50 states. A debtor may own property anywhere in the country, and we scan nationwide to surface it — not just the state where your judgment was entered.
Related articles

For the full list of sources searched: What Data Sources Are Searched? · For sweep timing: How Often Are Sweeps Run? · For triggering a sweep now: Running a Manual Sweep

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