(MONEY Magazine) – Searching for a lost relative need not take years. A search by a licensed private investigator typically costs $400 to $2,000, and P.I.s are wired into extensive databases -- department of motor vehicles records, for example. Lawyers and insurers can recommend candidates. "We're successful in a few weeks about 75% of the time," reports Bart Schwartz, president of New York City-based Decision Strategies, which works worldwide. But if you want to be your own gumshoe, here are some tips: First, ascertain the lost person's legal name. A records search for Dan Quayle, for example, won't turn up the former vice president. You need the James Danforth Quayle moniker. Next, get an "identifier": a date of birth, Social Security number or an old address. Then, scour state and county records. But be warned: Only eight states -- Florida, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington -- permit unlimited access to birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates. These groups offer sleuthing help at modest prices: WCSRA (23 Rocky Knoll, Irvine, Calif. 92715). For $15, the firm will search its 130-million-name database for a living American. For $6, it will scan Social Security's index of people deceased since the 1940s. Phone searches cost slightly more (714-509-9900). -- Metromail (900-288-3020; $3 for the first minute; $2 a minute thereafter) combs telephone databases nationwide for your quarry; typical charge: $7. -- Seekers of the Lost (800-669-8016). For $59, this nonprofit group will search its 160-million-name database for two candidates and then supply you with addresses of the likeliest possibilities within the U.S. -- The American Adoption Congress (1000 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 9, Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-483-3399). For $20, this nonprofit agency sends a packet of search information, including a list of local support groups. Under limited circumstances, such federal agencies as Social Security, the Veterans Administration and the IRS will forward letters to missing relatives. The service is free, but you must supply compelling reasons for contact, such as an announcement of an inheritance. -- M.T.S.