Performing a person search by social security number for free means doing all of the research and work yourself. This can take an enormous amount of time, and may even require travel in some cases. Public record databases are open to everyone, but not every database in every location is stored online. This means to access records that are not available through the Internet you actually have to travel to the location where the records are stored to view them, and you may be charged a fee at each location. A complete background search by social security number means knowing all of the facts, because missing records due to their location can leave you with an incomplete search and unknown risks. Performing the person search by social security number yourself may seem that it would save you some money, but the time and aggravation it takes may make this method unsuitable.